WWI Peace Settlement :: essays papers

WWI Peace Settlement The First World War started in 1914 and ended in 1918. Germany and her Allies, Austria - Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria lost the war with the British Commonwealth, France, Belgium, Russia and Serbia, who with Japan formed the Allies and who were later joined by Italy, Rumania, USA and some other countries. Millions of people were killed during the war, empires were broken up, countries were half bankrupt so the First World War left whole nations suffering. Idealists on both sides vowed that a disruption like this should never repeat. So The Treaty of Versailles was the way to maintain peace among nations. So, in January 1919, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Georges Clemenceau of France and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain who were otherwise known as the ^Big Three^ and representatives of twenty nine other victorious nations met in Paris to draw up a peace treaty. The Treaty of Versailles, which was based on Wilson^s Fourteen Point Programme for Peace, dealt with Germany and the rest of the losers of the First World War. The Peace Treaty mainly dealt with three kinds of arrangement which were territorial, military and war guilt. The treaty was signed on the 28th of June 1919. The Germans considered the treaty to be too harsh, inhuman and unfair. Germany was not allowed to be represented at the Peace Conference, they had no say. The Germans were appalled at the severity of the treaty the Allies expected them to sign. The treaty was practically forced upon them followed by a threat by the Allies saying that they will invade Germany if they do not agree to sign, there was no room for negotiation. The Germans were bitter and felt extremely humiliated and embarrassed. Another reason which caused ill feeling between Germany and the Allies was the treaty terms itself. Germany hated having to be disarmed with her army reduced to a very low number as 100 000 volunteer men and been forbidden to have tanks, only a small navy and no air force and moreover no troops were to be allowed into the Rhineland. The Rhineland was handed over to the League of Nations. War guilt was another major point. Germany had to agree with the allies^ statement that Germany and her allies alone were to be blamed for starting the war. They had to pay for damage and were forced to pay heavy reparations. They had to pay some payments in goods as well. Germany lost 13 1/2 per cent of