Could the Versailles Treaty be Justified
at the time?
What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at
Versailles? & How did Germany react to the treaty?
The Paris Peace Conference
• The armistice was signed by
Matthias Erzberger for Germany on
11th November 1918. He was later
assassinated for this.
• The Allied leaders – David Lloyd
George (Britain), Georges
Clemenceau (France) and Woodrow
Wilson (United States) – then spent
several months drawing up the
peace treaty at the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919.
Source A: More than 65 million men fought in the First World War; over eight million of them were killed. In
addition, nearly nine million civilians died - from starvation, disease, artillery fire and air raids. Twelve
million tons of shipping were sunk. In France and Belgium, where most of the war was fought, 300,000
houses, 6,000 factories, 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) of railway, 2,000 breweries and 112 coal mines were
destroyed. The human cost of the war - in terms of damaged minds and bodies, and ruined lives – was
beyond calculation. In some ways, mankind has never recovered from the horrors of the First World War.
Reputable Textbook Writer John D Clare, First World War (1994)
Source B
After the War, it was time to make peace, but what terms did the victors want?
The Impact of World War I
Political
•
The war led to the
overthrow of
monarchies in
Russia, AustriaHungary, Germany,
and Turkey.
•
It contributed to the
rise of the Bolsheviks
to power in Russia in
1917.
•
It fanned the flames
of revolts against
colonialism in the
Middle East and
Southeast Asia.
Economic
• WWI devastated
European
economies, giving
the U.S. the
economic lead.
• The U.S. still faced
problems such as
inflation, which left
people struggling
to afford ordinary
items.
• Farmers, whose
goods were less in
demand than
during the war,
were hit hard.
Social
• The war killed 14
million people and
left 7 million men
disabled.
• The war drew
more than a
million women into
the U.S. workforce,
which helped them
pass the
Nineteenth
Amendment to get
the vote.
• It also encouraged
African Americans
to move to
northern cities for
factory work.
Conflicting Needs at the Peace
The delegates arrived atConference
the Peace Conference with competing
needs and desires.
Better World
• President Wilson had
a vision of a better
world.
• He wanted nations to
deal with each other
openly and trade
with each other
fairly.
• Wanted countries to
reduce their arsenal
of weapons
Revenge
• Many Allies
wanted to punish
Germany for its
role in the war.
• Georges
Clemenceau
accused Germany
of tyrannical
conduct,
exemplified by the
huge loss of life
and the continued
suffering of
veterans.
Independence
• Leaders of
Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia
wanted to build
new nations.
• Poland, divided
between
Germany and
Russia, wanted
one nation.
• Ho Chi Minh
worked at the
Paris Ritz hotel
and asked France
to free Vietnam.
Who were the key players?
Georges
Clemenceau
President of
France. He was
a fiery politician
nicknamed ‘The
Tiger’.
David Lloyd
George
British Prime
Minister. Lloyd
George was an
experienced
politician.
Woodrow
Wilson
The American
President. He had
brought the US
into the war in
1917.
The Paris Peace Conference
• President Wilson led American negotiators attending the peace conference in
Paris in January 1919.
– His attendance of the Paris Peace Conference made him the first U.S.
President to visit Europe while in office.
– Republicans criticized Wilson for leaving the country when it was trying to
restore its economy.
• The Paris Peace Conference began on January 12, 1919, with leaders representing
32 nations, or about three-quarters of the world’s population.
• The leaders of the victorious Allies—President Wilson, British Prime Minister
David Lloyd George, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and Italian prime
minister Vittorio Orlando—became known as the Big Four, but we will be
referring mainly to the Big Three of France, Britain, and the US.
• Germany and the Central Powers were not invited to attend.
Georges Clemenceau
I want Germany punished. They
have invaded France twice in the
last 50 years; they have occupied
our land and burned our towns.
We have suffered and the
Germans have not! I want them to
suffer as France has suffered.
I demand that Germany face a
peace that is just to France and
leaves Germany too weak to ever
threaten us again.
Clemenceau
Pressures on
Clemenceau
“There are 20 million
Germans too many!”
– Georges
Clemenceau
• The war had largely taken place on French soil.
