Terms of the Paris Peace Treaties 1919-20: Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sevre

1.2.1 The Paris Peace Settlement

• The representatives of 32 countries met in 1919 in Paris to draw up the peace settlement.
• The "Big Three" (France, USA and Britain) leaders were mostly in command of the decision makings and so was Italy but to a lesser extent.
• The settlement was created from five treaties; the Treaty of Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sevres/Lausanne. 
• The Treaty of Versailles dealt specifically with Germany and was the major discussion during the draw up of the peace settlement whereas the other treaties dealt with the geo-political and economic future of Europe.
•  The agreement containing the principles on which the League of Nations was to operate on took into account all five treaties. 

1.2.2 The Treaty of Versailles

• June 1919
• Treaty with Germany
• Was signed in the Palace of Versailles
• Germany had to agree to accept full responsibility for the outbreak of the First World War

• June 1919
• Treaty with Germany
• Was signed in the Palace of Versailles
• Germany had to agree to accept full responsibility for the outbreak of the First World War

Territorial loses:

• The Saar administered by the League of Nations
• The creation of an independent Polish state
• West Prussia and Posen were given to Poland
• Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France
• Danzig was appointed as an international city
• Plebiscites in Upper Silesia, West Prussia and Schleswig
• Germany lost colonies and investments 

Military Restrictions on Germany:

• Was only allowed a regular army that was limited to 100,000 military personnel 
• Was not allowed an airforce and only a very small fleet
• End of compulsory enlistment into the armed forces
• Rhineland to be occupied for 15 years by the allied military forces
• All commissions in Germany controlled by the allies until 1927

Reparations: 

• Germany to pay £6,600 million (132 billion gold marks)
• Reparations where to be paid in regular instalments, some in gold and some in goods
• The Allies struggled to get payments from Germany from 1921 to 1923
• Dawes Commission 1924
• France took over Ruhr in 1923

League of Nations: 

• The USA refused to join which weakened the league
• Collective security
• New mandate principles
• Germany and the defeated nations were at first left out

1.2.3 The Treaty of St Germain

• September 1919
• Treaty with Austria
• Dalmatia, Slovenia and Bosnia were given to Yugoslavia 
• South Tyrol, Trentino, Trieste and Istria were given to Italy
• Bohemia and Moravia were given to Czechoslovakia
• Galicia was given to Poland
• Bukovina was given to Romania
• Austria was not allowed to unify with Germany

1.2.4 The Treaty of Trianon

• June 1920
• Treaty with Hungary
• Hungary losses 2/3 of its territory
• Slovakia and Ruthenia were given to Czechoslovakia
• Transylvania was given to Romania
• Burgenland was given to Austria
• Slovenia and Croatia were given to Yugoslavia 

1.2.5 The Treaty of Neuilly

• November 1919
• Treaty with Bulgaria
• Western Thrace was given to Greece
• Dobrudja was given to Romania
• Northern Macedonia was given to Yugoslavia

1.2.6 The Treaty of Sevres

• 1920
• Treaty with Turkey
• The Straits of the Dardanelles to be controlled by the allies
• Saudi Arabia became independent
• Turkey lost the rights to Sudan and Libya
• Eastern Thrace and some Turkish Aegean Islands were given to Greece
• Mesopotamia, Palestine and Syria became League of Nation mandates and were to be run by France and Britain. 

1.2.7 The Treaty of Lausanne

• 1923
• Treaty of Sevres was altered at Lausanne
• The Greeks were expelled
• Constantinople was given back to Turkey

1.2.8 Paris peace settlement issues

• Germany, Russia and non of the other defeated countries were allowed to take part of the discussions nor attended the Versailles conference
• All the big decisions were made by the Council of four (United States, France, United Kingdom and Italy)
• The aims of the major powers were often contradictory and so compromises had to be made within the treaties 
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles were not soft enough to allow for reconciliation with Germany but not harsh enough to weaken Germany's power

1.2.9 German Response

• Germany had hoped for a softer punishment as it had thought the treaty would have taken in much more of Wilson's Fourteen Points
• Did not think it was fair to have to accept responsibility for the start of the First World War
• Did not think it was fair that it had no say or that it was not part of the discussions 
• Did not like the fact that it was forced to sign the treaty without any negotiations of the terms
• It disagreed with the reparations and especially the territorial losses
• It was also angered by the exclusion from the principle of self-determination
• The German population was angered by the treaty and wanted to see it revoked

1.2.10 Discussion and disagreements between the allies

• Some thought the treaty was too harsh, others that it was too lenient
• Those who supported Wilson's Fourteen Points argued that the treaty had failed to create a peaceful world
• John Maynard Keynes argued that Europe would become weaker and poorer as a result of the restrictions, territorial losses and the economic weakening of Germany
• The British people started to recognise that the treaty may have to be reviewed
• The US refused to agree with the treaty as it opposed to Article X of the League of Nations. This was an article under which members of the League agreed to use their powers to resist aggression wherever it might occur. 
• The US did not sign the Treaty of Versailles which had a big impact on the League of Nations