Title: Who was Georges Clemenceau?
1The roles and goals of Clemenceau in creating the
Treaty of Versailles
- Who was Georges Clemenceau?
- What role did he play?
- What were his goals in creating the Treaty of
Versailles?
2Who was Georges Clemenceau?
- In this room you are able to see Gorges
Clemenceaus life. His life is divided to the
four most important parts. - Who he really was and what roles he played
during his political career?
3His Youth
- Like his ancestors he would study medicine,
and, like them, Clemenceau entered the medical
school primarily for an education. He may have
had ambitions for a career at a higher level in
medical or scientific research, but, distracted
by politics, he did not even win a place as an
interne at one of the Paris hospitals. In any
case he did not have the temperament for patient
research and long-drawn-out intellectual enquiry,
although he had the journalist's or lawyer's
facility for rapid assimilation and clear, if
superficial, exposition. (Secondary source by
David Robin Watson GEORGES CLEMENCEAU- A
Political Biography Eyrne Methuen, p.21)
- Was born in Vendée on 28th September, 1841. As a
youth he attended Medical School, but without any
great success. He always was fascinated in
politics. The source describes his character as
not helpful in his medical career. After
finishing his medical studies he went to live in
New York. He was impressed by the political
freedom enjoyed by the people of the US and
considered settling permanently in the country.
However, in 1869 he decided to move back to
France were he celebrated the establishmnet of
the Third Republic.
4Early career
- In 1871,after the Franco-Prussian war Clemenceau
was elected to the National Assembly - In 1876, he was re-elected to the National
Assembly as a leader of Radical-Republicans. - In 1902 Clemenceau became a senator and four
years later(1906), at the age of 61, was
appointed Minister of Home Affairs. - Seven months later Clemenceau became France's
Prime Minister (1906-1909)
Georges Clemenceau in 1872 (http//www.cheminsdeme
moire.gouv.fr/page/affichegh.php?idLangdeidGH32
0)
5World War I
Liberal prime minister David Lloyd George (left)
at Versailles with the French prime minister
Georges Clemenceau and the US president Woodrow
Wilson.
- Georges Clemenceau was one of the three fathers
of the Versailles Treaty. However his opinion
about the Treaty and the punishment for Germany
was quite different to the David Lloyd George and
Woodrow Wilson. Through his aggressive type of
negotiation he got a nickname the Tiger.
(http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history
/mwh/ir1/bigthreerev_print.shtml)
6His defeat
Georges Clemenceau (http//www.musee-clemenceau.fr
/en/chronologie.html)
- By January 1920, his political star had eclipsed
and the French public held him responsible for
the perceived leniency of the Versailles
Settlement.In his retirement he constantly
preached, spoke and wrote against the dangers of
a resurgent Germany. He became very disillusioned
with European diplomacy which became most
apparent in his memoirs "The Grandeur and
Misery". Georges Clemenceau even predicted that
1940 would be the year that France was in its
gravest danger from Germany. - Georges Clemenceau died in 1929.
7What roles did he play?
- Georges Clemenceau durnig his political career
played many different roles, and all of his
beliefs were strongly influenced by his father
Benjamin Clemenceau. - However, the most important roles are the Prime
Minister of France, Minister of the War and the
creator of the Treaty of Versailles.
8Political point of view influenced by his
father
Benjamin Clemenceau (http//www.musee-clemenceau.f
r/en/chronologie.html)
- As a son of a gentleman, doctor Benjamin
Clemenceau, he inherited from his father a
lifelong detestation of Bonapartism and a
commitment to democratic Republicanism. This
political belief lead him throuth his whole
career and had a huge impact on his goals in
creation of the Peace Treaty.
9The Tiger
LA BAIONNETTEFrench Journal, 13 March 1919
- Clemenceau is a free-thinker of free-thinkers
neither Heaven nor Hell has anything to say to
him... He has thrown back to his animal ancestry.
What is the totem of the tribe which has entered
into him, whose instinct of depredation pervades
his every political action? We have it! He is of
the jungle, jungly. His spring is terrific. His
crashing attack fatal. He looks as formidable as
he is. In short, he is a Tiger, and there you
are. That accounts for everything! (Primary
Source by H. M. Hyndman Clemenceau, the Man and
his time, 1919. p.81)
Georges Clemenceau is remembered as a great
statesman of France. Even in 1919 he had a
reputation of individual and agressive negotiator
however, the French nation loved him and had
great faith in his skills during the creation of
the Treaty of Versailles.