• 2/3 of all French men were either killed or injured in
World War I
• This left France with a population of 40 million
compared to Germany’s 75 million.
“America is far away, protected by the
ocean. Not even Napoleon himself could
touch England. You are both sheltered; we
are not.” - Georges Clemenceau, debating
with Wilson and Lloyd George on 27
March 1919. Wilson had pressed
Clemenceau for ‘moderation’.
Ypres, 1917
David Lloyd George
When I was elected, I told the British
public I would squeeze Germany, but
Britain needs trade to recover from the
war. The Germans must be punished,
but not so much that we can’t trade
with them.
Lloyd George
And what about the Bolshevik threat?
If we make the Germans too poor, they
could be attracted towards
Bolshevism. We don’t want a
revolution in Germany.
There needs to be a balance for
peace to work.
Pressures
on
Lloyd
George
1. Lloyd George had
just won an
election by
promising to ‘make
Germany pay.’
2. The British public
had been fed a diet
of anti-German
propaganda for 4
years and wanted
Germany punished.
3. The Treaty of BrestLitovsk had taken
25% of Russia’s
population and best
agricultural land.
Why should Britain
be any more
forgiving?
Which quote really represents Lloyd
George’s desire for the Paris Peace
Conference? Justify your opinion:
Quote 1: We propose to demand the
whole cost of the war from Germany.
From a speech by Lloyd George,
made in December 1918, during an
election campaign.
Quote 2: We want a peace which will
be just, but not vindictive... Above
all, we want to protect the future
against a repetition of the horrors of
this war.
Lloyd George speaking to Parliament
(1919) before he went off to the
Conference.
Woodrow Wilson
Certainly, Germany needs to be
punished, but the victors need to look
at the issue of how to avoid war. There
should be self-determination – the
people of Europe, and indeed the
World, should be allowed to rule
themselves rather than being the
subjects of great empires.
And there can be no more ‘old
alliances’ – there needs to be a League
of Nations to solve international
disputes.
This will be my legacy.
Wilson
The Peace Conference in Paris 1919
• Wilson
– 14 points- Wilson’s only
purpose at the conference.
– Others were critical of
Wilson- called him the
Preacher of the world. To
worried about all of
mankind. God only has 10
commandments.
– Mistake- Wilson didn’t chose
any Republicans or Senators
to be on the American Peace
Commission.
When asked how he thought he
had done at the Versailles
Conference, Lloyd George replied:
"Not badly, considering I was
seated between Jesus Christ and
Napoleon."
Why might Wilson’s vision of the
war be different from his allies?
allies?
Two months before the US entered the war, President Wilson
gave his “Peace without Victory” Speech. Analyze Wilson’s
statement regarding the end of the war. Why does he call it
‘peace without victory’? What is he warning against? Discuss
with a partner.
…” first of all, that it must be a peace without victory. … Victory
would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor's terms
imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in
humiliation, under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would
leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which terms of
peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon
quicksand. Only a peace between equals can last… The right
state of mind, the right feeling between nations, is as necessary
for a lasting peace as is the just settlement of vexed questions of
territory or of racial and national allegiance.”
What is the
message of
this
cartoon?
Now let's see
you do it on
your own:
What is the
message of
this cartoon??
February 1919
What the treaty covered
What should
happen to the
land and
colonies of the
defeated
nations?
Who was to blame
for the war?
Should there be a
League of Nations and
how should it work?
Who should
pay for the
cost of the
war and
repairing the
damage?
What should happen to
the remaining German
armed forces?
Opposing Perspectives
Simplissimus, 3 June 1919
Prussia to
German
Unification
Please remember that it was
Prussia that unified Germany.
German gains
under the Treaty
of Brest-Litvosk
The Terms of the Treaty of Versailles:
Versailles Treaty Terms
Czechoslovakia
Austria
African colonies
taken away.
How did each of these terms affect Germany?
THE MAIN TERMS OF
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES UMONIC:
GARGLE
Guilt – clause 231: Germany accepted blame ‘for causing all the loss
and damage’ of the war.
Armed forces reduced – army: 100,000/ no submarines/ no
aeroplanes/ 6 battleships/ Rhineland de-militarised
Reparations – £6,600 million – in instalments, until 1984.
