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CHAPTER FIVE the Treaty of Versailles

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CHAPTER FIVE the Treaty of Versailles The cover illustration, from a painting of Lenin addressing the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, is reproduced by courtesy of the Society for Acknowledgements Cultural Relations with the US·SR. The author and publishers wish to thank the following for granting permission to include copyright material in this book: Prentice-Hall, Inc., for an extract from Why Hitler Came Into Power by Theodore.. Abel; Oxford University British Library Cataloguing in Publication Pata Press for two passages from The German Rundle, Raymond Norman Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference (1941) International affairs, 1890-1939. - (Twentieth by Alma Luckau; Eyre & Spottiswoode' century world history; vol. 1). (Publishers) Ltd, for an extract from Life of I. World politics - 19th century Mussolini by Margherita G. Sarfatti (translated 2. World politics - 1900--1945 3. History, Modern by Frederic Whyte and originally published by - 19th century 4. History, Mod~rn - 20th century Thornton .and Butterworth); William Heine­ I. Title JI. Series mann Ltd for a short extract from Through 909.82 D397 Two Decades by Theodor Wolff; Hutchinson ISBN o 340 24336 8 Boards and Company for a passage from An ISBN O 340 23708 2 Paper Ambassador's Memoirs by Maurice Paleologue (translated by F. A. Holt); HMSO. for two extracts from Report of the Royal Commission on Palestine, Cmd. 5479 (1937). First published 1979 Reprinted 1985 . "(hanks are also due to the following for permission to reproduce the illustrations in this Copyright© 1979 R.N. Rundle book: the Radio Times Hulton Picture Maps© 1979 Library, pages 3, 4, IO, 15, 17, 43, 44, 58, 59, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. 61, 65, 68, 71, 74, 84, 87, 96,112, II3, 116, 123, All rights reserved. No part of this publication 127, 133, 145, 153, 154; Mary Evans Picture may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or Library, pages 7, 78, 150; Popperfoto, pages b)'. any means, electronic or mechanical, 21, 83, 95, 101, 122; The Illustrated London including photocopy, recording, or any 9, 14; 26, 3 1, 92, 102; information storage and- retrieval system, News, pages the Imperial without Pt':rmission in writing from the War Museum, title-page and page 39; Anne publisher. Horton, page I 5 I; Sovfoto, New York, page 105 ; Culver Pictures Inc., New York, page Printed and bound in Canada 138; Ford Archives, Heriry Ford Museum, by John Deyell Company Dearborn, Michigan, page 143. CHAPTER FIVE The Treaty of Versailles In January 1918 President Wilson of the the freest opportunity for self-government. United States of America outlined to Congress 11. Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro to be the text of his Fourteen Points. These were evacuated and guarantee"d their political and intended to be the basis of the peace settlement economic independence. Serbia to be given a at the end oJ the war. Wilson stated America's coastline. aim of making the world 'fit and safe to live 12. The Turkish parts of the Ottoman Empire in, particularly for every peace-loving nation should form a separate state, but the other which, like our own, wishes to live its own peoples ruled by the Turks should be given life, determine its own institutions, and be their independence. The Dardanelles should be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other open at all times to the ships of all nations. peoples of the world against force and selfish 13. An independent Polish state should be set up aggression'. The Fourteen Points may be and given access to the sea. summarised as : 14. A general association of nations should be formed to preserve future peace. 1. Open covenants of peace openly arrived at - no private international understandings. At II o'clock on the mornilrn .of II 2. Freedom of navigation upon the seas in peace November 1918 the guns on the western front and war. stopped firing, and silence descended upon the 3. The removal, so Jar as possible, of all economic battlefields where many hundreds of thousands barriers to world trade. of men had lost their lives during four years 4. The reduction of national armaments to the of terrible warfare. By the Armistice of lowest point consistent with domestic safety. Compiegne Germany agreed to evacuate all 5. Colonial claims to be dealt with according to occupied territory, and to withdraw beyond the principle that the interests ofthe populations the right bank of the Rhine. The peace concerned must have equal weight with the treaties of Brest Litovsk and Bucharest were claims of the colonial power. cancelled. Germany surrendered its navy, and 6. The evacuation of all Russian territory. large quantities of military equipment, in­ Russia to be welcomed into the society of cluding aeroplanes, lorries, locomotives and free nations under institutions of her own railway wagons, while the