The Paris Peace Conference
Created by E. Tolman 2010
Revised by C. Cullen 2013
Results of World War 1
-
With the end of World War 1 , the German, Russian, AustroHungarian, and Ottoman (Turkish) empires ceased to exist
-
9 million people were dead, 21 million wounded, and 7 million were
POW’s or missing
-
The Paris Peace Conference ran from January 18, 1919 until January
20, 1920 and would determine the fate of the losing powers
- This conference was a gathering only of victors; defeated powers
(Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) were not allowed
representation at the conference. Although Russia had fought on the
wining side, they also did not attend the conference as the country had
plunged into civil war after the Russian Revolution and the rise to power
of the communists under Lenin
The Key Players at Paris
Leaders George Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of
Britain, Woodrow Wilson of the USA and Vittorio Orlando of Italy
Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929)
- Clemenceau’s goal was to crush Germany to ensure France’s future
safety. He wanted to see Germany harshly punished for its aggression.
- Clemenceau had fought in Franco-Prussian War as a young man and had bitter
feelings towards Germany. - “My life hatred has been for Germany because of what
she has done to France.”
- France lost a greater percentage of its population that any other country in
World War 1 and had seen its factories and farmland destroyed along the German
border
- Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay $220 billion in war reparations (damages)
- his prime concern at the conference was to ensure that Germany remained weak by
taking away land, weaken their main industries and reduce their armed forces
Clemenceau continued
 His nickname was the “Tiger”
 - He had little patience with Wilson’s 14 points: “What
ignorance of Europe… God himself was content with ten
commandments.” (p.33)
David Lloyd George (1863-1945)
 British prime minister David Lloyd George was more moderate
than Clemenceau
 However, he had just been re-elected to office after his party had
promised to hang the Kaiser and “squeeze the German lemon
until the pips squeaked” so supported Germany paying fairly
large reparations (but not as high as Clemenceau wanted)
 He was more concerned with post war stability than revenge
 Lloyd George and the British also wanted to reduce Germany’s
naval power
 He hoped to strip Germany of her colonies and restore Britain as
the world’s leading naval and imperial power
 He wanted to avoid humiliating Germans so they would not seek
revenge
 Lloyd George wanted to see Germany defeated but not
destroyed because he saw Germany as a buffer against Russia
becoming too strong
He wanted Germany’s economy to rebuild to remain a trade
partner with Britain and also to keep the Germans from turning
to communism
 Britain wanted to keep Germany’s naval fleet (which it did)
 George also wanted to prevent France from becoming too
strong.
 George wanted financial compensation: “Somebody had to pay.
If Germany could not pay, it meant the British taxpayer had to
pay.”
Woodrow Wilson
1856-1924
 American President from 1912 until 1919
 he remained a strict isolationist and was re-elected in 1916 with an
election slogan that read “He Kept us Out of War”
 German submarine attacks on American ships and the discovery of
the Zimmerman Telegram (a secret telegram sent from the Germans
to the Mexican government which encouraged Mexico to declare
war on the United States) forced him to enter the war on April 6,
1917
 Wilson’s idealism was desperately out of touch with the European
Great Power system
Woodrow Wilson continued
 Wilson claimed that the USA was the only country that was not seeking land,
war tribute, or revenge and that the US wanted to live up to the great American
traditions of justice and generosity
 His main goal was to create a League of Nations that would ensure collective
security and he hoped to base the Treaty of Versailles on his “Fourteen Points”
 He was also very interested in self-determination, whereby people should have
the choice to determine their country of nationality rather than having it imposed
by outside forces
 Some people considered him impractical and overly idealistic: Clemenceau said
that talking to Wilson “is something like talking to Jesus Christ” (p. 19 Paris 1919)
 Wilson suffered a massive stroke after the Paris conference and was never healthy
again. The US Congress was in favour of the USA returning to its isolationist
position so the Americans did not join the League of Nations but Wilson was
still awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
1. The renunciation of secret diplomacy (open covenants openly arrived at)
 2. Freedom of the seas
 3. Removal, where possible, of economic barriers
