Macarena Alvarez

THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE

The Paris Peace Conference was the formal meeting of 1919 and 1920 of the victorious Allies after the end
of the First World War to set the terms for the defeated Central Powers.

It lasted for twelve months from January 1919 to January 1920. It was a Conference for the victors. The
defeated countries were not invited. Therefore, thirty- two nations were supposed to be represented. The
Conference was under the chairmanship of Clemenceau (he was France’s prime minister). It was agreed
that five treaties would be drawn up at the Conference. There was a Council of ten, with two members from
the five leading countries. These were USA, Britain, France, Italy and Japan. The important decisions were
takes by the “Big Three”:

 The USA – Wilson (President)

 France – Clemenceau (Prime Minister)
 Britain – Lloyd George (Prime Minister)

This conference produced a number of treaties that are referred to collectively as the Versailles Settlement.

THE AIMS AND MOTIVES OF THE BIG THREE AT VERSAILLES

Wilson – The USA

 Wilson wanted peace / to avoid another war

 He did not want to punish Germany harshly because he thought that might lead to revenge.
 He wanted disarmament.
 He hoped to achieve his Fourteen Points.
 An international body called the League of Nations.

Why did Wilson believe his “Fourteen Points” should be the basis of the Treaty of Versailles?

Wilson wanted to build a better and peaceful world with the use his Fourteen Points. They resulted from
identifying the causes of the conflict and then devising remedies for each cause. An example would be that
the arms built-up had been one of the causes of the war. Wilson recommended that countries should
disarm, maintaining just what was needed for basic defence.

Clemenceau – France

 Clemenceau wanted security for France.

 He wanted to punish / be harsh on Germany.
 He wanted to take revenge on Germany.
 He wanted to pay for the damage caused.
 He wanted Germany to be prevented from launching an attack on France.
 There was a Council of ten, with two members from the five leading countries. These were USA,
Britain, France, Italy and Japan.
 The important decisions were takes by the ´Big Three´, the USA, Britain and France.
 It was agreed that five treaties would be drawn up at the Conference.

Why did France not want a harsh settlement to be imposed on Germany in 1919?
Macarena Alvarez
France had suffered enormous damage to its land, industry and people. Clemenceau was under intense
pressure from his people to make Germany pay for the suffering they had endured in 1870 and the Great
War.

Ever since 1870, France had felt threatened by its increasingly powerful neighbour, Germany. German saw
the treaty as an opportunity to cripple Germany by breaking it up into small, weak states so it could not
attack France again.

Lloyd George – Britain

 He wanted Britain to be able to trade with Germany.

 He did not want Germany crippled.
 He wanted Germany as a buffer against communism.
 He wanted to expand Britain’s empire/colonies.
 He wanted to keep Britain naval supremacy/Germany to lose its naval power.

Why did Lloyd George not want to punish Germany harshly?

Lloyd George’s main concern was Britain trade and wealth. For this to prosper, Britain needed to return to
the trade it had before the war and for this to happen it was important for Germany to economically
recover. This is the reason Lloyd George did not want Germany facing huge reparations, which could stop its
recovery.

THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

Why did Wilson find it difficult to deal with Clemenceau during the peace negotiations?

Wilson had a hard task in achieving his aims as he was trying to ensure that the peace was just and
Germany was punished, but not too harshly. This meant that he clashed with Clemenceau who wanted
Germany to be weakened. Wilson also had the idea of self-determination which France saw as a threat to
her empire, making Clemenceau less likely to support this policy.

Clemenceau wanted Germany to lose the Rhineland, many of Germany’s colonies, and Alsace-Lorraine and
the Saar Basin to be given to France. Most of these demands were against Wilson’s approach of self-
determination.

Why did Clemenceau find it difficult to deal with Lloyd George during the peace negotiations?

The French wanted revenge on Germany for the destruction the war had caused and therefore wanted
Germany to pay huge reparations. Lloyd George was unhappy about this; he did not want to treat Germany
too harshly as he wanted to resume trading with Germany.

Why did Wilson find it difficult to deal with Lloyd George during the peace negotiations?

Lloyd George wanted to maintain naval supremacy, whereas Wilson wanted to allow all nations to access
the seas. Wilson also liked the idea of self-determination, which Britain saw as a threat to her Empire,
making Lloyd George less likely to support this policy. Britain wanted German and Turkish colonies. They
wanted to expand.

