Transcript Paris Peace Conferencex

Aims of the Peacemakers
Paris Peace Conference
January-June 1919
A Sudden End
• When the Central Powers
collapsed, it came suddenly.
• The Allies had no clear plans
for the aftermath
• No formal talks came before
the war’s end.
• The victorious powers
decided to meet in Paris, to
decide the future of the
world.
The Personalities - Wilson
• Wilson’s Advantages
– America was powerful and
suffered least from the war
– Wilson was seen by
Europeans as the “prophet of
a new world.”
– America had the economic
leverage over the British and
French.
The Personalities - Wilson
• Wilson’s Disadvantages
– Slow and stiff
– Restricted by his ideology and
his commitment to
Internationalism and SelfDetermination
– Little experience in
international negotiations
– Began with political support at
home, but by the end of the
Conference, lost support of
Congress
United States Aims
Lasting World Peace
• Expansion of Serbia
• End of secret treaties
• Colonial issues solved
with their inhabitants
• Russian independence
restored & new
government recognized
• Ottoman Empire made
into nation states
• Free trade between
nations
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Disarmament
Belgium restored
Poland to be created
Italy expanded to Italianspeaking areas in Europe
Nation state to come
from Austria-Hungary
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Freedom of the seas
League of Nations
The Personalities – Lloyd-George
• David Lloyd-George, British Prime
Minister
• A fiery orator and brilliant thinker
• His nick-name was “the Goat”
because he seemed able to leap
from one precarious position to
another without ever losing his
balance.
• His chief interest lay in protecting
British trade and trade routes
• He was inclined to support Wilson
Aims of Great Britain
• Naval supremacy
• Colonial expansion at the expense of German
and Ottoman Empires
• Reparations by Germany
• Germany to be encouraged to recover
economically
– To stop the spread of communism
– Britain needed world trade to return to help Britain
recover economically
The Personalities - Clemenceau
• Georges Clemenceau - France
• Often known by his nick-name –
“The Tiger” – he was old but
determined.
• He believed that France needed
revenge against Germany.
• France had suffered mightily in
the Great War and that
recovery would be long and
expensive.
• Germany must be made to pay.
Aims of France
• Military considerations
– German military to be limited as much as possible
– Britain & America to sign military alliance with France
• Territorial aims
– Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
– Poland to be created from Russian & German lands
– Rhineland buffer state to be created between France
and Germany
– French colonies to be created from Ottoman Empire
Aims of France
• Reparations
– To pay for war damage
– To pay for war expenses
– To punish Germany for causing the war
The Personalities - Orlando
• Vittorio Orlando - Italian Prime
Minister.
• Clemenceau dubbed Orlando
“the weeper.”
• He negotiated from weakness
as his political support at home
evaporated.
• Orlando was forced from office
before the Treaties were signed.
Aims of Italy
• Expanded Italian state at expense of AustriaHungary
• Colonies in former Ottoman Empire and
Aegean Islands
• Reparations from Austria-Hungary
• Protector of Albania
The Personalities - Others
• Each winning nation
sent delegations to
Paris, including many
small nations.
• They had little influence
in negotiations, but
some had significant
ability to disrupt any
future agreements.
The Personalities - Others
• Non-white
leaders also
attended the
conference.
• However, only
the Japanese
had some
influence.
Not Present at the Conference
Friedrich Ebert
Lenin
• Most significant was the absence of delegates
from defeated powers.
• Neither Germany nor Russia was invited
German Hopes
• Avoid being blamed for the war
• Keep reparations at a minimum
• Retain terms of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as much
as possible
• Preserve borders and structure of state as much
as possible
• To help at the Peace Conference, Germany
formed a republic and exiled the Kaiser
Problems
• The chief problem at the
start of the conference
was the lack of an
agenda.
• What should be dealt
with first?
• No two countries had
the same priorities.
A League of Nations?
• Wilson was fixated on the
idea of forming a League
of Nations.
• Clemenceau and Lloyd
George used this to
manipulate him.
• They accepted the
principle and horsetraded for items they
wanted.