 4. Reduction in armaments
 5. Adjustment of colonial claims
 6. Germany to evacuate Russian territory
 7. Restoration of Belgium
 8. Liberation of France and the return to France of Alsace-Lorraine
 9. Italian frontiers adjusted along clearly recognizable lines of nationality
 10. People in Austria-Hungary to have autonomy / self-determination
 11. Occupation forces to evacuate the Balkans
 12. Free development of non-Turkish peoples within Ottoman empire
 13. Creation of an independent Poland with free access to the sea
 14. The formation of a general association of nations to guarantee the political
independence of all states
Vittorio Orlando (1860-1952)
 Italian Prime minister at Paris
 Orlando argued that Italy was entitled to land from
Austria-Hungary as agreed upon at the secret Treaty of
London in 1915, but Wilso n rejected this claim as it
conflicted with his ideals of national self-determination
 Britain and France also thought that Italy had not
contributed much to the Allied victory and had fought
poorly
Orlando continued
- Orlando temporarily left the conference in frustration
but eventually returned. Italy was awarded the
German-speaking of Austria known as South Tyrol,
but the Italians were still angry that they didn’t all get
the land to which they thought they were entitled and
Orlando did not personally sign the treaty.
- Orlando’s lack of gains at Paris influenced his
resignation on June 20 1919 and Italian resentment
over the treaty helped pave the way for Mussolini to
come to power in 1922.
Bismarck: “Italy’s appetite is invariably bigger than its
teeth”
(page 293: Paris 1919)
Germany’s Position
-Germans assumed that Wilsons’s 14 points would be basis of
treaty
-Were expecting to be treated fairly: to pay minor reparations and
to join League of Nations
- Wanted German speaking regions of West Prussia and the
Sudetenland to be able to vote to determine which country they
wanted to join (this didn’t happen)
-Germans were very upset about the signing of the treaty and
their fragile new Weimar government held out until the last
possible minute (flags flew at half mast as the country mourned
the disgraceful peace terms)
-Kaiser Wilhelm continued to live in the Netherlands until his
death in 1941
More Big Three Photos
Treaty of Versailles Conditions
 Germany had to surrender all its overseas colonies
 the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France and parts of West Prussia and Upper
Silesia given to the new country of Poland
 occupation of the Saar under League of Nations control
 demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland
 payment of war reparations ( 6600 million pounds)
 a ban on any union between Austria and Germany (the Anchluss)
 Germany was not allowed to have any tanks, submarines or military aircraft
and the navy was to be limited to 6 battleships
 limitation of Germany’s army to 100, 000 men with no conscription
Article 231: The War Guilt Clause
ARTICLE 231.
The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany
accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all
the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated
Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a
consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of
Germany and her allies.
The War Guilt Clause was perhaps the most hated aspect of
the entire Treaty of Versailles for many Germans, as they felt
it was unfair that Germany accept full blame for starting WW1.
German Territorial Losses from the T of Versailles
The Other Treaties
 this conference determined the settlements embodied in
the Treaties of Versailles (Germany), St. Germain
(Austria), Neuilly (Bulgaria), Trianon (Hungary), and
Sevres (Turkey)
 The Treaty of Versailles received the most notoriety
 Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 in the
Hall of Mirrors, where, in 1871, the German Empire had
been proclaimed after France lost the Franco-Prussian War
The Treaty of St. Germain harshly punished Austria and created the new countries of
Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria lost huge tracts of land, including
much of its industrial region, had to pay reparations, and was forbidden to join with
Germany.
The Treaty of Trianon stated that Hungary would have to pay
reparations and limit its army to 35,000 men. It gave up large
tracts of land to Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Italy, including
most of its best farmland. Hungary’s population was reduced from
21 million to 7 million.
Turkey also received harsh treatment through the Treaty of Sevres.
It lost most of its land in Europe to Greece, and many of its
Middle Eastern territories were seized and given as mandates to
Britain and France. European troops were also sent to occupy
Turkey, a source of great anger amongst the Turkish people.