Explain to students that World War I was known to be the most destructive war the world had seen. It ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1918.

Share this image by Facing History and Ourselves with your students. What can you gather from this picture?

Direct students to the resource ‘Treaty of Versailles: The War Guilt Clause’ by Facing History and Ourselves.

Explain to the class that in addition to taking full responsibility for the war, Germany would have to pay heavy reparations, had considerable territory losses, and was required to dramatically reduce their military.

As a class, discuss the following questions:

1. What is the significance of Germany taking the responsibility for starting World War I?
2. How do you think the resentment in signing the War Guilt Clause played into the rise of Nazism?

Open up the lesson with this simple activity: Imagine you have to split one pizza among four people. One person is gluten free, one is a vegetarian, one is allergic to olives, and the other LOVES meat. How do you compromise? What kind of pizza can you order that everyone could agree to?

You may want to draw a pizza on the board and have students raise their hands with options for crust and toppings.

Explain to the class that they will be divided into three groups in order to simulate the negotiations for the Paris Peace Conference. This document will provide the three groups with the information they will need in order to speak on behalf of either France, Britain, or the United States.

Divide the class into three groups and assign them to be France, Britain, or the US. Ask the students to read the materials for their country to understand where they stand in the negotiations.

The worksheets that will be used below can be found on the Treaty of Versailles Simulation resource.

Provide students with the Options for Negotiation (page 4) so they are able to see what their options are during the negotiations.

It would be beneficial if you can arrange the classroom in a manner that would allow the three groups to converse openly during the negotiations, such as forming a giant circle with all chairs facing towards the center.

As the teacher you will be the one facilitating the negotiations. Using the Options for Negotiation (page 4), ask the first question to the class as a point for negotiation. You may not have time to go over every question so read them through and pick out which ones you find the most suited for your class. Provide students with the Negotiation Worksheet (page 5) to record the terms of agreement they were able to come up with.

Explain to students that they are going to be watching a video that will help explain the Treaty of Versailles, which brought an end to World War I and set the terms for the interwar period. Since Germany started WWI, do they suppose the Treaty was kind to them or unkind?

Watch YouTube videos, The Treaty of Versailles, What Did the Big Three Want? 1/2 and The Treaty of Versailles, Terms of the Treaty 2/2 from Simple History.

While the students are watching, have them take note of some things that stood out to them. Were they aware that Germany did not have a seat at the negotiation table?

Divide the class into groups of four. Have them discuss their first reactions to the contents of the video amongst themselves. Give 5 minutes for them to address their first impressions and questions that they have about the video. Ask them thereafter to share these thoughts with the large group and ask their questions to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Then review the discussion questions as a class.

1. Did you think the reparations decided in the Treaty of Versailles were fair?
2. What are the consequences of imposing such harsh punishments on Germany?
3. Would it have been more constructive to focus on how to settle international disputes during this conference?
4. What do you think the long-term consequences and challenges ahead for Germany might be?

Ask each group to return to discussion and address these questions. Give 10 minutes for discussion and then ask each group to respond to one question in an effort to kick off broader conversations about each.

Talk with students briefly about the ending of World War I, how it ended soon after the U.S. got involved. Explain how the major powers came together at the Paris Peace Conference in order to negotiate a settlement and reparations. Note that there was no seat at the table for Germany, but for all of the main countries who fought against Germany during WWI. If possible, remind students about what the major players wanted to come out of the treaty–land, money, security.

Ask the students to read the first paragraph on the first page of the US Army resource to get their bearings for the task at hand. Then ask students to examine closely the documents on page 2 and 3.

Prompt students that all the text, captions, and images are of great value to understanding the effect of the treaty on the German state.

Ask students to take notes on the geographic and population losses of both Germany and Austria. What trend do they notice? How might this make the country and its people feel? Give students 15 minutes for this exercise.

Ask students to pair up with one another and share what they discovered through their examination of these documents. What did they find to be the most interesting element? What was the most confusing?

Have small groups share with the class, teasing out their confusion and helping them understand more clearly what the treaty meant. Give 10 minutes for the pairing and sharing.

Then, ask them to examine the document on page 5. Ask in an open discussion, what do they notice here? Is the reaction what they might have expected?

Finally, have the students reflect on one or all of the following questions in writing:

1. What is a fair resolution to war? Is that even possible?
2. Given the terms of the treaty, were the Allies seeking fairness or gain? Do the protesters in Berlin have any legitimacy, in your opinion?
3. Can you imagine a more fair resolution? What would that look like?