The Treaty of Versailles

Transcription

1 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, pages The Treaty of Versailles Essay topic Revenge is not an effective tool in making peace but rather makes bitter enemies. To what extent do you consider this to be an accurate assessment of the consequences of the punitive clauses of the Treaty of Versailles? Write an essay of five paragraphs answering the above question. First, break down the question into a list of sub-questions you will need to cover. Here is a guide: Was revenge a major factor in the drawing up of the Versailles treaty? Did this feeling affect the clauses included in the treaty? What were the punitive clauses of the treaty, referred to in the topic? How was the treaty designed to make a lasting peace? How and why did the treaty make bitter enemies? Who were these enemies, the cause of their enmity and what was the long-term outcome? Overall, is the statement an accurate assessment of the treaty s punitive clauses? In your introduction you should give an overview of your main points; this introduces the reader to your argument and reasons. Below is a sample introduction. The deaths of nearly one million French soldiers and over a million men from the British Empire during the Great War led their leaders to insist that the Treaty of Versailles included harsh conditions to punish Germany. These clauses included humiliating territorial losses and the demand for huge reparations. The peace would be kept by ensuring that Germany was never again strong enough to go to war. As Germany was in no position to resume fighting, the nation s leaders were forced to accept the terms, even though they felt it was not a peace of right as had been promised. The new German president Ebert said in 1919 that the terms will provoke fresh hatred between the nations. Revenge did not prove to be an effective tool in making peace. The reparations it demanded were not possible, the humiliating terms created hatred and, in time, when cooler heads prevailed, and leaders realised how harsh they had been, they then gave too much in the cause of appeasement.

2 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, pages The Treaty of Versailles Fill in the table below to make a dot-point summary of the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Areas covered by the treaty What the treaty said War guilt Germany was blamed for starting the war. Reparations Germany s armed forces Demilitarised zone German territories and colonies League of Nations New countries

3 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, page 159 Housing in the 1920s Look carefully at the plan of the war-service home in source 5.18 on page How many bedrooms are there? 2 Comment on the position of the bathroom. What facilities are in the bathroom? 3 Where is the toilet? What do you notice about the entry to this smallest room in the house? Why do you think it is in this position? 4 In which room would you have washed the dishes? 5 What is the circle in the corner of the laundry? 6 What is a larder? 7 Which rooms have a chimney? 8 List five differences between the war-service house and a house built today.

4 9 Write about two aspects of life in the war-service house that you would find difficult in comparison to life in a modern house or flat. 10 Houses like this are today often called Californian bungalows and are in great demand. Look in the real estate pages of a newspaper or magazine and find a similar home. Paste or copy the advertisement below. a In which suburb is the house? b Why do you think these houses are so popular today?

5 11 Imagine you are an architect working today. Look at the floorplan of the war-service home and suggest any renovations that would be needed to make the house meet the requirements of a busy family of four in the 21st century. Include the placement of major electrical appliances.

6 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, page 161 Read the following text. Spiritualism involves speaking to the dead, often through a medium. The spirits of the dead are thought to speak using the voice of the living medium. It was believed that another way to make contact was by using a ouija board on which the letters of the alphabet would be arranged by the spirits to spell out messages. The 1920s saw a rise in the popularity of spiritualism. It offered a way for the families of the huge numbers of men killed in World War I to attempt to contact their dead loved ones the spirit soldiers. The possibility of speaking to sons and husbands was so tempting that many people were prepared to believe in the power of mediums and to pay to hear their loved ones voices again. Many famous people became passionate believers in spiritualism and devoted their lives to promoting it around the world. One of the most famous advocates of spiritualism was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author and creator of Sherlock Holmes. He had lost a son in World War I and believed he had made contact with him through mediums. Conan Doyle travelled the world speaking about Spiritualism 1 Why was spiritualism so popular in the 1920s? spiritualism. He visited Melbourne and was involved in a big demonstration of the power of the spirit world. Conan Doyle believed in all aspects of the spirit world and even published a book outlining why he believed in fairies. So great was the popularity of spiritualism that it featured in many books, films and plays of the 1920s. Many detective novels, a style of writing that also became popular in the 1920s, featured spiritualism as a central part of the plot or had characters devoted to its cause. The ability to contact the dead was not always taken seriously but to those devastated by the loss of their loved ones, it provided both comfort and hope. William Longstaff s painting The Menin Gate at Midnight (source 5.22 on page 161) shows the spirit soldiers rising from their graves. If you look closely, you will see that what at first appear to be silver stalks are actually a host of ghostly helmeted diggers, rifles in hand, moving silently across the fields to the Menin Road. 2 Explain two ways that it supposedly enabled people to make contact with the dead. 3 Suggest reasons why women were generally more interested in spiritualism than men.

