 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about the World War I treaties. In other words, the various treaties that were signed to end the First World War, which was between 1914 to 1918. My name is Barbara and in this video we'll examine all the major treaties and of course the biggest one of them being the Treaty of Versailles. This is really important, especially if you're studying this part of history for your upcoming exams or for your coursework as we delve into the details of the various treaties. So let's get started. Now, after the devastation of the First World War, the victorious Western powers imposed a series of harsh treaties upon the defeated nations. And these treaties essentially stripped the central powers such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, joined by Ottoman Turkey and Bulgaria of substantial territories and they also imposed significant reparation payments. Southern before had the face of Europe being so fundamentally altered and as a direct result of this war, the German, Austrian, Hungarian and Russian as well as Ottoman empires virtually ceased to exist. Now, before we go into the details of the treaty, it's really important to understand Woodrow Wilson's 14 points and essentially his vision of the war which he saw which would end all wars. And this was encapsulated in his 14 points program. In other words, he had a speech whereby he highlighted this visionary idea which some people see as naive of world peace in a way to end what was at the time the Great War, but also to essentially ensure that there would never be another First World War like that. And this was in 1918. So just to clarify, 10 months before the end of the First World War, the US president had written a list of proposed war aims which are called the 14 points. And eight of these points dealt specifically with territorial and political settlements associated with the victory of the powers, including the idea of national self-determination for ethnic populations in Europe. And the remainder of the principles focused on preventing the war in the future. The last of course, proposing the League of Nations, which would be a body that would arbitrate further international disputes and this was what he wished would be a way to prevent any future wars from happening. And we also hoped that this 14 point plan would bring about a just and lasting peace. So a peace without victory that would end the war to end all wars. Always remember that these 14 points agenda were one of the things that really influenced the treaties that were signed thereafter. So let's begin of course with the Treaty of Versailles which was in 1919. This was the major treaty and of course this was a treaty that heavily punished Germany. And of course it influenced somebody like Adolf Hitler later on when he felt that Germany had been really humiliated by the consequences of this treaty. And this is what really caused him to essentially start the Second World War. So now going into a little bit of the treaty itself. So when German leaders signed the armistice, in other words, they signed the agreement to end the First World War. Many of them believed that the 14 points would form the basis of future peace treaty. But when the heads of governments of the US, UK, France and Italy met in Paris in the Paris Peace Conference to discuss treaty terms, the European Big Four had another plan altogether. And of course Germany was excluded from this. Viewing Germany as the chief instigator of the conflict, in other words the chief starter of the First World War, these allied powers ultimately imposed really stringent treaty obligations upon Germany. Now the Treaty of Versailles presented to German leaders to sign on May the 7th 1919, forced Germany to do a series of things that were seen by many Germans as really humiliating. The first was to concede territories to Belgium, also Czechoslovakia and Poland. Also, importantly, Alsace-Lorraine, which was annexed or rather occupied by Germany in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War, was returned to France. All German overseas colonies became League of Nations mandates and the city of Danzig with this large ethnically German population became a free city. The treaty also demanded demilitarisation and occupation of the Rhineland. It also demanded a special status for the Saarland, which would be under French control for the next 15 years. And plebiscites were used, or plebiscites meaning votes, were used to determine the future of areas in northern Schleiswig in the German Danish frontier, as well as parts of Upper Silesia. Perhaps the most humiliating portion of the treaty for the defeated Germany was Article 231, commonly known as the War Guild Clause, and this clause essentially forced Germany to accept complete responsibility for starting World War I. And many German people felt this was really unfair because if you studied the First World War, it was essentially started when a Serbian nationalist, Gavrila, killed the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. Germany essentially stepped in to support its ally, which was of course the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but Germany did not actually start this war. So many Germans felt that this War Guild Clause was really unfair. In addition, Germany was seen as liable given that it had accepted this War Guild Clause. It was seen as liable for all material damages as a result of the war. And France's leader, Georges Clemenceau, particularly insisted on imposing enormous reparation payments. Aware that Germany would probably not be able to pay such a towering debt, Clemenceau and the French nevertheless greatly feared rapid German recovery and a new war against France. Hence, the French sought the post-war treaty system to limit Germany's efforts to grain any economic superiority and also to rearm. As a result, the German army was limited to 100,000 men and conscription was restricted. In other words, over 1.5 million German soldiers essentially became unemployed because the German army was thus limited to just 100,000 men. The treaty also restricted the Navy to vessels under 100,000 tonnes, essentially very small vessels in comparison to the other countries, with a ban on the acquisition or maintenance of a submarine fleet. And Germany was also forbidden to have any air force. Germany was also required to conduct war crimes proceedings against the Kaiser, who was the leader before he abdicated in 1918, as well as other leaders in Germany for waging an aggressive war. And the Lipsig Trial, which was without the Kaiser or other significant national leaders in the dog, resulted mainly in acquittals and was widely perceived as a sham even within Germany. The