Germany lost land – Alsace-Lorraine to France/ Saar to France (15
years)/ West Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland/ Danzig a ‘free city’/
German colonies became ‘mandates’ of the League of Nations.
League of Nations set up.
Extra points – forbade Anschluss. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
independent states.
German reaction to the treaty
Imagine you are a German in 1919.
How would you have felt about your country signing
the treaty of Versailles?
How does
this
newspaper
consider the
peace
settlement?
L/O: Explain the
reaction to the Treaty
of Versailles in
Germany
Vengeance! German Nation
Today in the Hall of Mirrors, the
disgraceful Treaty is being signed. Do
not forget it. The German people will
with increasing labour press forward to
reconquer the place among nations to
which it is entitled. Then will come
vengeance for the shame of 1919.
Philipp Scheidemann
who was the German
Chancellor in June 1919
resigned rather than
sign the treaty, saying,
“May the hand wither
that signs this
treaty.”
Scheidemann proclaiming the
new German Republic in 1918.
German reaction
Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations. The
draft treaty was presented to the Germans in May 1919 and they
were given 15 days to decide on their reply.
The Germans were outraged at the severity of the treaty. The
head of the German delegation, Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau,
wrote to Clemenceau:
“We were aghast when we read in documents
the demands made upon us, the victorious
violence of our enemies. The more deeply we
penetrate into the spirit of this treaty, the more
convinced we become of the impossibility of
carrying it out. The exactions of this treaty are
more than the German people can bear.”
The effects of Versailles on Germany
Germany lost more than just the war. The Treaty of
Versailles resulted in Germany losing:
10% of its land
12.5% of its population
The land lost was some of the most productive.
Germany needed the revenue from these areas to rebuild
the country and pay the £6.6 billion of reparations.
Most Germans saw the restrictions placed on the German
army as taking away Germany’s right to defend itself.
On top of this, Germany would have to bear the blame
for starting the war. Most Germans saw this as an attack
on the honour of the German nation.
The Diktat
• When finished, the Germans were
given 15 days to respond to this
‘peace treaty’.
• Germany had to accept blame for
the war, pay reparations and
agree to reductions in the armed
forces and territory.
• The Germans were not allowed to
make changes so they called the
treaty a ‘diktat’ (dictated peace).
German Reactions to the Treaty
•
•
Because of Germany’s military
collapse, they had no choice but to
accept.
• On 28th June 1919, the German
delegation signed the Treaty of Versailles
at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris.
• The Treaty of Versailles was very
unpopular. Phillip Scheidemann was so
horrified that he refused to sign it. At one
point it appeared the country was going
to resume war. Herman Müller, the
Foreign Minister, & Dr. Bell, a lawyer,
eventually signed the treaty.
Dolchstoss!
• After the war many people were
looking for someone to blame. The
army hadn’t been destroyed and
Germany was not invaded. So who
stabbed Germany ‘in-the-back?”
• The term was attributed to General
Ludendorff whilst in conversation with
British General Sir Neill Malcolm in
1919. He asked Ludendorff why it was
that he thought Germany lost the war.
Ludendorff replied with a list of
excuses, including that the home front
failed the army:
Malcolm asked him: “Do
you mean, General, that
you were stabbed in the
back?” Ludendorff’s eyes
lit up and he leapt upon
the phrase like a dog on a
bone. “Stabbed in the
back?” he repeated. “Yes,
that’s it, exactly, we were
stabbed in the back.” And
thus was born a legend
which has never entirely
perished.
Do you agree with Ludendorff that the (Virginia Quarterly Review,
Spring 1938, USA)
German army was ‘stabbed-in-the-back’
by politicians or was it the fault of the
Generals like himself?
1924 right-wing German political cartoon
Philipp
Scheidemann
politician who
proclaimed the
Weimar
Republic and
was its second
Chancellor
Matthias Erzberger
an anti-war
politician who
signed the armistice
with the Allies. He
was later
assassinated
because of this.
Before long the myth caught on and the politicians who
signed the Armistice Agreement became known as the
‘November Criminals’ who stabbed the army in the back.
Why would the views of these two men influence public opinion?
