Topic 15: Diplomacy in Europe (1919-45)
- Paris peace treaties (1919-23) - Aims, issues and responses:
Sub-topic Statistics/events/historiography/arguments/impact
Versailles Aims
- Military limitations - Army limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships, 6
(Germany) cruisers, No tanks, aircraft, heavy artillery, submarines,
tornadoes or conscription. Removal of sea mines and most
coastal forts. Rhineland demilitarised
- Territorial loss - All overseas colonies redistributed to allies or
LON, 1918 Treaty of Brest-Livotsk repudiated, Alsace Lorraine
to France, North Schelswig to Denmark, Posen, Silesia, West
Prussia to Poland. Saar, Memel,Danzig - International supervision
- War guilt and reparations - War guilt clause of Article 231, No
Anschluss with Austria, LON created but Germany not allowed to
join. Reparations - settled at 6.6 billion GBP in 1922
Issues
- ‘Artificially created’ countries like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
had large populations of different ethnicities - potentially volatile
situations, lack of national identity. Difficult for these countries to
progress, and there would be an inevitable desire for ethnic
Germans in these lands to rejoin Germany.
- Many Germans were unhappy with the terms of the treaty, and
were resentful towards the allies for what they dubbed the ‘diktat’,
or dictated peace.
- Double standards - Self determination emphasised but Austria
and Germany not allowed to unify. Germans had little say in post
war-settlement
Responses
- Germany unwillingly accepted - requested concessions such as
LON membership, neutral commission to determine war guilt,
self-determination for Germans in foreign countries. Many saw it
as a ‘diktat’ because Germany could not resist allied invasion
- Republican dominated US Senate rejected Versailles, LON
membership - Did not want war, preferred isolationism. Anger at
UK and France expanding colonial empire without democracy.
Feared compromising Monroe doctrine, which guaranteed
European countries would stay out of americas
French Marshall Foch remarked - “This is not a peace treaty. It is an
armistice for 20 years.”
Neuilly Aims
- Military limitations - 20,000 man army with 33,000 rifles. No
(Bulgaria) conscription, air force or submarines. Navy limited to 4 torpedo
boats, 6 motor boats
- Territorial loss - 2500 km sq of border land given to Yugoslavia,
Southern Dobruja returned to Romania, Western Thrace to
, Greece - Thus, access to Aegean sea gone
- War guilt clause - Article 221 - accept responsibility for causing
harm, but not starting war. 100 million GBP over 37 years to be
paid in reparations
Issues
- Historians Haskins and Lord - Bulgaria was indignant because
they had failed to gain anything from the war. Perhaps explains
why they joined forces with Germany in WWII - promise of gains of
lost land
Responses
- Historians Haskins and Lord - Bulgarians were humiliated not so
much by the terms of the treaty but by the fact that they had a treaty
imposed upon them, and that they had failed to gain from WWI
Trianon Aims
- Military limitations - 35,000 man army, no conscription, tanks,
(Hungary) air force, navy flamethrowers, poison gas. All ships turned over
to allied forces
- Territorial losses - lost 72% of land and 64% of population -
Transylvania to Romania, Croatia and Slavonia to Yugoslavia,
Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia and Small areas of
Western Hungary to Austria
- Had to accept war guilt in Article 161, reparations to be determined
by a committee in the future
Issues
- General disregard for ethnic lines - Not uncommon for language
to vary from village to village. 3 million ethnic hungarians found
themselves outside Hungary - 30% of ethnic Hungarian population
- Historian Janos - Treaty terms were harsh, perhaps harsher than
Versailles. Significant territorial losses and displacement of
ethnic Hungarians added fuel to fire and contributed to
resentment. (Again could explain why Hungary joined forces with
Germany in WWII)
Responses
- Historian Hoensch - Hungarians of all classes argued for revision
of peace treaty. Treaty’s failings (eg. Unrealistic reparations,
mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians) ridiculed and united
Hungarians in their anger. Slogan No, no, never was common.
St Germain Aims
- Military limitations - 30,000 man army allowed. No conscription,
(Austria) air force, navy
- Territorial losses - Bukovina to Romania, Galicia to Poland,
Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia to Yugoslavia,
Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia, South Tyrol, Istrian
peninsula, Trieste and Adriatic islands to Italy. Anschluss with
Germany forbidden.
