The Treaty Of Versailles:

The outcome, aims and implications of the decisions

The Paris Peace conference and the Treaty of Versailles0The Paris Peace Conference was a collection of

approximately 145 meetings between 32 nations over a 6 month period. Although many nations/delegates were present only “three” allied nations were powerful.

0From these conferences the League of Nations was formed; the Treaty of Versailles (TOV),St. Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Severes/Lausanne were all signed.

TOV Participants

Who Participated?

-The “big three” although there were four…poor ItaliaI. Georges Clemenceau (Premier of France)II. Woodrow Wilson (President of USA)III. David Lloyd GeorgeIV. Vittorio Orlando (Italia)

What about the losers?

0 Germany attended but was not permitted to vote. 0 In total 70 delegates from 32 nations participated in signing the

Treaty of Versailles.0 Central Powers: German Reich0 Allied Powers: France, British Empire, Italy, Japan, United States0 Others: Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Republic of China (1912–1949),

Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, the Kingdom of Hejaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Uruguay, Yugoslavia

0 As part of the British Empire: Australia, Canada, South Africa, India, New Zealand

Russia?

0Not included in the Paris Peace ‘Negotiations’ as they made a separate peace agreement with Germany in 1917. They were also unpopular with the allied nations because of their communist political views.

0They were also excluded from the League of nations as were the Germans.

The main points of the Treaty Of Versailles [BRAT]

0 On 28 June 1919, the victors met at the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, and two German delegates were called into the room and instructed to sign.

The first 26 Articles of the Treaty set out the Covenant of the League of Nations; the rest of the 440 Articles detailed Germany's punishment:

1. Germany had to accept the Blame for starting the war (Clause 231). This was vital because it provided the justification for...

2. Germany had to pay £6,600 million (called Reparations) for the damage done during the war.

3. Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force. She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was not allowed to place any troops in the Rhineland, the strip of land, 50 miles wide, next to France.

4. Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe. Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.

(Also, Germany was forbidden to join the League of Nations, or unite with Austria.)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

0Each nation in the Big Three had specific goals they wanted to see actualized.

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

Wilson’s Fourteen Points0 1. Open covenants of peace.0 2. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas.0 3. Removal all economic barriers. 0 4. Reduce armaments.0 5. An adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon

popular sovereignty.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points0 6. The evacuation of all Russian territory and settle all questions

affecting Russia.0 7. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and

restored. 0 8. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions

restored.0 9. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along

clearly recognizable lines of nationality.0 10. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, should be accorded the freest

opportunity to autonomous development.0 11. Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied

territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea.0 12. The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be

assured a secure sovereignty.0 13. An independent Polish state should be erected which should

include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points0 14. A general association of nations (League of Nations) must

be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

Woodrow Wilson

Wilson got: A.  A League of Nations, B.   Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe,     But he was disappointed with the Treaty: a.   Some of his ‘Fourteen Points’ did not get into the

Treaty, b.   When Wilson went back to America, the Senate

refused to join the League of Nations, and even refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles

A speech by Woodrow Wilson on the

League of Nations (25 September 1919).   “Do not think of this treaty of peace as merely a settlement

with Germany.   It is that.   It is a very severe settlement with Germany, but there is not anything in it that she did not earn.  Indeed, she earned more than she can ever be able to pay for, and the punishment exacted of her is not a punishment greater than she can bear, and it is absolutely necessary in order that no other nation may ever plot such a thing against humanity and civilization.   But the treaty is so much more than that.   It is not merely a settlement with Germany; it is a readjustment of those great injustices which underlie the whole structure of European and Asiatic society.”

Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929)

Georges Clemenceau

The chief goal of the French leader, Georges Clemenceau, was Security, to weaken Germany militarily, strategically, and economically.

In particular, Clemenceau sought an American and British guarantee of French security in the event of another German attack.

Clemenceau also expressed skepticism and frustration with Wilson's Fourteen Points.

Georges Clemenceau

Liked the harsh things that were in the Treaty: 1.   Reparations (would repair the damage to France), 2.   The tiny German army, and the demilitarized zone in

the Rhineland (would both protect France), 3.  France got Alsace-Lorraine, and German colonies.      But he was disappointed with the Treaty: a . He wanted higher reparations b.   He wanted the Treaty to be harsher c.   He wanted Germany to be split up into smaller countries.

Lloyd George (1863-1945)

Lloyd George

0 I. Traditional British Foreign Policy:a. The elimination of the German fleet as a threat to Great Britain.b. The end of the German empire as a potential source of conflictc. The defeat of German plans to establish control of Europe.d. A return to normal European relations and trade that would restore the British economy and act as bulwark against Bolshevism.