THE TERMS OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

War guilt

 It was designed to make Germany take responsibility for starting the war.
 It allowed the Allies to charge Germany reparations of 6600 million pounds.
 To punish Germany.
 It removed blame for the outbreak of war from the Allies.
 Macarena Alvarez
Reparations

 It required 6,600 million pounds to pay for all damages caused by war: buildings, factories, widows,
etc.

Territorial losses

Territories lost by Germany:

 Alsace-Lorraine
 The Saarland was handed over to the League of Nations for 15 years.
 Germany lost the city of Danzig.
 Posen and the Polish corridor were given to Poland.
 All German colonies were taken.
 Eupen and Malmedy were given to Belgium.
 Part of Schleswig were given to Denmark.
 Germany lost Memel.
 Czechoslovakia was given the Hultschin district.

The use of plebiscites in the Treaty of Versailles

 A plebiscite was a vote to determine which country people wanted to belong to.
 They were held in territory which was taken away from Germany.
 The Saar Basin was to be administered by the League of Nations for 15 years when a vote would be
held.
 The plebiscite would decide whether the Saar should go to Germany, France, or remain under
League control.

Military restrictions

 The German armed forces were seriously weakened.

 Army: Land
 Navy: Water
 Air force: Air
 The German army was restricted to 100000.
 Conscription was banned.
 Germany was not allowed to have any tanks, armoured vehicles o heavy artillery.
 No air force was allowed.
 The navy was limited to 6 battleships, 12 destroyers, 6 light cruisers, 12 torpedo boats, and no
submarines.
 Sailor numbers were limited to 15000.
 No German armed forces were allowed into the Rhineland which was demilitarised.

League of nations

 Germany wasn’t invited to join the League of Nations (international “police force”) until it had
shown that it was a peace-loving country

HOW STAISFIED WERE THE “BIG THREE” WITH THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES? – PARTIALLY
SATISFIED
WILSON CLEMENCEAU LLOYD GEORGE
REPARATIONS NOT SATISFIED: He didn’t want NOT SATISFIED: French public SATISFIED: the amount was what
Germany to pay an enormous opinion pressured him. People Lloyd expected. Although he
figure as he wanted peace wanted a harsh treaty. wanted more reparations, he
 Macarena Alvarez
realised that Germany couldn’t
pay them.
SELF- SATISFIED: Eastern Europe SATISFIED: The French Empire SATISFIED: Germany lost all of
DETERMINATIO (Poland and Czechoslovakia) stayed the same and they could their colonies and they were
N NOT SATISFIED: There were still administer colonies in Africa. given to the League of Nation
some African colonies left. (France and Britain). As a result,
Britain was able to expand its
territory.
DISARMAMENT NOT SATISFIED: He wanted the SATISFIED: He achieved French SATISFIED: Germany was allowed
disarmament of all colonies. security as a result of Germany’s to have only 6 battleships. As a
military restrictions. result, Britain didn’t have to
compete anymore. They were the
undisputed rulers of the sea.
GERMAN SATISFIED – RHINELAND: Wilson NOT SATISFIED – RHINELAND: It NOT SATISFIED: Not in the Treaty
TERRITORIES opposed to Clemenceau’s idea of didn’t become independent. of Versailles, but in the Treaty of
the Rhineland becoming NOT SATISFIED – THE SAAR: He Saint-Germain. New countries
independent. wanted the territory for France, were created. Some of these
not for the League of Nations. countries, Czechoslovakia and
However, he could use the Poland, contained German
territory but for 15 years only. speaking people.
.

GERMAN CRITICISM OVER THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

Germans were furious because of the clauses:

War guilt and reparations

Germans didn’t feel like they’d started the war. Germans were bitter because even though the German
economy was severely weakened, they had to pay a large sum of money.

German territories

Germany certainly lost a lot of territory:

 10 percent of its land in Europe.

 All of its overseas colonies.
 12,5 percent of its population.
 16 percent of its coalfields and almost half of its iron and steel industry.
 Industrial areas: the Saar and Upper Silesia

It had a major blow to German pride and its economy. The British and French were increasing their Empires
by taking control of German territories in Africa.

Disarmament

Germany was left with and army of 100,000 men. This was very small for a country of Germany’s size and
the army was a symbol of German pride. In addition, none of the Allies were being asked or forced to
disarm in the same way, despite Wilson’s Fourteen Points.

Non-representation

Germans were angry because they weren’t represented at the peace talks. The Treaty was imposed on
Germany, it was a dictated peace = “Diktat”.

The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations

Macarena Alvarez
The treatment of Germany was not in keeping with Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Germany felt further insulted
by not being invited to join the league of nations.