The Treaty of Versailles

       The guns of World War I went silent on November 11, 1918, but the treaty ending the war would be signed until June 28, 1919.   From January 1919, until the end of June, delegates from France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States began to work on a peace deal that would bring about to the largest conflict the world had ever seen.  Representatives from Germany and Austria were not invited to attend the peace conference that was being held in the palace of Versailles, right outside Paris.

   

      The Allies all brought to Versailles their own agenda, each wanting something from the peace conference.  

The French Prime Minister was George Clemenceau.  George wanted to make sure that Germany would be fully punished for its actions during World War I.  Clemenceau knew that Germany had invaded France in 1871 and again in 1914, he wanted to be sure that Germany would never again be strong enough to threaten the security of France.  He wanted the Germans to be left with no army or navy, and that the Rhineland be given over to the allies so that the Germans could not use their industrial center.  Clemenceau was out for revenge. 

David Lloyd George was the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time. George was concerned that if France was to have its way, then the French would have an edge in global affairs.  He wanted to be sure that the Germans would be punished, but sought a punishment not as harsh as the one France wanted.  George believed that the British would benefit from the German colonies in Africa as well as Asia.  Germany had been England's number one rival for naval supremacy, so Lloyd wanted to be sure that Germany would never be a threat to the British navy again. 

Woodrow Wilson represented the United States at the conference at Versailles.  Wilson's main objective was that an international organization be created to ensure that there would never again be a conflict like the Great War.  Wilson detailed this in his Fourteen Points, and called for a League of Nations to be created.  Wilson's plans were met with some skepticism back in the United States.

    The German delegate was not invited into the conference hall until the treaty was complete on June 28th.  When he began to read the document he shook with rage.  Germany would be forced to take full responsibility for the war.   This "War Guilt Clause" meant that Germany would be forced to pay reparations to the Allies for all civilian damages that were caused during the conflict.

   Other parts of the treaty included:

1.) German port city of Danzig, and other lands would be given to the new country of Poland.

2.) The industrial center of the Rhineland would be occupied by the French and the British.

3.) The German army was to be limited to 100,000 men.

4.) The new country of Chezhoslavakia would be given some land. 

5.) Germany would give the territory of Alslace and Lorraine back to France

6.) Germany gave the territory of Scheleswig to Denmark

7.) The German navy would be limited to 15,000 men and consist of: 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats.  No submarines!

As news of the humiliating treaty reached Germany, the people responded with widespread protests.  Many Germans felt that their country had been betrayed, but not by the kaiser and the old government, by the new government, The Weimar Republic.  The Republic faced the uphill task of rebuilding a beaten and bitter nation.