The Paris Peace Conference

Created by E. Tolman 2010Revised by C. Cullen 2013

Results of World War 1- With the end of World War 1 , the German, Russian,

Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman (Turkish) empires ceased to exist

- 9 million people were dead, 21 million wounded, and 7

million were POW’s or missing

- The Paris Peace Conference ran from January 18, 1919 until January 20, 1920 and would determine the fate of the losing powers

- This conference was a gathering only of victors; defeated powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) were not allowed representation at the conference. Although Russia had fought on the wining side, they also did not attend the conference as the country had plunged into civil war after the Russian Revolution and the rise to power of the communists under Lenin

The Key Players at Paris

Leaders George Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of Britain, Woodrow Wilson of the USA and Vittorio Orlando of Italy

- Clemenceau’s goal was to crush Germany to ensure France’s future safety. He wanted to see Germany harshly punished for its aggression.

-Clemenceau had fought in Franco-Prussian War as a young man and had bitter feelings towards Germany. - “My life hatred has been for Germany because of what she has done to France.”

- France lost a greater percentage of its population that any other country in World War 1 and had seen its factories and farmland destroyed along the German border

-Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay $220 billion in war reparations (damages)

-his prime concern at the conference was to ensure that Germany remained weak by taking away land, weaken their main industries and reduce their armed forces

Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929)

Clemenceau continued

His nickname was the “Tiger”

- He had little patience with Wilson’s 14 points: “What ignorance of Europe… God himself was content with ten commandments.” (p.33)

David Lloyd George (1863-1945) British prime minister David Lloyd George was more

moderate than Clemenceau However, he had just been re-elected to office after his

party had promised to hang the Kaiser and “squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeaked” so supported Germany paying fairly

large reparations (but not as high as Clemenceau wanted)

He was more concerned with post war stability than revenge

Lloyd George and the British also wanted to reduce Germany’s naval power

He hoped to strip Germany of her colonies and restore Britain as the world’s leading naval and imperial power

He wanted to avoid humiliating Germans so they would not seek revenge

Lloyd George wanted to see Germany defeated but not destroyed because he saw Germany as a buffer against Russia becoming too strong

He wanted Germany’s economy to rebuild to remain a trade partner with Britain and also to keep the Germans from turning to communism

Britain wanted to keep Germany’s naval fleet (which it did)

George also wanted to prevent France from becoming too strong.

George wanted financial compensation: “Somebody had to pay. If Germany could not pay, it meant the British taxpayer had to pay.”

Woodrow Wilson 1856-1924 American President from 1912 until 1919

he remained a strict isolationist and was re-elected in 1916 with an election slogan that read “He Kept us Out of War”

German submarine attacks on American ships and the discovery of the Zimmerman Telegram (a secret telegram sent from the Germans to the Mexican government which encouraged Mexico to declare war on the United States) forced him to enter the war on April 6, 1917

Wilson’s idealism was desperately out of touch with the European Great Power system

Wilson claimed that the USA was the only country that was not seeking land, war tribute, or revenge and that the US wanted to live up to the great American traditions of justice and generosity

His main goal was to create a League of Nations that would ensure collective security and he hoped to base the Treaty of Versailles on his “Fourteen Points”

He was also very interested in self-determination, whereby people should have the choice to determine their country of nationality rather than having it imposed by outside forces

Some people considered him impractical and overly idealistic: Clemenceau said that talking to Wilson “is something like talking to Jesus Christ” (p. 19 Paris 1919)

Wilson suffered a massive stroke after the Paris conference and was never healthy again. The US Congress was in favour of the USA returning to its isolationist position so the Americans did not join the League of Nations but Wilson was still awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Woodrow Wilson continued

Wilson’s Fourteen Points 1. The renunciation of secret diplomacy (open covenants openly arrived at)

2. Freedom of the seas

3. Removal, where possible, of economic barriers

4. Reduction in armaments

5. Adjustment of colonial claims

6. Germany to evacuate Russian territory

7. Restoration of Belgium

8. Liberation of France and the return to France of Alsace-Lorraine

9. Italian frontiers adjusted along clearly recognizable lines of nationality

10. People in Austria-Hungary to have autonomy / self-determination

11. Occupation forces to evacuate the Balkans

12. Free development of non-Turkish peoples within Ottoman empire

13. Creation of an independent Poland with free access to the sea

14. The formation of a general association of nations to guarantee the political independence of all states

Vittorio Orlando (1860-1952) Italian Prime minister at Paris

Orlando argued that Italy was entitled to land from Austria-Hungary as agreed upon at the secret Treaty of London in 1915, but Wilso n rejected this claim as it conflicted with his ideals of national self-determination

Britain and France also thought that Italy had not contributed much to the Allied victory and had fought poorly

- Orlando temporarily left the conference in frustration but eventually returned. Italy was awarded the German-speaking of Austria known as South Tyrol, but the Italians were still angry that they didn’t all get the land to which they thought they were entitled and Orlando did not personally sign the treaty.

- Orlando’s lack of gains at Paris influenced his resignation on June 20 1919 and Italian resentment over the treaty helped pave the way for Mussolini to come to power in 1922.

Bismarck: “Italy’s appetite is invariably bigger than its teeth”

(page 293: Paris 1919)

Orlando continued

-Germans assumed that Wilsons’s 14 points would be basis of treaty

-Were expecting to be treated fairly: to pay minor reparations and to join League of Nations

- Wanted German speaking regions of West Prussia and the Sudetenland to be able to vote to determine which country theywanted to join (this didn’t happen)

-Germans were very upset about the signing of the treaty and their fragile new Weimar government held out until the last possible minute (flags flew at half mast as the country mourned the disgraceful peace terms)

-Kaiser Wilhelm continued to live in the Netherlands until his death in 1941

Germany’s Position

More Big Three Photos

Treaty of Versailles Conditions Germany had to surrender all its overseas colonies

the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France and parts of West Prussia and Upper Silesia given to the new country of Poland

occupation of the Saar under League of Nations control

demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland

payment of war reparations ( 6600 million pounds)

a ban on any union between Austria and Germany (the Anchluss)

Germany was not allowed to have any tanks, submarines or military aircraft and the navy was to be limited to 6 battleships

limitation of Germany’s army to 100, 000 men with no conscription

Article 231: The War Guilt Clause

ARTICLE 231.

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 ofGermany and her allies.

The War Guilt Clause was perhaps the most hated aspect of the entire Treaty of Versailles for many Germans, as they feltit was unfair that Germany accept full blame for starting WW1.

German Territorial Losses from the T of Versailles

The Other Treaties

this conference determined the settlements embodied in the Treaties of Versailles (Germany), St. Germain (Austria), Neuilly (Bulgaria), Trianon (Hungary), and Sevres (Turkey)

The Treaty of Versailles received the most notoriety

Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors, where, in 1871, the German Empire had been proclaimed after France lost the Franco-Prussian War

The Treaty of St. Germain harshly punished Austria and created the new countries of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria lost huge tracts of land, including much of its industrial region, had to pay reparations, and was forbidden to join with Germany.

The Treaty of Trianon stated that Hungary would have to pay reparations and limit its army to 35,000 men. It gave up large tracts of land to Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Italy, includingmost of its best farmland. Hungary’s population was reduced from 21 million to 7 million.

Turkey also received harsh treatment through the Treaty of Sevres. It lost most of its land in Europe to Greece, and many of its Middle Eastern territories were seized and given as mandates to Britain and France. European troops were also sent to occupy Turkey, a source of great anger amongst the Turkish people.