World War One – Peace Treaties

General:

• Paris Peace Conference 1919
• Victors only – vanquished not invited – “Big Four” Wilson (USA), Lloyd George (Britain), Clemenceau (France), Orlando (Italy).
• Had to work out an agreement with a background of social, economic, and political chaos.
• Fundamental problem: Find the “middle ground” between national security and international idealism
• However: Clamenceau was harsh, vindictive – Britain middle – USA had faith in mankind

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

• German army – no conscription 100,000 man limit
• Saar coal mining area controlled by France
• German coal to France, Belgium, Italy for 10 years
• German naval fleet to be surrendered to Britain and restricted in size (the Germans surrendered the fleet by sinking in at Scapa Flow Scotland).
• Germany surrendered all colonies, which would welcome Mandates
• Alsace and Lorraine restored to France (had been taken by Germany, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1878)
• Poland created with territory from West Prussia. Polish Corridor – Danzig – Baltic (created Germany and East Prussia).
• Allies occupy the west bank of the Rhine to French border for 15 years (would become a demilitarized zone)
• Germany must pay reparations (money and/or goods) to the Allies
• Clause 231 – Germany must admit full responsibility or guilt for the war (would be called the war guilt clause).
• The league of Nations would be formed from Wilson’s 14 points

The Treaties of Saint-Germain and Trianon (1919 –1920)

• Dealt with Austria and Hungary
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist. Austria and Hungary became separate and independent states. Much of their land was given to the new nations of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia, as well as to Romania and Italy
• Both countries had to reduce their armaments and pay reparations

Treaty of Neuilly (1919)

• Dealt with Bulgaria
• Bulgarian land was given to Greece and Yugoslavia
• Bulgaria had to reduce armaments and pay reparations

The Treaty of Sevres (1920)

• Most of Turkeys land in Europe was given to Greece and Turkish Straits were put under League of Nations control
• Turkey’s Arab lands became mandates of the League of Nations and were put under French and British rule
• Allied armies were to occupy what was left of Turkey – Asia Minor

The League of Nations

• The Peace Conference set up a League of Nations. Its Covenant (rules) was included in all five peace treaties
• The job of the League was to preserve the peace by using collective security to deal with countries that attacked others. This would be organized by the Assembly in Geneva, or in an emergency, by the council of the League
• The league also aimed to improve the world through specialized agencies, e.g. the International Labor Organization, the Health Organization…

Reparations and War Debts

·        Background:

o       During the 1920s and 30s an effort was made to ensure a lasting peace, BUT:

§         The USA – isolationist attitude

§         Britain – some sympathy for Germany

§         France – Keep Germany weak and poor

§         USSR – consumed by internal problems, suspicious of capitalists

§         Germany – Versailles resentment and reparations/ war debts further problem

Definitions:

Reparations: Money owed by Germany to Allies for damages caused $33 billion

War debts – money owned by allies to each other. USA is the only creditor who would not cancel. In order for the USA to collect, Germany must pay reparations.

Sequence:

1922 – in economic ruin, Germany defaults and asks for a 3-year suspension, Britain agrees. France and Belgium do not

1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium. The Ruhr was the industrial heartland of Germany. French and Belgian forces went in to force the German workers to produce so the Allies could collect reparations. It did not really work. There was passive resistance, strikes. The French tried bringing in there own workers.

1924 – The Dawes Plan: American plan for the restructuring of reparation payments. The Americans involved themselves (isolationist) because they wanted their War Debts to be repaid. So they adjusted Germanys ability to pay. France and Belgium leave the Ruhr.

1929 – The Young Plan: Another American led restructuring plan. Germany agrees – Allies leave the Rhineland. This would fall apart with the Depression.

1929/1930 – The Depression: Stock market crash, low wages, high unemployment, low productivity, and world wide, severe.