4.

C DEJ The Paris peace conference

Once the fighting stopped, terms of peace had to be agreed on, so delegates of 32 countries
(Allies and neutral nations) met at the conference which started on January 18, 1919, at the
Palace of Versailles. The main purpose of this conference was to prepare peace treaties for
defeated countries like Germany, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and the two successors of
former Austria-Hungary: Austria and Hungary. Out of 32 present countries 4 were responsible
for the most important decisions. These four countries were known as the Big Four. There
was:
Great Britain – PM David Lloyd George
France – PM George Clemenceau
The United States – the president Woodrow Wilson
Italy – PM Vittorio Orlando
Germany was seen as the main aggressor and as the country responsible for war. Members of
the Big four had different ideas on how to deal with Germany. France wanted to punish and
weaken Germany. This is understandable because France had been left devastated after the
German aggressiveness. Clemenceau believed that Germany should have been so weakened
that it would never be able to start a war again. He claimed that France would never feel safe
if Germany wasn’t weakened.
GB held a more moderate position but supported the French stand. It also wanted to get rid of
the German High Fleet that had been its greatest rival on the sea.
The USA’s attitude was quite different. The USA had become a new economic and military
power. Its position at the conference was based on ‘fourteen points.’. The fourteen points were
a set of proposals for achieving a just and lasting peace, which had been presented by
President Wilson in January 1918. The bottom line of the plan was the phrase ‘peace without
victory’. This plan suggested:
 The end of secret treaties and alliances
 Freedom of trade and seas
 Reduction of national armies and navies
 Fairness towards colonial people
 The right of self-determination – new states
 The League of Nations – international organization that would protect peace. All
problems would be solved by negotiations, peacefully.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed between Germany and the Allied powers on June 28,
1919 5 years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand D’Este. The representatives of
Germany were not present while the text of the treaty was being negotiated. Despite their
disagreement with the harsh terms of the peace treaty, they had no other choice than to sign it.
Content of the document can be summarized as following:
Territorial changes reflected the recognition of new states such as Czechoslovakia, Poland,
Lithuania. Germany lost over 60 000 km2 with 7 000 000 people. Germany also lost all its
overseas colonies.
Military restrictions disabled the fighting capability of Germany. The German army was
limited to 100 000 men. No air force or submarines were allowed and navy was limited to 24
small ships. Development of new weapons was prohibited.
The war guilt of the whole German nation was stated in Article 231. The German nation was
pronounced to be responsible for war. Germany was sentenced to pay reparations to cover the
damage costs mostly to civilian property and infrastructure. The price was 132 billion German
Marks equal today to 400 000 000 000 €.