Why Versailles. Treaty of Versailles. What were the goals of the document and who signed it

The Treaty of Versailles is an important international document of the beginning of the last century, which marked the end of the First World War and established the order of the post-war world order. His conclusion took place on June 28, 1919 between the states of the Entente (France, England and America) and the defeated German Empire. Together with the agreements subsequently signed with the German allies and the documents adopted at the conference in Washington, the treaty became the beginning of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations.

What were the goals of the document and who signed it

The first in human history World War ended in the fall of 1918 with the signing of the Compiègne armistice, which provided for the cessation of hostilities. However, in order to finally sum up the bloody events and develop the principles of the post-war order of the world, it took the representatives of the victorious powers a few more months. The document that fixed the end of the war was the Treaty of Versailles, signed during the Paris Conference. It was concluded on June 28, 1919, in the former royal estate of Versailles, located not far from the French capital. The signatories of the treaty were representatives of England, France and America (the states of the Entente) on the part of the winners and Germany on the part of the losing state.

Russia, which also took part in the war on the side of the Entente block and lost millions of its citizens in battles, was not admitted to the Paris Peace Conference due to the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans in 1918 and, accordingly, did not take part in the drafting and signing of the document. .

Thanks to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the new system post-war order of the world, the purpose of which was the speedy revival of the economy of the victorious powers and the prevention of another global military conflict. Conditions Treaty of Versailles became the subject of lengthy negotiations and discussions between representatives of the victorious states. Each country sought to derive as much benefit as possible from the signing of the future document, therefore, to draw up it general provisions it took the participants of the Paris conference long weeks. Finally, at the end of June 1919, after long secret meetings, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were drawn up and agreed between the countries that fought on the side of the Entente.

Versailles is not peace, it is a truce for twenty years
Ferdinand Foch

The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 was signed on June 28. This document officially ended the First World War, which for 4 long years was the worst nightmare for all Europeans. This treaty got its name from the place where it was signed: in France in the Palace of Versailles. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles between the countries participating in the Entente and Germany, which officially recognized its defeat in the war. The terms of the agreement were so humiliating and cruel in relation to the losing side that they simply had no analogues in history, and that’s all politicians of that era, they spoke more about a truce than about peace.

AT this material we will consider the main conditions of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919, as well as those events that preceded the signing of this document. You will see on specific historical facts how tough the demands on Germany turned out to be. In fact, this document shaped relations in Europe for two decades, and also created the prerequisites for the formation of the Third Reich.

Treaty of Versailles 1919 - terms of peace

The text of the Treaty of Versailles is quite lengthy and covers a huge number of aspects. This is also surprising from the point of view that never before have peace agreements spelled out in such detail the points that have nothing to do with it. We will give only the most significant conditions of Versailles, which made this agreement so enslaving. We present the Versailles Peace Treaty with Germany, the text of which is presented below.

Germany recognized its responsibility for all the damage caused to all countries participating in the First World War. The losing party will have to pay for this damage.
Wilhelm 2, the emperor of the country, was recognized as an international war criminal and demanded to be brought to the tribunal (Article 227)
Clear boundaries were established between the countries of Europe.
The German state was forbidden to have a regular army (Article 173)
All fortresses and fortified areas west of the Rhine must be completely destroyed (Article 180)
Germany was obliged to pay reparations to the victorious countries, but the specific amounts are not specified in the documents, but there are rather vague wordings that allow these amounts of reparations to be assigned at the discretion of the Entente countries (Article 235)
The territories west of the Rhine would be occupied by the Allied forces in order to enforce the terms of the treaty (Article 428).

This is far from full list the basic provisions that the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 contains, but they are quite enough to assess how this document was signed and how it could be executed.

Prerequisites for signing the agreement

On October 3, 1918, Max of Baden became Chancellor of the Empire. This historical character had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the First World War. By the end of October, all participants in the war were looking for ways to get out of it. No one could continue the protracted war.

On November 1, 1918, an event took place that national history not described. Max Badensky caught a cold, took sleeping pills and fell asleep. His sleep lasted 36 hours. When the chancellor woke up on November 3, all the allies left the war, and Germany itself was engulfed in revolution. Is it possible to believe that the chancellor simply slept through such events, and no one woke him up? When he woke up, the country was almost destroyed. Meanwhile, Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, describes this event in some detail in his biography.

On November 3, 1918, Max Badensky woke up and first of all issued a decree prohibiting the use of weapons against revolutionaries. Germany was on the verge of collapse. Then the chancellor turned to the German Kaiser Wilhelm with a request to abdicate the throne. On November 9, he announced the abdication of the Kaiser from the throne. But there was no renunciation! Wilhelm abdicated only after 3 weeks! After the German chancellor virtually single-handedly lost the war and also lied about relinquishing Wilhelm's power, he himself resigned, leaving behind Ebert's successor, an ardent social democrat.

