Transcript The First World War

The Treaty of Versailles
• The peace conference produced 5 treaties for
Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
• The most important, the Treat of Versailles, was
the settlement with Germany.
•
•
•
•
•
The Rhineland
Alsace and Lorraine; the Saar
Poland
German Disarmament and Reparations
Signing of the Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles
• The Rhineland
• Clemenceau wanted Rhineland separated
from Germany in order to create a buffer
state along the Franco-German border.
• Wilson objected. Self-determination.
• Compromise was permanent
demilitarization of the Rhineland with
Allied occupation for 15 years.
The Treaty of Versailles
• Alsace and Lorraine; the Saar
• Provinces of Alsace and Lorraine restored to
France.
• Coal-rich region of the Saar in western Germany
placed under control of the League of Nations for
15 years.
• Coal product would be the absolute property of
the French. Compensation for destruction of
French coal mines.
• Plebiscite after 15 years.
– 1935, people of the Saar voted to return to German control.
The Treaty of Versailles
• Poland
• Newly recreated Poland
received a large piece of
eastern Germany. THIS IS
KEY!
• Polish Corridor was
created to give Poland
access to the Baltic Sea.
– Separated East Prussia
from the rest of Germany.
• Port city of Danzig, at head
of the Corridor, made a
free city. Largely German
in population.
The Treaty of Versailles
• German Disarmament and Reparations
• Disarmament clauses caused great resentment
among Germans.
• Army restricted to 100,000 men. Navy reduced to
status of a coastal defense force.
• No air force, no tanks, and no subs.
• Article 231 of the treaty became known as the
“war-guilt clause.”
– Required Germany and its allies to accept responsibility for
causing the war.
– Justification for requiring Germany to pay reparations.
The Treaty of Versailles
• Signing of the Treaty
• When drafting of the treaty was
completed, a German delegation was
summoned to Paris.
• 6/28/1919, the treaty was signed in the Hall
of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles.
The Mandate System
• Africa
• The Pacific
• The Middle East
The Mandate System
• Africa
• Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its
colonies in Africa and the Pacific.
• German African colonies assigned to GB, Union
of S. Africa, and France as mandates under
League of Nations supervision.
• Mandate system: protect indigenous populations
and prepare them for independence. Proved little
more than disguised annexation.
The Mandate System
• The Pacific
• German islands in the North Pacific
went to Japan as mandates.
• Australia and New Zealand acquired
German island colonies in the South
Pacific.
The Mandate System
• The Middle East
• 8/1920, the Treaty of Sevres deprived
Turkey of its Arab lands in the Middle
East.
• France acquired Syria and Lebanon
as mandates.
• GB mandates included Palestine,
Transjordan, and Iraq.
The League of Nations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wilson’s most important issue.
Peaceful means to resolve international disputes.
Configuration:
Assembly = reps of all League members.
Council = major powers as permanent members.
Secretariat = League’s administrative body.
Permanent Court of International Justice (“World
Court”).
• US Senate refused to ratify Treaty of Versailles,
and thus the U.S. did not join the League of
Nations.
Conflict Over Italy’s Claims
• Italy claimed former Austrian possessions
Trentino and Istria with its seaport of
Trieste.
• Istria largely Slovene, Trieste largely
Italian.
• Based on national self-determination,
Istria should have been assigned to the
new Yugoslavia.
• Italian claims for territory in Africa and
Asia Minor were not fulfilled.
Self-Determination in
Eastern Europe
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Austria and Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Yugoslavia
Rumania
The Baltic Countries
Poland
Bulgaria
Self-Determination in
Eastern Europe
• Austria and Hungary
• Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed.
• 9/1919, Treaty of Saint-Germain reduced
Austria to the status of a small GermanAustrian national state.
• 6/1920, Treaty of Trianon made Hungary a
national state for the Magyars.
Self-Determination in
Eastern Europe
• Czechoslovakia
• New country created entirely from territory
taken from Austria and Hungary.
• Awarded the province of the Sudetenland,
previously a part of Austria, but inhabited
mainly by German-speaking people. THIS
IS KEY!
Self-Determination in
Eastern Europe
• Yugoslavia
• In the south, Yugoslavia emerged as the national
state of the South Slavs.
• Joining the formerly independent states of Serbia
and Montenegro with territory lost by Austria and
Hungary.
• Rumania
• Treaty of Trianon awarded Rumania the province
of Transylvania, which had a large Hungarian
minority.
Self-Determination in
Eastern Europe
• The Baltic Countries
• Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania profited from
Russian weakness and won independence.
• Poland
• In addition to territory gained from Germany, Poland gained
Galicia from Austria.
• 1920, Poland waged a successful war with Russia, pushing
their frontiers eastward.
• Bulgaria
• Outlet to the Aegean Sea was awarded to Greece.
• Also lost territory to Yugoslavia.