Allied blockade of choice, and to be given assistance of every Germany was to be maintained until peace kind that she might need and desire. had been signed. The Allies were determined 7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored. to ensure that although the German armies 8. All French territory to be freed and the invaded had not surrendered they would not be able portions retored. Alsace-Lorraine should be to resume the fighting. returned to France, thus righting the wrong The Allies were agreed that to insist upon done to France by Germany in 1871. unconditional surrender would be an un­ 9. Italy's frontiers should . be adjusted along necessary humiliation of Germany. Thus clearly recognisable lines of nationality. German troops were allowed to march back 10. The peoples of Austria-Hungary to be given in good order to their homeland, while along The Treaty of Versailles 43 the eastern front some German armies were courtesy since France was the host nation. left in position, in order to stop the spread President Wilson was the only head of state of communism. In these arrangements lay the at the ~onfrrence. An idealist and a deeply origin of the belief~ held by many Germans religious man, Wilson believed that his mission after the war, that they had been deceived was to formulate a just and lasting peace by Allied promises. They never fully settlement. Aloof and sensitive to criticism, he appreciated that the German High Command did not try to cultivate good relations with _had told the government in November 191 8 the press and public. He soon disagreed strongly that further resistance was useless, leaving the with Clemenceau, who was determined to · civilian authorities with no choice but to inflict a harsh settlement upon the Central agree to an armistice. Powers. Wilson also knew that American Nine weeks passed before delegates from public opinion was becoming increasingly thirty-two states assembled at Paris to begin hostile to any further involvement in Europe's drafting the peace treaties. This delay enabled affairs. Even before he arrived in Paris, Wilson's a general election to be held in Britain where, party, the Democrats, had lost its majorities because of the war, eight years had passed in both the Senate and the House of since the previous one. In the famous 'Khaki Representatives to the Republicans in the Election' · of December 1918 anti-German Congressional elections of November 1918. feeling ran very high, and no candidate who This weakened Wilson's position in Paris, and showed any signs of sympathy for Germany later resulted in Congress refusing to ratify stood any chance of being elected to Parliament. the Versailles Treaty. Lloyd George became Prime Minister with a These three statesmen, Wilson, Clemenceau, large majority, and he went to Paris with a and Lloyd George, were the 'Big Three'. Most mandate to 'Make Germany Pay'. of the major decisions at the Conference were The French Prime Minister, Clemenceau, taken by them. Neither Italy nor Japan1 the also received an overwhelming vote of other two great powers represented at Paris, confidence in the French Chamber of Deputies. played very imp9rtant parts. Italy was pre­ The 78-year-old Frenchman, nicknamed 'The occupied with obtaining favourable frontier Tiger' for his unrelenting hatred of Germany, adjustments, while Japan was chiefly concerned was made Chairman at the Conference, out of with claiming German territories in the Pacific and consolidating its influence in China. After six months of deliberations the final details of the peace settlement with Germany were decided. Althirngh the actual terms had been kept secret, th~ German government was aware that they were savage. Speaking at the Trianon Palace Hotel at Versailles in May 1919, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, head of the German delegation, said: We are under no illusions as to the extent of our defeat and the degree ofour powerlessness. We know that the strength of the German army is broken. We know the intensity of the hatred which meets us, and we have heard the victors' passiona~e demand that as the vanquished we shall be made to pay, Delegates of the four victorious great powers at the and as the guilty we shall be punished. · Versailles Peace Conference: (left to right) Lloyd The demand is made that we shall acknowledge George, Orlando, Clemenceau, Wilson that we alone are guilty of having caused the 44 International Affairs, 1890-1939 war. Such a confession would ·be a lie . ... We expired, the German delegation indicated their deny that the people of Germany, who were readiness to sign. This ceremony took place in convinced that they were waging a war of defence, the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on 28 June, should be burdened with the sole guilt of that war. the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand. The treaty was presented to the German By the terms of the treaty Germany lost delegation on 16 June 1919.
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