After the announcement of Ebert as Chancellor of Germany, miracles continued. Just one hour after his appointment, he declared Germany a Republic, although he did not have such powers. In fact, immediately after this, negotiations began on an armistice between Germany and the Entente countries.

The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 just as clearly shows us how Badensky and Ebert betrayed their homeland. Armistice negotiations began on 7 November. The agreement was signed on 11 November. To ratify this agreement, on the part of Germany, it had to be signed by the ruler, the Kaiser, who would never agree to the conditions that the signed agreement carried in itself. Now do you understand why Max of Baden on November 9 lied about the fact that Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated?

Results of the Treaty of Versailles

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was obliged to transfer to the Entente countries: the entire fleet, all airships, as well as almost all locomotives, wagons and trucks. In addition, Germany was forbidden to have a regular army, to engage in the production of weapons and military equipment. It was forbidden to have a fleet and aviation. In fact, Ebert signed not a truce, but an unconditional surrender. Moreover, Germany had no grounds for this. Allies didn't bomb German cities and not a single enemy soldier was in German territory. The Kaiser's army successfully conducted military operations. Ebert was well aware that the German people would not approve of such a peace treaty and would want to continue the war. Therefore, another trick was invented. The treaty was called a truce (this a priori told the Germans that the war was simply ending without any concessions), but it was signed only after Ebert and his government laid down their arms. Germany, even before the signing of the "truce", transferred the fleet, aviation and all weapons to the Entente countries. After that, the resistance of the German people to the Treaty of Versailles was impossible. In addition to the loss of the army and navy, Germany was forced to cede a significant part of its territory.

The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 was humiliating for Germany. Most politicians later said that it was not peace, but simply a truce before a new war. And so it happened.

United Kingdom United Kingdom
France
Italy
USA USA(did not ratify the Treaty)
Japan
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Treaty of Versailles- an agreement signed on June 28, 1919 at the Palace of Versailles in France, officially ending the First World War -1918. After lengthy secret meetings, the terms of the treaty were worked out at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920 and a peace treaty was signed between representatives of the victorious countries on the one hand: the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan, as well as Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil , Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hijaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay and surrendered Germany - on the other. Peace treaties between the Entente countries and other states that fought on the fronts of the First World War on the side of Germany were signed later: with Austria (Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919)) - September 10, 1919, with Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly) - November 27, 1919 of the year, Hungary (Trianon Treaty) - June 4, 1920, Ottoman Empire (Sevres Peace Treaty) - August 10, 1920. Later, the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 replaced Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923- one of the main final documents of the Lausanne Conference of 1922-1923, signed on July 24, 1923 by Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, on the one hand, and Turkey on the other. The Treaty of Versailles came into force on January 10, 1920, after it was ratified by Germany and the four main allied powers - Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Among the countries that signed the peace treaty, three states - the United States, Hejaz and Ecuador - subsequently refused to ratify it. In connection with the unwillingness of the United States to bind itself with participation in the League of Nations, which at that time was dominated by the influence of Great Britain and France and whose charter was integral part Versailles Peace Treaty, the US Senate refused to ratify this peace treaty. Later, in August 1921, US diplomats concluded a special treaty with Germany, almost identical to the Treaty of Versailles, but without articles relating to the League of Nations.

Agreement conditions

The question of the nationality of Schleswig, the southern part of East Prussia and Upper Silesia was to be decided by a plebiscite. As a result, part of Schleswig passed to Denmark in 1920, part of Upper Silesia to Poland in 1921 (see: Upper Silesian plebiscite), the southern part East Prussia remained with Germany (see: Warmian-Masurian plebiscite); a small section of the Silesian territory (Gluchin region) went to Czechoslovakia.

Under the treaty, Germany recognized and pledged to strictly observe the independence of Austria, and also recognized the full independence of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The entire German part of the left bank of the Rhine and a strip of the right bank 50 km wide were subject to demilitarization. As a guarantee of Germany's compliance with Part XIV of the Treaty, the condition of temporary occupation of part of the territory of the Rhine River basin by Allied forces for 15 years was put forward.

Repartition of the German colonies

Germany was deprived of all its colonies, which were later divided among the main victorious powers on the basis of the League of Nations mandate system.

Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany renounced all concessions and privileges in China, from the rights of consular jurisdiction and from any type of property in Siam, from all treaties and agreements with Liberia, recognized the protectorate of France over Morocco and Great Britain over Egypt. Germany's rights in relation to Jiao-Zhou and the entire Shandong province of China went to Japan (as a result of this, the Treaty of Versailles was not signed by China).

Reparations and restrictions on the armed forces

English newspaper Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper announces the signing of the treaty

On October 3, 2010, Germany completed the payment of reparations imposed on it by the Versailles Peace Treaty with the last tranche of 70 million euros (269 billion gold marks - the equivalent of about 100 thousand tons of gold). Payments ceased after Hitler came to power, and were resumed after the London Treaty of 1953.

