The Terms: Territory
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 1.2.1
Territory
An easy way to remember the TOV is to use the term ‘TRAWL’. T is for Territory: the Germans had lots of land taken off them.
Colonies
- Germany's colonies in Africa were taken away and given to the League of Nations to control as ‘mandates’.
- In reality, the countries that controlled them were Great Britain and France.
The Rhineland
- The Rhineland - an area of land between France and Germany - was demilitarized.
- Demilitarization means that no troops or weapons would be allowed there.
- The reason for this was to create a 'buffer zone' as France feared another German invasion.
- This was an area that was on the border of Germany.
- This gave France security that Germany wouldn’t be strong enough militarily to attack them right on their border.
The Polish Corridor
- Germany was split as the Polish Corridor was given to Poland so that they could have access to sea trade.
- The ‘Polish Corridor’ was an extension of Poland’s territory that cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany.
- Poland's emergence was a direct consequence of the Treaty of Versailles.
New countries
- Eight new countries were created in the Treaty of Versailles using land that used to belong to Germany.
- Due to this, some countries had German-speaking people in them.
- This would later prove a motivation for Hitler to reunite all German-speaking people.
Territory
Germans had lots of land taken off them due to the Treaty of Versailles.
Confiscated land
- 13% of all German land was taken away including areas such as:
- Alsace Lorraine.
- Eupen.
- Malmedy.
Alsace Lorraine
- Alsace Lorraine was given to France as it had previously been owned by the country before Germany had taken it in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War.
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The Saar
- The Saar (Germany’s industrial area) was given to France to make sure that Germany would pay the reparations to France.
- If Germany did not pay their reparations, then the Saar would not be returned to them.
- It would be worth mentioning that the Saar was incredibly economically valuable for Germany as it contained rich coal fields.
- Then after 15 years, the people would be given the vote whether to return to Germany or not.
Anschluss
- Germany had united with Austria in an alliance during the First World War.
- One of the terms of the Treaty was that Germany wasn’t allowed to ever unite with Austria (Anschluss) again.
- The term Anschluss means unification with Austria.
German citizens
- After the creation of new countries and the removal of German land, a total of 6 million German people were no longer living on German soil.
- In total, 13% of all German land was taken away.
Test yourself on The Terms: Territory
What was the purpose of the Polish Corridor?