The Paris Peace Treaties 1919-20

After the First World War, victorious powers being Britain, France and the USA met at Versailles
in France to decide on the peace terms for the defeated powers. The most controversial peace
settlement was the Versailles treaty signed with Germany.
Views/opinions feelings of the Big Three at the Peace Treaty of Versailles
Georges Clemenceau (Prime Minister, France)
 He had seen his country being invaded twice by Germany, that is, in 1870 and in 1914.
Therefore, he wanted a harsh and severe treaty to be imposed on Germany hence the
name the “Tiger”.
 To make Germany pay for the damages caused during the war
 He wanted Germany to be militarily weakened so that she could never attack her again
 He was suspicious of Woodrow Wilson1s 14 points especially the 4th point which called
for all countries to disarm.
David Lloyd George (Prime Minister, Britain)
 He was a realist and an experienced politician who called for compromise.
 He advocated for a moderate peace treaty which could not anger the Germans so as to
avoid future wars.
 He wanted the German economy to recover quickly so that Germany continues trading
with Britain
 He feared that a harsh punishment may drive Germany into communism.
 He imposed a harsh treaty on Germany because the Britsh back home were chanting
slogans such as “hang the Kaiser and humiliate Germany”

Woodrow Wilson (President, USA)

 He was an idealist and a reformer.
 He came up with the 14 points as the basis of ending the war fairly so as to avoid
future wars.
 He wanted a just and fair treaty to avoid angering the Germans which could
provoke future wars.

Woodrow Wilson`s 14 points. Describe/outline any four points of Woodrow

Wilsons 14 points.
 No secret treaties – Wilson felt that treaties and alliances had caused war and
therefore should be made public.
 Free access to the sea for all countries- this point was based on the fact that the
naval race between Germany and Britain contributed to the First World War.
 All countries to work towards disarmament-it was aimed at reducing the arms
race and tensions between countries which directly contributed towards the
First World War.
 Restoration of Belgium to make her an independent state
 France to regain Alsace Lorraine which Germany had annexed in 1870 and such
created tensions between Germany and France.
 The League of Nations to be formed so as to maintain world peace through
collective security.
Problems faced by the Big Three at Versailles/ Peace makers at Versailles.
Time:
The Big Three did not have enough time to discuss a peaceful way of ending the war
because of political and social instability in Europe. The peace makers had to act swiftly
to reach a peace settlement to end the war.
Pressure from home/Public opinion from home
The likes of Georges Clemenceau of France and David Lloyd George of Britain were
pressurized by their own people back home to impose a harsh treaty on Germany. For
example, they were general elections held in France and the Britain with slogans like
“hang the Kaiser and make Germany pay” among the British. Thus, the British and the
French wanted a severe treaty imposed on Germany while the French were humiliated
on two occasions by the Germans and wanted a military and economically weak
Germany.
Impact of World War 1
The war severely disrupted international trade leading to the collapse of many
economies. Britain and France wanted their economies to recover and demanded
reparations from World War 1 losers to rebuild their economies.

Attitude of the big 3 towards Germany /differing opinions towards Germany

At the peace conference, the big three had different views on how to treat Germany.
For example, France wanted a severe punishment on Germany while David Lloyd
George of Britain advocated for a moderate treatment. On the other hand the USA led
by Woodrow Wilson wanted a lenient and just treaty on Germany to avoid future
conflicts.

Terms of the Versailles Treaty

Non territorial Terms. (Explain the effects of non-territorial terms of the Versailles treaty on
Germany)
Disarmament: German soldiers were reduced to 100 000 with each serving for
only 12 years. Conscription was not allowed. She was also not allowed to have
armored cars, military tanks, poison gas and aircrafts and was to keep only six
battleships. This made her vulnerable to foreign attacks as her small army could
 not defend her. Poverty and malnutrition was also the order of the day as
soldiers who lost their jobs could no longer provide for their families.
Reparations: The Allied Powers agreed without consulting Germany that she
should pay for all the damages caused during the war to Allied civilians in
Belgium, France and Britain. The figure was put a $ 6.600 million to be paid in
annual instalments for the next 42 years. The amount was too much and was
bound to weaken Germany’s economy. It also led to hyper-inflation in Germany
as prices of basic commodities like bread increased rapidly.
War Guilt Clause/Article 231: The Article fixed the entire blame for the outbreak
of World War 1 on Germany and her allies. It therefore, left the Germans bitter
and eager to revenge as they felt that the blame had to be shared equally among
the Great Powers of Europe.
Anschluss/Union with Austria: Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria-
Hungary. This meant that Germans who lived in Austria and those in Germany
were legally separated which led to family break ups. Germany`s economy was
also affected negatively as she could no longer trade with Austria.
Territorial Terms (Outline /Describe any four territorial terms of the Versailles
Treaty)
 Alsace- Lorraine was given back to France because Germany had annexed it after
the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.
 Togoland and Cameroon were lost to Britain and France.
 Lithuania. Latvia and Estonia were made independent states because Germany
had annexed them from Russia in 1917
 German South West Africa (Namibia) was given to the Union of South Africa.
 Danzig was made a free city which gave Poland access to the sea.
 The Saarland was to be run by the League of Nations for 15 years after which a
referendum was to decide its future.
Why the Germans strongly rejected/objected the terms of the Versailles
Treaty. (Explain why the Germans objected the terms of the Versailles Treaty)
Disarmament: It was not fair because Germany was the only country which was
ordered to reduce her army. Germany argued that 100 00 soldiers was not
enough to maintain peace and security during political unrests within the
country. They also felt that a small army will make them vulnerable to foreign
attacks. Besides, none of the Allied Powers intended to disarm as per Wilson`s 4 th
which called for all countries to disarm.
Diktat/ Dictated Peace treaty: The Germans were not allowed to participate in
the peace talks. Instead, they were called to sign the peace terms and were not
even allowed to criticize it. They felt the treaty was unjust and was fueled by the
spirit of anger and revenge.
 Reparations: The reparations figure of $ 6.600 million was not expected which
shocked the Germans. The figure was not only too high but was unrealistic and
beyond Germany`s capability to pay. The Germans felt that the figure will
weaken their economy and could lead to misery, hunger and starvation. For
instance, in 1923 she failed to pay the reparations which forced France and
Belgium to attack her industrial area of the Ruhr to obtain coal and steel as
payment in kind.