Commander-in-Chief of German Army in
WW1 and second President of Weimar
Republic
First President of Weimar Republic
Paul Von Hindenburg (1919)
“The German army had been
dagger-stabbed from behind by
the civilian populace”
Friedrich Ebert (1919)
Told home-coming veterans:
“No enemy has vanquished
you”
Reaction of the German People
• The ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth seriously
undermined the legitimacy and credibility
of the new Weimar Republic. The myth
accused the new government of
overthrowing the Monarchy and betraying
the army .
• Despite it being untrue many people
believed it and this belief in the new
government as ‘backstabbers’ was
confirmed in the minds of many when they
signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.
How did signing the Treaty of Versailles
undermine the credibility of the new
Weimar government further?
Contrasting Views on
Germany’s Ability to Pay
Reparations
Punch, 1921
Why Weimar?
• As there was too much
unrest in Berlin during this
stage, so the National
Assembly held its 1st
meeting in Weimar. So the
constitution that it drew
up was called the Weimar
Republic
• Weimar Republic – a
democracy with a
Reichstag (Parliament)
German Political Instability
German hatred of the Treaty of Versailles caused them to
doubt the legitimacy of their government. This led to many
protests and attempted revolutions (putsches) in Germany.
In 1919, the Spartacists (a Communist group) attempted to
overthrow the new German Government. They were defeated
not by the government, but by a force of right-wing ex-soldiers
called the Freikorps.
In 1920, the Freikorps (right-wing WW1 veterans) attempted a
putsch of its own in Berlin, led by Dr. Kapp. It failed when the
people of Berlin went on strike until the government was
restored.
In 1923, a right-wing nationalist group led by Adolf
Hitler tried unsuccessfully to take over Bavaria.
This group would later develop into the Nazi Party.
Paying Reparations
• In 1921, Germany was shocked to
learn that the reparations bill
would be 6.6£Billion
• 1922 – Germany fails to make its
2nd payment
• 1923 – In reaction, Belgian &
France invade the Ruhr (without
consulting the League of Nations!)
to get the value in coal of the
money owed them
The Ruhr Crisis of
1923
• German government encourages passive
resistance to the French. Many miners refuse
to work
• French respond by expelling 100,000 Germans
from the Ruhr
• In order to make the next payment , the German
government resorts to hyper-inflation. It
appeared that the Weimar Republic was about
to collapse.
Germany & Reparations in the 1920’s
DEBT
Invasion
• 1921, first payment of 50 million £
• 1922 Germany cannot pay
• 1923 – French invasion of the Ruhr
• The government encourages a strike, over 100 workers
killed, 100,000 deported
• Result Hyperinflation
CHAOS • 1924: The Dawes Plan – American
banks renegotiate the German Debt
German Reactions to Hyperinflation
One afternoon, I rang Aunt
Louis’s bell. The door
opened merely a crack.
From the dark came a
broken voice: ‘I’ve used 60
billion marks’ worth of gas.
My milk is 1 million. But all
I have left is 2,000 marks. I
don’t understand anymore.’
E. Dobert, Convert to
Freedom 1941
… ’the causes of the
hyperinflation were complex,
but the Germans did not see
it that way. They blamed
reparations and the Weimar
Republic which had accepted
them and had presided over
the chaos of 1923. Many
middle-class Germans never
forgave the republic for the
blow they believed it had
dealt to them.’ British
Historian Finlay McKichan,
1992
Did you know?
• The Germans - and many British people - railed
against the reparations sum of £6.6_billion as if it
were a death-blow to the German nation.
• But the First World War had cost Britain £6.2
billion, and by the end of the war Britain's
national debt stood at £7 billion, of which £1
billion was owed to the USA and had to be
repaid.
• Yet nobody suggested that Britain's people were
going to starve to death.
What is wrong with this argument?
Saving Germany
Adoption of the Stresemann Plan – ending
passive resistance in the Ruhr, introduction
of provisional currency, and beginning to
make reparation payments.
Adoption of the Dawes Plan – which
provided American loans for the shortterm and linked future
reparationpayments to economic
performance of the German economy
The Dawes Plan 1924
American Charles Dawes led an international committee
to help resolve the reparations problem for Germany.
The USA loaned
Germany 800
million gold
marks which
Germany used to
end hyperinflation
and pay
reparations.
