WORLD WAR ONE Effects

THE PEACE OF PARIS Negotiations to end WWI were held at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris. The Council of Four dominated the negotiations Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau (France): sought security for France President Wilson (USA): sought to create a new, peaceful world order Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain): mediated between the Clemenceau and Wilson. Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando (Italy): didn’t do much at all.

The main goals of the Council of Four were: To destroy German militarism To restore stability in states where established regimes had disappeared To redraw the map of Europe, satisfying the aspirations of various nationalist movements; To create a new world order in which such a general war as WWI could not happen again.

Separate peace treaties were concluded for each of the defeated Central Powers: Treaty of Versailles (Germany) Treaty of St-Germain (Austria) Treaty of Trianon (Hungary) Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria) Treaty of Sevres (Turkey)

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES German Territorial Losses: Alsace-Lorraine (France) Eupen & Malmedy (Belgium) N. Schleswig (Denmark) Posen, W. Prussia (“the Polish Corridor”), part of Silesia (Poland) Danzig becomes “Free City” Memel (Lithuania) Saar

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES The Saar (aka the Saarland) would be controlled by the League of Nations for 15 years, after which a plebiscite (vote) would be held for its citizens to decide on reunification with Germany. The Saar was a major producer of coal, and the League of Nations would receive the coal produced there during their 15-year occupation. For the first 5 years, all coal from the Saar would go to France. Danzig a Baltic port city in W. Prussia, became a “Free City” under control of the League of Nations.

Allied armies of occupation were placed west of the Rhine and East of the Rhine at three bridgeheads: Cologne, Coblenz, and Mainz. All overseas German territories were to go to the League of Nations, which gave mandates to Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan to administer them. Germany lost its concessions and trading rights in China, Egypt, and other overseas markets. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria, which was now entirely German in population.

Military Restrictions were imposed on Germany: A demilitarized area (no troops, fortifications) was established 30 miles east of the Rhine. The German General Staff was abolished. The Imperial German Army was limited to 100,000 men. The German High Seas Fleet was to be handed over to the Allies. Germany was forbidden from producing or maintaining submarines, heavy artillery, chemical weapons (gas), tanks, or military aircraft. The fortifications of Heligoland were to be demolished.

The “ War Guilt Clause” Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles reads: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." Officially, this clause was included as a legal justification for imposing reparations on Germany- the Germans had to accept blame for the deaths of Allied soldiers and the economic costs incurred by Allied nations during the course of the war (you break it, you buy it) Article 231 DID NOT assign blame for causing the war, just blame for the damages Allies suffered during the war. Thanks to misleading rhetoric by German nationalists, however, Germans interpreted it as an admission of guilt for starting WWI, and were humiliated.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had ended WWI on the Eastern Front, was nullified, and Germans were ordered to withdraw from the Baltic provinces.

AFTERMATH OF VERSAILLES The Americans and French disagreed on the sum Germany should pay. The Americans, who had suffered minimal losses, and who ended the war with greater wealth than before, thought the Germans should pay a smaller sum. The French, who: Had ended the war in debt Had suffered considerable destruction and dislocation by the German invasion; Had suffered considerable losses of life; And who considered hindering and slowing down the German recovery to be in France’s interest, considered a high sum appropriate. In a compromise solution, Germany had to pay only for losses to civilians and their property. In May 1921 the reparations were fixed at 132,000,000,000 gold marks.