In January 1918, the delegation
of twenty-seven victorious allied nations gathered in Paris to conclude a final
settlement of the First World War. Many delegates were of the
view that the mistakes made at the Vienna conference of 1815
like satisfying the selfish ends of autocrats would be
avoided. In fact, Harold
Nicholson, a British delegated outlined
what he felt the conference
should achieve . In his words: “we were journeying to Paris not merely to
liquidate the war, but to find a new order in Europe, we were
preparing not peace only, but
eternal peace. There was about us
the halo of some
divine mission… for we were bent on doing great, permanent and
noble things”2
Also
president Woodrow Wilson, a core idealist outlined a 14-point programme which
he believed would ensure peace. Wilson soon discovered that secret treaties
entered into before the war were still strong even when they conflicted with the principles of
self-determination which he enunciated.
National interest and pragmatic motives preoccupied with issues of national
security, great Britain voted David
Lloyd in 1918 to ensure that Germans pay for their war guilt. Clemenceau,
French premier argued that French
people suffered the highest degree of German aggression. Therefore,
France needed revenge and security
in case of further acts of
aggression. Clemenceau insisted on demilitarized
Germany, and the Rhineland as buffer
zone between Germany and France.
Though the Versailles peace settlement was composed
on 27 nations, major decisions were made by
the big three Wilson, Clemenceau
and Lioyd George, Germany was not represented.
It should come
as no surprise, given both the intractability of Europe’s problems and the diversity of the victorious
coalition, that the peacemakers failed to agree
amongst themselves on the shape of the
post war world . While Wilson was
determined to create the league of nations to prevent future wars. Clemenceau and Lioyd George insisted on
punishing Germany.
It was
compromise which eventually made it possible
for a peaceful settlement on January
25, 1919. The conference adapted the principle of the league of nations.
Britain and United States pledged to
assist France if it were attacked by Germany.
1.
The peace treaty
consisted of five separate treaties with the axis (defeated countries). Germany Austria, Hungary and
turkey. The treaty with Germany
which was signed on June 28, 1919 was
perhaps the most important, Germans considered it harsh particularly the
article on war guilt which suggested
that Austria and Germany started the war and must pay reparations.
2.
The military provisions of the treaty were equally
punitive in nature. For instance,
Germany had no reduce its military force by
100,000 men, reduce its armory
and completely abolish its air force.
3.
On territorial provision, Germany lost some of its territories. For instance, she was forced to
return Alsace-Lorraine to France and a section Prussia, to a new
polish state.
German land west and as far as thirty miles east of the Rhineland was established as a
buffer zone, and stripped
of all armaments or fortifications,
to serve as a barrier to any
future German military moves westwards against France.
The German government described the
treaty as “dictated peace” it,
however, accepted, though outraged by it.
The peacemakers made separate treaty with other powers
who lost the war (Bulgaria, Hungary,
Austria turkey), essentially redrawing the map of Eastern Europe. Both Germans and Russians lost
considerable territory in Eastern Europe while Austro-Hungarian empires
disappearance completely. The ottoman empire was dismembered
by the peace settlement . new nations emerged from the lands of the three empires. And in Eastern Europe, the
peacemakers created avenues for
compromises because it was difficult
to draw boundaries along neat
ethnic lines. Virtually every
Eastern European nation was left
with minorities problems. There
were Germans in Poland, Hungarians, poles, and Croats, Slovenes, Macedonian,
and Albanians in Yugoslavia all became
causes of future conflict. The peace settlement negotiated at Paris was heavily criticized not only by the defeated countries but by others who
felt that the peacemaker did not see beyond the period of settlement. The
French general force predicted after the signing of the treaty,
“Versailles would not bring peace, only
armistice for twenty years. It had solved none of Europe fundamental
problems”.
The famous British economist john Maynard
Keynes criticized the peacemakers
because they preoccupied themselves with
frontiers at the expense of economic issues that left Europe’s inefficient , unemployed, and
disorganized”.4
Generally, the
Versailles peace settlement of 1919
was too hard on Germany and many Germans argued against the treaty. For
instance, Adolf Hitlers regime vehemently opposed the peace arrangement. Many
non-Germans maintained that the
Versailles peace arrangement gave Germans legitimate grievances. However,
A.J.P Taylor, a well –known British
historian advanced the view
that the Versailles peace treaty
was not harsh. He maintained that the German problem was not resolved by the
peacemakers. The treaty failed to
destroy largest unitary state in the
heart of Europe.
However, whether
the peace treaty was too hard or not
hard enough, it was clear that it would fail because no major power was
clearly committed to upholding it.