The total
amount of
reparations was
reduced.
Germany was
given a more
flexible time
schedule for
repayment based
on its ability to
pay.
France agreed to
withdraw from the
Ruhr when
Germany
promised to
resume reparation
payments.
Successful in the short-term – led to the Weimar
‘Golden Years’
46
 The Young Plan 1929
The USA continued to offer assistance to speed up
Germany’s recovery. Owen Young, head of the Allied
Reparations Commission, initiated the Young Plan.
Further reduced the
amount of reparations that
Germany had to pay to
US$2.6 billion, one-third
of the original amount.
The repayment period was
extended to 59 years.
Unfortunately, the Wall Street Crash occurred just a few
months later, making an American support null and void
1931 – Reparation payments are suspended
47
The Debt Triangle
How effective was the aid
given to Germany?
 By working closely with the USA, the Weimar government
was able to help the economy survive.
 However ordinary Germans were still humiliated by and
resentful of:
 the reparation payments to the former Allied countries.
 the fact that territories were taken away from Germany.
 Germany was essentially reduced to being dependent on
aid from the USA and was surviving by working closely with
the former Allied countries which had humiliated their
country at Versailles.
49
Did You Know?
Germany did not pay off the reparations bill until
2010. Repayment was interrupted by Hitler
during his time in power, which delayed the final
pay off to 1996.
However, a clause in the agreement said that
Germany would have to pay interest on the bill if
Germany were ever to reunite, which of course it
did in 1990. So the final historic payment of £59m
was made on Sunday, 3rd October 2010, ninetytwo years after. the war ended.
Opinions about the Treaty
by the Big Three at the
time:
Finally were there not, as
to-day, Germans, beaten
but not crushed, ready by
a rare blending of
shameless trickery and
pugnacity to aspire to
hegemony?”
Georges Clemenceau,
writing in 1921 about the
need to subject Germany
to harsh terms in the
Treaty.
We shall have to fight another war again in 25
years time. -Lloyd George, talking about the
Treaty of Versailles
Harold Nicolson, a British delegate at
Versailles, declared the treaties 'neither just
nor wise', and called the delegates 'very stupid
men'. But Winston Churchill believed that the
treaty was the best that could be achieved,
and that 'the wishes of the various populations
prevailed'.
That we have thus done a great wrong to civilization at
one of the most critical turning points in the history of
the world is the more to be deplored because every
anxious year that has followed has made the exceeding
need for such services as we might have rendered more
and more evident and more and more pressing...
Woodrow Wilson, speaking in 1923, the US failed to join
the League of Nations or even ratify the treaty.
How the Versailles Treaty is viewed by current historians:
The treaty of Versailles has been repeatedly
pilloried, most famously in John Maynard Keynes’
pernicious but brilliant The Economic
Consequences of Peace, published at the end of
1919 and still the argument underpinning too
many current textbooks… The Treaty of Versailles
was not excessively harsh. Germany was not
destroyed. Nor was it reduced to a second rank
power or permanently prevented from returning
to great power status… With the disintegration of
Austria-Hungary and the collapse of Tsarist
Russia it left Germany in a stronger strategic
position than before the war…. The Versailles
Treaty was, nonetheless, a flawed treaty. It failed
to solve the problem of both punishing and
conciliating a country than remained a great
power despite the four years of fighting and a
military defeat. It could hardly have been
otherwise, given the very different aims of the
peacemakers, not to speak of the multiplicity of
problems that they faced, many of which lay
beyond their competence or control. - Historian
Zara Steiner in 2004
The peacemakers in 1919 made mistakes, of
course. By their offhand treatment of nonEuropean world they stirred up resentments
for which the West is still paying today. They
took pains over the borders in Europe, even
if they did not draw them to everyone’s
satisfaction, but in Africa they carried on the
old practice of handing out territory to suit
the imperialist powers. In the Middle East
they threw together peoples, in Iraq most
notably, who still have not managed to
cohere into civil society. If they could have
done better, they certainly could not have
done much worse. They tried, even cynical
old Clemenceau, to build a better order.