Lloyd George

0The second set of British aims:a. Sought a declaration of German war guiltb. Requirement for Germany to pay extensive

reparations.

Lloyd George the Arbitrator between The idealist and the

Tiger0Lloyd George saved the conference. On 25 March 1919, he issued the Fontainebleau Memorandum, and persuaded Clemençeau to agree to the League of Nations and a more lenient peace treaty that would not destroy Germany. Then he went to Wilson and persuaded him to agree to the War Guilt Clause.

0The Germans were shown the proposed Treaty of Versailles. There was no negotiation

Lloyd George0 FONTAINEBLEAU MEMORANDUM0 EXTRACT, 25 MARCH 1919 0 “An essential element in the peace settlement is the constitution of the League of Nations as the effective guardian of international right

and international liberty throughout the world. If this is to happen, the first thing to do is that the leading members of the League of Nations should arrive at an understanding between themselves in regard to armaments. To my mind it is idle to endeavor to impose a permanent limitation of armaments upon Germany unless we are prepared similarly to impose a limitation upon ourselves. I recognize that until Germany has settled down and given practical proof that she has abandoned her imperialist ambitions, and until Russia has also given proof that she does not intend to embark upon a military crusade against her neighbors, it is essential that the leading members of the League of Nations should maintain considerable forces both by land and sea in order to preserve liberty in the world. But if they are to present a united front to the forces both of reaction and revolution, they must arrive at such an agreement in regard to armaments among themselves as would make it impossible for suspicion to arise between the members of the League of Nations in regard to their intentions towards one another. If the League is to do its work for the world it will only be because the members of the League trust it themselves and because there are no rivalries and jealousies in the matter of armaments between them. The first condition of success for the League of Nations is, therefore, a firm understanding between the British Empire and the United States of America and France and Italy that there will be no competitive building up of fleets or armies between them. Unless this is arrived at before the Covenant is signed, the League of Nations will be a sham and a mockery. It will be regarded, and rightly regarded, as proof that its principal promoters and patrons repose no confidence in its efficacy. But once the leading members of the League have made it clear that they have reached an understanding which will both secure to the League of Nations the strength which is necessary to enable it to protect its members and which at the same time will make misunderstanding and suspicion with regard to competitive armaments impossible between them, its future and its authority will be ensured. It will then be able to ensure as an essential condition of peace that not only Germany, but all the smaller States of Europe undertake to limit their armaments and abolish conscription. If the small nations are permitted to organize and maintain conscript armies running each to hundreds of thousands, boundary wars will be inevitable and all Europe will be drawn in. Unless we secure this universal limitation we shall achieve neither lasting peace, nor the permanent observance of the limitation of German armaments which we now seek to impose.”

British reactions..( Keynes)

The Treaty includes no provisions for the economic rehabilitation of Europe - nothing to make the defeated Central Empires into good neighbors, nothing to stabilize the new States of Europe, nothing to reclaim Russia...   The Council of Four paid no attention to these issues, being preoccupied with others - Clemenceau to crush the economic life of his enemy, Lloyd George to bring home something that would pass muster for a week, the President to do nothing that was not just and right....

JM Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919) Keynes's book had a massive effect on the educated people of Britain   It

created the belief that Germany had been badly treated, and this in turn led to British preparedness to 'appease' Hitler in the 1930s.   

Harold Macmillan, the future Prime Minister, did not agree with Keynes's argument, but claimed instead  that 'the legend of the unfair peace did infinite harm in both Germany and Britain'

Vittorio Orlando(1860-1952)

Vittorio Orlando

Vittorio Orlando was sent as the Italian representative with the aim of gaining as much territory as possible.

The loss of 700,000 Italians and a budget deficit of 12,000,000,000 Lire during the war made the Italian government and people feel entitled to territories.

Dissatisfied as territorial aspirations were not met.

Dalmatia

Trieste tyrol

Extracts from the Treaty of London, 26 April 1915

Article 4 Under the Treaty of Peace, Italy shall obtain the Trentino, Cisalpine

Tyrol with its geographical and natural frontier, as well as Trieste, the counties of Gorizia and Gradisca, all Istria as far as the Quarnero and including Volosca and the Istrian islands of Cherso and Lussin, as well as the small islands of Plavnik, Unie, Canidole, Palazzuoli, San Pietro di Nembi, Asinello, Gruica, and the neighbouring islets...

Article 5 Italy shall also be given the province of Dalmatia within its present

administrative boundaries... Article 6 Italy shall receive full sovereignty over Valona, the island of Saseno

and surrounding territory...