next treaty was the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919. This treaty, which is also referred to just simply as the Treaty of Saint-Germain, established the Republic of Austria. So this republic consisted mostly of the German-speaking regions of the Habsburg state, and crucially, this treaty registered the breakup of the Habsburg Empire. And the Austrian Empire also did become vastly reduced and it gave up territory, leading to the newly created states of Czechoslovakia, Poland, as well as the Kingdom of Stavines, Croats and Serbs, which was later renamed Yugoslavia in 1929 and it was famously led by President Tito. Austria also relinquished South Tirol, Trieste, Tarantino in Istria, to Italy, and Bukovina to Romania. An important role in the treaty was the banning of Austria from unifying with Germany or having any kind of political unity with Germany. There was then the Treaty of Trinon in 1920 and this treaty was signed with Hungary after World War I ended and it stated that, and to quote from the treaty itself, Hungary accepts the responsibility of causing loss and damage to which the Allied governments and the nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed by them by the aggression of Austria-Hungary and her allies. This treaty led to the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well and they became separate entities or rather separate countries and this treaty recognised this at a legal level by signing separate peace treaties that were now set with what were now separate and independent states. So Austria signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain while the newly independent Hungary signed the Treaty of Trinon and as with the other treaties with those who had fought against the Allies, Hungary suffered territorial losses that affected her economic strength, military restrictions as well as population issues and when compared to its pre-war borders, what was seen as Hungary within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it lost nearly 75% of its territory. This land which it lost was redistributed to the newly created states of Romania, Czechoslovakia and what became Yugoslavia and the Treaty of Trinon ensured that the new Hungary would have a very minimal growth in its clout and this of course was a deliberate policy to really weaken Hungary and all the treaties signed by these defeated nations had at the core a desire to ensure that none of the Central Powers would ever become a threat to Europe and particularly to countries like the UK and France ever again and the unemployment that impacted Hungary in these interwar years as a result of this treaty ironically became of course a primary reason for its association with Nazi Germany and of course for its war or rather its role in the Second World War. The next treaty is a Treaty of Sever in 1920 and this treaty was concluded between the Ottoman Empire which became Turkey on the one hand and the Allies which of course excluded Russia and USA on the other hand. This treaty essentially liquidated the Ottoman Empire and virtually abolished Turkish sovereignty and in Asia Turkey renounced sovereignty over what was called Mesopotamia which today is known as Iraq, Palestine as well as Jordan which became British mandates, Syria and Lebanon which became French mandates and the Kingdom of Hejaz and Turkey did retain Anatolia but it was to grant autonomy to Kurdistan within its region. Armenia also became a separate republic under international guarantees and similar and its environs or rather the territory around it was placed under Greek administration pending a plebiscite to determine its permanent status. In Europe, Turkey also gave up parts of eastern Thrace and Aegean islands to Greece and the Doccanese and Rhodes to Italy retaining only Constantinople which today is known as Istanbul and the zone of the Straits, the Darnadels and Bosphorus which was neutralised and internationalised and the Allies further obtained virtual control over the Turkish economy with the capitulation in its rights. This treaty was accepted however by the government of Sultan Mehmed the 6th in Istanbul. Do bear in mind that he was a Sultan who essentially also presided over the Ottoman Empire. However, it was rejected by the rival nationalist government of Kemal Atatürk in Ankara so of course this was a rival group of people who assembled and wanted to overthrow the Sultan. So Atatürk's separate treaty with USSR and his subsequent victories against the Greeks during the War of Independence or in other words the Turkish War of Independence forced the Allies to have to negotiate a new treaty in 1923 which is a Treaty of Lausanne. So the Treaty of Sever was signed with the Ottoman Empire or rather the leader of the Ottoman Empire however it had to be revisited after the Turkish War of Independence in 1923 which led to the Treaty of Lausanne. And so of course this treaty which was signed on the 24th of July 1923 established or rather replaced the previous treaty that had been signed by the Ottoman Empire. The previous treaty which we've mentioned was not recognised by the nationalist government under Mr Atatürk and after the national list victory over the Greeks and the overthrow of the Sultan during the War of Independence Atatürk's government was in a position to request a new peace treaty and so the signatories of the Treaty of Sever and the delegates of the USSR who had been excluded from the previous treaty met at Lausanne in Switzerland and after lengthy negotiations they signed the Treaty of Lausanne. And this led Turkey to recover eastern Thrace several Asian islands, a strip along the Syrian border the Seminole district and the internationalised zone of the straits which however was specified to remain demilitarised and subject to international convention. Turkey also recovered four sovereign rights over its territory and no limitation was imposed upon its military. However, also Turkey benefitted from not having to pay any reparations as well. And in return Turkey had to renounce all claims on former Turkish territories outside its new boundaries and it undertook to guarantee rights of its minorities in a separate agreement between Greece and Turkey provided for the compulsory exchange of minorities. So that's all. If you enjoyed this video do subscribe to our channel and give us a thumbs up. Also make sure you visit our website which is www.firstratetutors.com There you will find a range of model answers particularly looking at the Treaty of Versailles and the various treaties that were signed as part of an armistice deal to end the First World War. You can use these essays to help you in your forthcoming exams as well as your coursework. Thank you so much for listening.