They could not foresee the future and they
certainly could not control it. That was up to
their successors. When war came in 1939, it
was a result of twenty years of decisions
taken or not taken, not of arrangements
made in 1919. - Historian Margaret
MacMillan in 2001
Treaty of St. Germain (1919)
Territory from the Austrio-Hungarian Empire was used to
create Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and parts of
the empire were given to Italy and Romania.
Austria was defined as a small independent nation state.
Austria was forbidden from forming alliances &
Anschluss.
The Austrian army was limited to 30,000 men & no navy.
Austria was made to sign a war guilt clause, accepting
the blame for its part in starting the war.
Austria was made to pay reparations. These were,
however, later cancelled when it became clear that the
Austrian economy was utterly ruined.
Do you think that Austria was treated more
or less harshly than Germany?
Austria-Hungary before and after
World War I
Austrian
Reaction to
the Treaty
From: Worse Than Versailles? - The Treaty of Saint-Germain I THE GREAT WAR 1919
Treaty of Trianon (1920)
The Treaty of Trianon was signed with Hungary in 1920.
Hungary was treated
very harshly in the
redrawing of Eastern
Europe. The Treaty of
Trianon led to Hungary
losing 70% of its
territory and one-third of
its population.
Reparations were also demanded of
200million crowns and the army was
restricted to 35,000 men & a navy of 3
ships.
Hungarian
border 1914:
Hungarian Reaction to the Treaty:
3 days of mourning
Self-determination,
Map 1920
The treaties created new nationstates in Eastern Europe out of the
old Austro-Hungarian Empire (based
upon the principle of selfdetermination):
4 Problems with
Self-determination
1. It caused small Wars
2. It was not allowed
for Germany.
3. It created many
small, Weak countries, which
Hitler easily conquered later.
4. The new nation-states had
racial minorities living there
Self-determination caused three small wars:
1. Poland went to war with Russia and took more land.
2. Czechs and Poles fought over the town of Teschen.
3. An army of Italians marched into the Yugoslavian town
of Fiume.
Treaty of Neuilly (1919)
Bulgaria was dealt with in the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.
Bulgaria was seen as a dangerous force in the Balkans as it
was relatively large and militaristic.
Southern Dobruja
was given to Romania despite
very few Romanians living
there.
Western Thrace was awarded
to Greece. Also lost land to
Czechoslovakia, Poland, and
Yugoslavia.
The Bulgarian army was limited to 20,000 men – no airforce & 4
ships
Bulgaria was made to pay reparations of 2,25 billion francs (higher
per capita than Germany!). It ultimately only paid a portion of the
reparations.
Bulgarian Reaction to the Treaty
A Day of national mourning is called, with a plea for the Allies to reconsider:
Treaty of Sevres (1920)
The treaty was harsh – Turkey lost its European lands to
Greece.
Turkey had to renounce its claims in North Africa and the
Middle East. Turkey’s colonies were divided into French and
British mandates.
Army was reduced to 50,000
men with no air force
The Turks also lost control
over their own finances &
had to pay reparations.
The treaty restrictions were
so harsh that it lead to a
revolution and change of
leadership in Turkey.
Treaty of Lausanne (1922-23)
The Treaty of Sevres was never fully implemented. There
was a nationalist uprising in Turkey and the new government
refused to accept the treaty.
A new treaty was signed
at Lausanne in 1923.
The Turkish got back
some land that had been
given to Greece and
Syria in exchange for
accepting the loss of
their colonies. The
Armenians and Kurds
were not given
independence. No limits were placed on the Turkish military
and Turkey did not face any reparations.
Long-Term Problems caused
by Broken Promises
• Kurdistan lost the state it was promised in the
Treaty of Sevres.
• Armenia appeared, disappeared, and
reappeared. Armenian Genocide.
• The Arab World demanded the independence
promised by the UK during World War I.
• The Jews demanded the promised homeland
as stated in the Balfour Declaration.
• The states created had illogical borders.
What have you learned?
You should be able to answer the following IGCSE Questions:
• Were the peace treaties of 1919-1923 fair?
• What were the motives and aims of the Big
Three at Versailles?
• Why didn’t all the victors get everything that
they wanted?
• What was the impact of the peace treaty on
Germany up to 1923?
• Could the peace treaties be justified at the
time?