Extracts from the Treaty of London, 26 April 1915

Article 7 Should Italy obtain the Trentino and Istria in accordance with the

provisions of Article 4, together with Dalmatia and the Adriatic islands within the limits specified in Article 5, and the Bay of Valona (Article 6), and if the central portion of Albania is reserved for the establishment of a small autonomous neutralized State, Italy shall not oppose the division of Northern and Southern Albania between Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece...

Article 8 Italy shall receive entire sovereignty over the Dodecanese Islands which

she is at present occupying. Article 9 Generally speaking, France, Great Britain, and Russia recognize that,... in the

event of total or partial partition of Turkey in Asia, she ought to obtain a just share of the Mediterranean region adjacent to the province of Adalia...

Dissatisfied Italy..

0Ultimately Italy was granted Trentino, Trieste, (the German-speaking) South Tyrol, and Istria. 

0 But Dalmatia was excluded and Fiume too. didn't get any colonial territories in Africa or Asia or any claim on Albania. 

0 Nationalists consequently argued that Italy had been robbed of its rightful gains.

So…What passes?

0 The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919. Although the armistice signed on 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty.

0 Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing the war (later known as the War Guilt clauses), to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay reparations to the Entente powers. The total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks ($31.5 billion, £6,600 million) in 1921.

Treaty of Versailles

0Article 227 charges former German Emperor, Wilhelm II with supreme offence against international morality. He is to be tried as a war criminal.0The Rhineland will become a

demilitarized administered by Great Britain and France jointly.0German armed forces will number no

more than 100,000 troops, and conscription will be abolished.

Treaty of Versailles

0German naval forces will be limited to 15,000 men, 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. No submarines are to be included.

0The manufacture, import, and export of weapons and poison gas is prohibited.

0Armed aircraft, tanks and armored cars are prohibited.

0Blockades on ships are prohibited.0Restrictions on the manufacture of machine guns and

rifles.

Treaty of Saint Germain

0 The Treaty of Saint Germain, was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies and by the new Republic of Austria. It was not ratified by the United States.

0 The treaty declared that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was to be dissolved. The new Republic of Austria, consisting of most of the German-speaking Alpine part of the former Austrian Empire, recognized the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the State of Slovenes, Croatians and Serbs. The treaty included war reparations of large sums of money, directed towards the allies, to pay for the costs of the war.

Treaty of Trianon

0 The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary. The treaty established the borders of Hungary. Hungary lost over 72% of the territory it had previously controlled, which left 64% of the inhabitants, including 3.3 out of 10.7 million (31%) ethnic Hungarians, living outside Hungary.

0 In addition, the newly established nation of Hungary had to pay war reparations to its neighbors.

Treaty of Neuilly

0 The Treaty of Neuilly, dealing with Bulgaria for its role as one of the Central powers in World War I, was signed on Nov. 27, 1919 at Neuilly, France.

0 The treaty required Bulgaria to cede Western Thrace to Greece, thereby cutting off its direct outlet to the Aegean Sea. The treaty also forced Bulgaria to return Southern Doubria, which had been captured during the war.

0 Bulgaria was also required to reduce its army to 20,000 men, pay reparations exceeding $400 million, and recognize the existence of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Treaty of Sevres

0The Treaty of Sèvres (10 August 1920) was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allied at the end of World War I. The treaty nullified the territorial gains of the empire during the war.

Issues…So Many issues!

0 None of the defeated countries or Russia attended the Versailles Conference or took part in the discussions. All major decisions made by USA, France, UK and Italy.

0 The treaties were the result of compromises in the aims of the major powers; these aims were often very contradictory and hostile, which led to difficult decisions and imperfect documents.

0 The often stated terms of the Treaty of Versailles was that they were not soft enough to allow for reconciliation with Germany but not harsh enough to cripple German power. This meant that when Germany recovered its strength, it would use this power to revise the Treaty, perhaps through another major conflict.

Issues…

0Problems:Revolutionary condition of EuropeRussian Civil WarDiverging Allied aimsCompeting NationalismDesire for revengeHunger, disease, economic chaosAllied lack of military strength as a result of demobilization

Principles

Independence for subject nationsInternational rule of law through the League of NationsDisarmament and reparations from defeated powersDeterminations to prove German war guilt Selective application of the 14 points.

Research and dramatic Performance

0 The Class will be divided into the following groups:Germany, Italy, Russia, USA, France, Japan and UK

Your group is responsible for researching the sentiments/reactions to the terms of the Paris Peace Conference.You are then responsible for creating a 3-5 min presentation which highlights the voices of your compatriots. Have fun be highlight historical figures/institutions significant in shaping the response to the terms of the agreement.Pages 26-31 might be a good place to start.