7 4 Give reasons why a resident of Melbourne would have joined the crowd that packed Festival Hall to hear Sir Arthur Conan Doyle speak. 5 How might spiritualism have helped people overcome their grief at the loss of a loved one in World War I? 6 Not all so-called mediums were sincere and genuine in their dealings with grieving people. What harm might these people have done? 7 Why do you think that Longstaff s painting (source 5.22) was so popular? 8 In what other ways might people have kept the memory of their loved ones alive? 9 Write 10 questions that a father may have wanted to ask his departed soldier son through a medium.

8 10 Draw a poster advertising Conan Doyle s visit and demonstration of spiritualism.

9 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, page 170 Where Shall We Go? Read the middle column of Where Shall We Go?, source 5.32 on page Why do you think motor touring was popular in the 1920s? 2 Why was it possible to go touring in the winter time? 3 What were the drawbacks of winter touring a few years ago? 4 List the features of the modern car that made winter a good time for touring? 5 Who should people contact for advice before going on a winter tour? Read the article Wearing Well: Prince s Highway: Federal, Too (left column, source 5.32). 6 What are the problems with these roads?

10 7 What is the Federal Highway called today? 8 How does heavy rain affect the condition of these roads? 9 What are the areas over the border that the motorist must watch out for? 10 What does a motoring page like this tell you about motor travel in the 1920s? 12 List some of the ways a motorist would have had to prepare for a day trip in the 1920s. (Clue: you could not depend on finding a service station.) Read This Week s Hint (bottom, middle column). It implies that people often had to fix their own cars. 13 Why would long trips interstate need extra preparation? 14 Consider the title of this motoring page: Where Shall We Go?. What does it tell you about people s attitudes to motoring in the 1920s?

11 15 Look at the design of the Where Shall We Go? heading. What are the illustrations of? 16 Design a heading for a motoring page for a 1920s newspaper.

12 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, page 171 The Morris car The Herald, 1 July Why was the Morris considered a superior car to buy? 2 Why would its British origins have been a major selling point in the 1920s? 3 What evidence is there to indicate whether the Morris is a cheap or an expensive car?

13 4 The illustration shows two couples going for a drive. Comment on the seating arrangement. 5 How suitable do you think the Morris was for the Australian environment? 6 How is the car in the advertisement different from cars of today?

14 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, page s fashions Hats, hair, brassieres and robes a selection of fashion advertisements, September 1927 The Herald, 15 September 1927

15 Look at the advertisements for women s fashions. In 1928 the average weekly wage for women was 2/13/9. While there were increased job opportunities for young women in shops and secretarial work, it should be remembered that few married women went out to work in the 1920s. 1 Comment on the prices of the new fashions. 2 Looking back over pictures of women before World War I (see pages 73 4, 85 & 90), describe the major changes in women s outfits. 3 Using the advertisements as a guide, design a spring fashion outfit for Melbourne Cup Day in 1927.

16 Name: Class: Date: : Chapter 5, pages All that jazz 1 Look at the advertisements for women s clothes again. Imagine you are a fashion writer for a women s magazine. Write an article about fashion trends for the modern women. Illustrate your article with appropriate pictures.

17 2 Imagine you are Edith in a magazine called Women s World and write answers to the following questions about modern life. Women s World: Edith s advice Edith answers readers questions about modern life Dear Edith My daughter is 21 years old and has been very carefully bought up. However, of late, she has been asking to go out dancing and, without my permission, has cut all her lovely long hair. I know that some of her friends are wearing rouge and even lipstick and they seem to move with a very fast set! Please help me. I am very worried that her reputation will be ruined and no nice young man will want to marry her. Signed A Desperate Mother Dear Edith I have come from the country to take up a position as an account clerk at a bank in the city. I have been shocked to see the brazen young girls walking down the streets, some without hats or gloves, their skirts indecently short and their faces plastered with makeup. There seem to be no standards here. I have tried to find a suitable place to meet young women but the dance clubs I have attended are loud and full of the most distressing sights. I know my poor mother would not want me to mix with these flighty young things. I would like some advice on where to meet a decent girl that I would be proud to introduce to my mother back home. I seem to be out of step with modern life. Please tell me what can I do? Signed An Upright Young Man

18 Dear Edith My mother is trying to ruin my life! I am 21 years old but my mother treats me like a child. We fight and argue all the time. The atmosphere at home is most upsetting. My mother is so old-fashioned. I am not allowed to go out dancing and, even though all my friends wear makeup, I have to scrub my face clean if I am found with even a hint of rouge on my cheeks. How will I ever get a husband? Please advise me how to make my mother see that I need to live a modern life. I mean it is 1927 after all! Signed A Modern Miss P.S. I am booked in for my perm at Gvatters next week and mummy does not know and will not approve.