- War guilt clause included and reparations to be determined at
later date.
- Paris peace treaties (1919-23) - Aims, issues and responses:
Sub-topic Statistics/events/historiography/arguments/impact
Versailles Aims
- Military limitations - Army limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships, 6
(Germany) cruisers, No tanks, aircraft, heavy artillery, submarines,
tornadoes or conscription. Removal of sea mines and most
coastal forts. Rhineland demilitarised
- Territorial loss - All overseas colonies redistributed to allies or
LON, 1918 Treaty of Brest-Livotsk repudiated, Alsace Lorraine
to France, North Schelswig to Denmark, Posen, Silesia, West
Prussia to Poland. Saar, Memel,Danzig - International supervision
- War guilt and reparations - War guilt clause of Article 231, No
Anschluss with Austria, LON created but Germany not allowed to
join. Reparations - settled at 6.6 billion GBP in 1922
Issues
- ‘Artificially created’ countries like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
had large populations of different ethnicities - potentially volatile
situations, lack of national identity. Difficult for these countries to
progress, and there would be an inevitable desire for ethnic
Germans in these lands to rejoin Germany.
- Many Germans were unhappy with the terms of the treaty, and
were resentful towards the allies for what they dubbed the ‘diktat’,
or dictated peace.
- Double standards - Self determination emphasised but Austria
and Germany not allowed to unify. Germans had little say in post
war-settlement
Responses
- Germany unwillingly accepted - requested concessions such as
LON membership, neutral commission to determine war guilt,
self-determination for Germans in foreign countries. Many saw it
as a ‘diktat’ because Germany could not resist allied invasion
- Republican dominated US Senate rejected Versailles, LON
membership - Did not want war, preferred isolationism. Anger at
UK and France expanding colonial empire without democracy.
Feared compromising Monroe doctrine, which guaranteed
European countries would stay out of americas
French Marshall Foch remarked - “This is not a peace treaty. It is an
armistice for 20 years.”
Neuilly Aims
- Military limitations - 20,000 man army with 33,000 rifles. No
(Bulgaria) conscription, air force or submarines. Navy limited to 4 torpedo
boats, 6 motor boats
- Territorial loss - 2500 km sq of border land given to Yugoslavia,
Southern Dobruja returned to Romania, Western Thrace to
, Greece - Thus, access to Aegean sea gone
- War guilt clause - Article 221 - accept responsibility for causing
harm, but not starting war. 100 million GBP over 37 years to be
paid in reparations
Issues
- Historians Haskins and Lord - Bulgaria was indignant because
they had failed to gain anything from the war. Perhaps explains
why they joined forces with Germany in WWII - promise of gains of
lost land
Responses
- Historians Haskins and Lord - Bulgarians were humiliated not so
much by the terms of the treaty but by the fact that they had a treaty
imposed upon them, and that they had failed to gain from WWI
Trianon Aims
- Military limitations - 35,000 man army, no conscription, tanks,
(Hungary) air force, navy flamethrowers, poison gas. All ships turned over
to allied forces
- Territorial losses - lost 72% of land and 64% of population -
Transylvania to Romania, Croatia and Slavonia to Yugoslavia,
Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia and Small areas of
Western Hungary to Austria
- Had to accept war guilt in Article 161, reparations to be determined
by a committee in the future
Issues
- General disregard for ethnic lines - Not uncommon for language
to vary from village to village. 3 million ethnic hungarians found
themselves outside Hungary - 30% of ethnic Hungarian population
- Historian Janos - Treaty terms were harsh, perhaps harsher than
Versailles. Significant territorial losses and displacement of
ethnic Hungarians added fuel to fire and contributed to
resentment. (Again could explain why Hungary joined forces with
Germany in WWII)
Responses
- Historian Hoensch - Hungarians of all classes argued for revision
of peace treaty. Treaty’s failings (eg. Unrealistic reparations,
mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians) ridiculed and united
Hungarians in their anger. Slogan No, no, never was common.
St Germain Aims
- Military limitations - 30,000 man army allowed. No conscription,
(Austria) air force, navy
- Territorial losses - Bukovina to Romania, Galicia to Poland,
Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia to Yugoslavia,
Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia, South Tyrol, Istrian
peninsula, Trieste and Adriatic islands to Italy. Anschluss with
Germany forbidden.
- War guilt clause included and reparations to be determined at
later date.