Article 231/ War Guilt Clause: The Germans felt that investigations on the causes of the war
were not given enough time and was unfair to fix the entire blame on them. They felt they were
not the only country which effectively participated in destructive war and that the blame had to
be shared equally. For example, Russia being the first to mobilize forcing other powers to enter
the war.

Other Paris Peace Treaties signed with the defeated powers

The treaty of St Germain with Austria
Terms of the treaty
(Describe / outline the terms of the treaty of St Germain signed with Austria)
 The union/Anschluss with Germany was not allowed.
 Austria was separated from Hungary and were made independent states
 Her army was reduced to 30 000 soldiers
 She lost wealthy provinces of Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia
 She lost Bosnia and Herzegovina which formed Yugoslavia
 She was made to pay reparations

Effects of the treaty of St Germain on Austria.

(Explain the effects of the treaty of St Germain on Austria)
The Austrian population was reduced as she lost areas like Bosnia and Herzegovina to new
states like Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. This negatively affected her economy as she could
have lost skilled manpower to those states. Besides, much of her industries and rich farming
land were lost to those states which led to economic problems. As a result, she relied on
foreign loans arranged by the League of Nations to finance her operations.
The reduction of her army to 30 000 soldiers made her feel insecure because the army was too
small to defend the country from external attacks. Her army could not restore order within the
country during internal unrests.
The union between her and Germany was forbidden which could have also weakened her
economy. This was because she heavily relied on Germany for economic support. She was also
left vulnerable to foreign attacks as Germany could no longer militarily support her if attacked
by other countries.
She was also ordered to pay reparations for destructions caused during the war though the
figure was not specified which could have weakened her ailing economy. However, her
economy could not sustain reparations payment and the League of Nations came to her rescue.
The treaty of Trianon with Hungary Terms (Describe the terms of the treaty of Trianon
signed with Hungary)
 Hungary was separated from Austria to make them independent states
 She lost Ruthenia and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia
 She was to pay reparations for war damages
 Her army was reduced to 35 000 men
 She lost Slovenia and Croatia to Yugoslavia
 She was not allowed to join the League of Nations
Effects of the treaty on Hungary (Explain the effects of the treaty of Trianon on Hungary)
The separation of Hungary rom Austria weakened the Hungarian economy. The two were a dual
monarchy and Austria was more economically stable than Hungary. Therefore, Hungary could
no longer get economic assistance from Austria leading her economic collapse.
Loos of territories like Ruthenia and Slovakia reduced her population size. It also meant loss of
skilled man-power which could have helped in the Hungarian economic development. Besides,
some of the land she lost contained minerals which greatly affected her economic
development.
The reduction of the army to 35 000 soldiers negatively affected her as she was left vulnerable
to foreign attacks. Besides, her small army could not maintain peace and stability within the
country during internal uprisings.
The Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria
Terms. (Outline/describe any four terms of the treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria)
 Her army was reduced to 20 000 men
 She had to pay reparations of 100 million British Pounds
 She was excluded from the League of Nations
 She lost Aegean Sea to Greece which denied her access to the Mediterranean Sea.
Effects (Explain the effects of the treaty of Neuilly on Bulgaria)
The reduction of her army to 20 000 men made her insecure as she was left vulnerable to
foreign attacks. Her army was also too small to maintain law and order within the country
during internal uprisings.
Payment of reparations led to economic collapse because she had already spent a lot of money
in the war which weakened her economy. The cost of living became expensive due to poverty
and malnutrition.
Loss of territories reduced her population size which also meant loss of skilled man-power.
Millions of her citizens found themselves under foreign rule. She also lost land which contained
raw materials which negatively affected her economy.
The Treaty of Serves with Turkey
Terms (Describe the terms of the treaty of Serves with Turkey)
 Syria became a French mandate under the League of Nations.
 The French, Italian and British soldiers were to occupy Turkey
 She had to pay reparations
 She had to disarm
 She lost Eastern Thrace to Greece
 Palestine, Jordan and Iraq became British mandates which were used to safeguard her
oil interests.

Effects (Explain the effects of the treaty of Serves with Turkey)

The fact that her army was disbanded to pave way for the Italian, British and French soldiers to
occupy her territory made her insecure. She could not defend her boundaries against any
external attacks because she did not have an army.
Loss of territories angered Turkey which made her to reject the treaty and chased away the
Greeks from Smyrna. The French and the British withdrew their forces from Turkey via a treaty
of Lausanne whereby Turkey regained Eastern Thrace and Smyrna.
Payment of reparations weakened her already ailing economy. This is despite the fact that she
had spent a lot of money during the war.