Terms of the Treaties
Paris Peace Conference
January-June 1919
Treaty of St. Germain
• Treaty between Austria and Allied Powers
• Unification with Germany forbidden
• Name changed to Republic of Austria
• Austria had to accept responsibility as part of
Austria-Hungary for dragging the rest of the world
into war
• Reparation amount to be determined in the future
Treaty of St. Germain
• Disarmament
– 30,000 man army with no conscription, no air force,
No navy
• Territorial Losses
– Bukovina to Romania
– Galicia to Poland
– Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia to
Yugoslavia
– Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia
– South Tyrol, Istrain peninsula, port of Trieste and
Adriatic Islands to Italy
Treaty of Neuilly
• Treaty between Bulgaria and the Allied Powers
• Bulgaria had to admit it caused much loss of
life and damages to the Allies, but it did not
have to agree it was responsible for the war
• Reparations
– 2.25 billion gold francs to be paid over 37 years
Treaty of Neuilly
• Disarmament
– 20,000 man army, no conscription, no air force, 4
torpedo and 6 motor boats, no submarines,
33,000 rifles for entire country
• Territorial Losses
– 2500 square km of lands on border granted to
Yugoslavia
– Southern Dobruja returned to Romania
– Lost Western Thrace to Greece (lost access to
Aegean Sea)
Treaty of Trianon
• Treaty between Hungary and the Allied Powers
• Hungary had to agree it was responsible for
starting the war
• Reparations to be paid
– 200 million gold crowns
Treaty of Trianon
• Disarmament
– 35,000 man army, no conscription, no navy, no air
force, no tanks, no flamethrowers, no poison gas
– All ships to be turned over to Allies
• Territorial Losses (72% of land & 64% of population)
– Transylvania to Romania
– Croatia and Slavonia to Yugoslavia
– Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia
– Small areas of western Hungary to Austria
Treaty of Sèvres
• Treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies
• Ottoman Empire had to admit it joined the war and
supported Germany and Austria-Hungary
• Acknowledged that Ottoman Empire collapsed and
Turkey emerged
• No reparations required, but Turkey’s finances,
currency and banking would be under Allied control
• Disarmament
– 50,000 man army, no air force, no tanks, navy of 7 sloops
and 6 torpedo boats, no torpedoes, no submarines, no
fortifications in the straits
Treaty of Sèvres
• Territorial Losses
– Constantinople and straits to be Turkish but under
international control
– Izmir region to be under Greek control
– Small Turkish homeland to be created in north central Asia
Minor
– Armenia to be created in most of eastern Asia Minor
– Kurdish state to be created in SE Asia Minor
– Kingdom of Hegaz proclaimed on Arabian Peninsula
– SW and South Central Asia Minor plus islands to Italy
– Palestine to the homeland for Zionists under British
supervision
– Trans-Jordan, Iraq and other areas under British supervision
– Central Asia Minor, Lebanon, Syria and access to Mosul oil
fields under French supervision
Treaty of Versailles - Germany
• Of course the most important
treaty was the one dealing with
Germany.
• Some of this was easily sorted,
but much was not.
• The issues of war-guilt and of
reparations were crucial.
• Article 231 – “The War Guilt
Clause,” was sure to enrage
Germany.
• However, it was needed in order
to justify reparation payments.
Treaty of Versailles
• Treaty between Germany and the Allied Powers
• Created the League of Nations
• Blamed Germany for the war and required
reparations
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USA wanted Germany to pay $22 billion
Great Britain wanted Germany to pay $120 billion
France wanted Germany to pay $220 billion
In April 1921 the Reparation Commission fixed the total
reparations at 133 billion gold marks to be paid over 42
years (33 billion USD)
Treaty of Versailles
• Military Limitations
– Army reduced to 100,000 men
– no conscription
– Navy reduced to 15,000 men
– 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, no planes, no tanks, no
heavy artillery, no submarines, no torpedoes
– Removal of all sea mines and most coastal
fortifications
– Rhineland demilitarized
Treaty of Versailles
• Territorial Losses
– Alsace-Lorraine to France, small territories to Belgium,
North Schleswig to Denmark
– Saar under international supervision with products
going to France
– Rhineland occupied by French troops
– Loss of sea ports (Danzig & Memel)
– Loss of most of west Prussia
– Unification with Austria forbidden
– Treaty of Brest-Litvosk repudiated (no benefit of victory
over Russia)
– Loss of all overseas colonies
Europe 1914
Europe 1919
Problems of the Peace
• There was a clear perception
in Germany, and to a lesser
extent in Britain, that the
Treaty of Versailles was
unjust.
• Despite the principle of selfdetermination being
implemented, many national
minorities were outside their
own nation states.
• German minorities, in
particular, would pose future
problems.
Problems of the Peace
• Austria and Hungary were both
too small to function as viable
economic units.
• Some promises, like the Allied
commitment to disarmament,
would not be properly honored.
• Only cooperation could ensure
that the treaties were enforced,
but even as the conference
ended, it was clear that this
cooperation would not happen.
Problems of the Peace
• Wilson returned to the USA a sick man. He
soon suffered a stroke on September 29.
• Wilson refused to accept Congress’ wish to
modify the treaties. He failed to secure 2/3
support, needed to ratify the treaties.
• The USA signed a separate treaty with
Germany in 1921.
• The USA did not join the League of Nations.
• Collective security was undermined and no
new balance of power emerged from the
treaties.
On a More Positive Note
• The principle of selfdetermination was adhered
to as much as possible.
• Everything possible was
done to encourage
nationalism and democracy.
• It was actually less harsh
than the treaty Germany
imposed on Russia in 1918.
Interpretations of the Treaties Liberals
• The treaties were a violation
of Wilson’s 14 Points.
• Had LG and Clemenceau
cooperated with Wilson, a
lasting peace might have
been achieved.
• The USA might have signed
the treaties.
Interpretations of the Treaties Conservatives
• Wilson was a foolish idealist.
• He did not grasp the need to reduce German power
until restraints were strong enough to check a German
revival.
• He misunderstood the German mind in thinking that
the defeated nation would renounce revenge.
• Victory was thrown aside at Paris.
• Democracy would never guarantee peace.
• Wilson’s demand for national self-determination led to
a Balkanization of Europe.
• Britain’s commitment to Europe was a dangerous and
unnecessary move that threatened Imperial security.
Interpretations of the Treaties Marxists
• Versailles and the other treaties were
the inevitable result of capitalist
imperialism.
• The liberal “open door” policy argued
for by the Americans was nothing but
a US plot to gain economic world
domination.
• The League of Nations was just a
mechanism to guarantee the peace
needed for US economic penetration
abroad.
• The chief aim of the peace was to
contain communism and prevent it
spreading
Conclusion
• Regardless of interpretation,
the treaties that emerged from
Paris did establish the
framework for the next decade
and beyond.
• Europe would either have to
make it work or come up with
an alternative system.
• Unfortunately America would
generally not be a part of the
security arrangements that
emerged.