10Prime Minister of France
I feel humble for the mistakes I have already
made and for those which I am likely to make. I
do not think I can be accused of having sought
power. But I am in power. I hope it will not be a
misfortune for my country. You tell me I have
made mistakes... I am here because these are
terrible times when those who through all the
struggle have loved their country more than they
knew see the hopes of the nation centered on
them. I am here through the pressure of public
opinion, and I am almost afraid of what it will
demand of me, of what it expects of me. Georges
Clemenceau (Primary Source by H. M. Hyndman
Clemenceau, the Man and his time, 1919. p.324)
Clemenceau as a Premier of France was focused on
his country and his nation. As presented by the
source he always spoke in the name of the French
people and he felt that his attitudes to the war
and peace were alike with his nation.
11Creator of the Treaty of Vresailles
- Success is possible only if we remain firmly
united. We have come here as friends. We must
pass through that door as brothers... Everything
must be subordinated to the necessity for a
closer and closer union between the peoples which
have taken part in this great war... I come now
to the order of the day. The first question is
as follows "The responsibility of the authors of
the war."Â The second is thus expressed
"Penalties for crimes committed during the war."Â
The third is "International legislation in
regard to labour. - (Primary source by Geoges Clemenceau, 18 January
1919)
Georges Clemenceau as a creator of the Treaty of
Velrsaille played the major role as a
represenative of France and the Conference
President. The source presented extracts from the
Opening Speech on 18.01.1919, which explores his
basic goals in creating peace.
12What were his goals in creating the Treaty of
Versailles?
- Clamenceau believed that the responsibility for
the Great War is all Germans. - What kind of punishment did he want to give to
Germany? And what he achieve through his
agressive negotiations with David Lloyd Georges
and Woodrow Wilson? All this information is in
this room.
13Security of France
The most significant goal of Clemenceau was to
protect France from Germany and the future
conflicts with this country. The protection of
Great Britan and United Staces wasnt honest and
Clemenceau knew that the first future conflict
with Germany France would be left alone without
chance for deffence. By the Peace Treaty he
wanted to economicaly and militaraly harass
Germany.
French soldiers on the Wstern Front.
http//www.landships.freeservers.com/french_ww1uni
forms.htm
14Economical punishment for Germany
- Clemenceau believed that all the harshest ways
to punish Germany were allowed. The punishment
would have to be that powerful that the German
nation would never again rise to power. He
determinably wanted Germany pay for the
destruction of the war for all Allied nations,
especially for France, who suffered the biggest
losses durnig the war. Through negotiation of the
Peace Treaty Germany needed to pay the entire
cost of the war (6.6 bilion pounds-52 for
France) and also France and Belgium received
large amounts of German machinery, railway and a
never-ending supply of coal(8,1 milion tons per
annum for France).
- Georges Clemenceau of France had one very
simple belief - Germany should be brought to its
knees so that she could never start a war again.
He had seen the north-east corner of France
destroyed and he determined that Germany should
never be allowed to do this again. - Secondary source by David Robin Watson GEORGES
CLEMENCEAU- A Political Biography Eyrne Methuen,
p.32 -
15Demobilisation of Germany
The soruce presented the territories which
germany lost after WWI. One of the most
sifnificant goals for Clemenceau was to totaly
demobilise Germany, however, Treaty of Versallies
demobilised only Rhineland (dark green on the
map) and limited German army to 100,000 soldiers,
no tanks or heavy artillery, no air forces, no
U-boats. It was a big disappointment for
Clemenceau and France.
http//www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/versailles_map.jpg
16Mistakes of The Big Three?
- Hitler did not wage war because of the Teaty of
Vresailles, although he found its existence a
godsend for his poropaganda. Even if Germany had
been left with its old brothers, even if it had
been allowed whatever military force it wanted,
even if it had been premitted to join with
Austria, he would still have wanted more the
destruction of Poland, control of Czechoslovakia,
above all the conquest of the Soviet Union. He
would have demaned room for the German people to
expand and the destruction of their enemies,
whether Jews or Bolshevics. There was nothing in
the Treaty about that... Peacemakers of 1919 made
mistakes, of course... If they could have done
batter, they certainly could have done much
worse. They tried, even cynical old Clemenceau,
to built a better order. They could not forse the
future and they certainly could not control it.
When war came in 1939, it was the result of 20
years of decisions taken or not taken, not of the
argumants made in 1919. - (Secondary source by Macmillan, 2001, p.499-500)
Many historians disagree about the consequences
of the Treaty of Versailles. There is no right
answer for their arguments because no-one is able
to control the future. The three different views
of peace left history with the question Who was
right? Old Clemenceau who wanted to harass
Gremany, idealistic Wilson who wanted world peace
or Lloyd George who was between them wanted
Greman colonies but didnt care much about the
peace. The source explains some aspects of this
question.