Implications for Russia

According to Article 116, Germany recognized "the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914", as well as the abolition of the Brest Peace of 1918 and all other agreements concluded by it with the Bolshevik government. Article 117 of the Treaty of Versailles called into question the legitimacy of the Bolshevik regime in Russia and obliged Germany to recognize all treaties and agreements of the Allied and Associated Powers with states that "formed or are being formed on all or part of the territories of the former Russian Empire."

Compliance with the contract

After the Nazis came to power, the restrictions imposed on Germany were not properly controlled by the European powers, or their violations were deliberately gotten away with Germany. Examples include the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the Anschluss of Austria, the secession of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent occupation of Bohemia and Moravia.

Territories wrested from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles

Acquiring States	Area, km²	Population, thousand people

The Treaty of Versailles, concluded between the countries of the Entente and the Triple Alliance in 1919, determined the conditions for the end of the First World War for each of the warring parties.

At the beginning of the 20th century, tension gradually increased in the world. Each of the major European powers wanted to strengthen their positions, acquire new territories and expand their zone of influence. Territorial claims were both in the countries of the Entente (based on three powerful powers: Russia, France and England), and in the Triple Alliance (Germany, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary). Later, most European countries were drawn into the war.

Bloody battles and diseases claimed the lives of almost 10 million people, 20 million were injured. The war began in 1914 and ended only in 1919. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28 at the Palace of Versailles, put an end to it. However, the terms of the treaty turned out to be such that it was clear to the political leaders of the states that in the near future the world should expect new war. The “offended” party under the terms of the Versailles Agreement was Germany, which, instead of a dominant position, fell back into the position of a controlled state, deprived even of the opportunity to have its own regular army.

The results of the war for Germany under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

The German Empire was no longer a powerful power. The country has lost

colonial lands in Africa;
the Pacific islands it controls;
benefits and privileges in Thailand;
fleet, airships, railway transport (all this she had to transfer to the countries of the Entente);
its army and military aviation;
coal mines of the Saar basin;
the city of Danzig (which came under the control of the League of Nations).

The Entente received the right to a 15-year occupation of the left bank of the Rhine. This was due to the need to monitor that there were no attempts on the part of Germany to violate the terms of the treaty. General base Germany was dissolved, conscription was abolished. Emperor Wilhelm II was recognized as an international criminal, he should have been brought to the tribunal.

The German Empire was obliged to pay huge sums of reparations to the Entente countries. Only in the next three years after the conclusion of peace, she had to give 20 billion marks in gold, securities and goods.

The total losses of Germany amounted to an eighth of the territories that belonged to her before the war, and a twelfth of the population.

Germany's ally Austria-Hungary as a result of the agreement ceased to exist as separate state: it broke up into independent units (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia).

Bulgaria, the third ally, withdrew from the war even before the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, being economically exhausted. The Bulgarian government was forced to deal with internal conflicts that flared up due to the difficult economic situation.

The results of the war for the victorious countries

The Treaty of Versailles brought opponents tripartite alliance considerable acquisitions, although the losses of the population during the hostilities were huge on this side as well.

Since new supporters joined the Entente during the war, they also managed to change their borders in the direction of increasing.

State	Acquired lands
	Alsace and Lorraine (these lands belonged to France before, until 1870, when they were under German rule). Plus the Saar coal mines.
	Eupen, Malmedy
	Schleswig-Holstein
	Became independent and received the regions of Pomerania, Poznan, parts of Prussia - Western and Eastern
England and France	Received joint control of the German colonies of Cameroon and Togo
England, Belgium, Portugal	Divided the colonies in the eastern part of the African continent
Australia	Part of New Guinea
New Zealand	Samoa archipelago
	pacific islands

France, Belgium and Italy, under the terms of the agreement, were to receive from Germany a considerable amount of fuel and energy reserves: 140, 80 and 77 million tons each, respectively.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles as a prerequisite for the formation of the Third Reich

The German Empire hoped, after the end of hostilities, to finally form as a powerful power playing a leading role in Europe politically and economically. Other states also sought to strengthen their position, and in addition, they feared the growing influence of Germany and the potential threat from her side.

The German government did not immediately agree to recognize the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the rest of the countries tried to revise it on the most favorable terms for themselves. Therefore, before the signing, many secret meetings were held, during which the parties finally managed to more or less agree.

Historical significance of the treaty

The Versailles peace could not become lasting: the representatives of the political elite of the European states understood that Germany would sooner or later try to take revenge. Therefore, some called this peace just a truce. For some time, the contradictions between the states managed to be settled, but it was inevitable. Two decades passed, and it broke out. After all, the Treaty of Versailles, without eliminating the contradictions that existed before between states, added new contradictions - between the winners and the vanquished.

Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd George

The Treaty of Versailles is the peace treaty that ended the First World War. It was concluded by the Entente countries (France, England ...) on the one hand and their opponents - the countries of the Central European bloc led by Germany on the other

World War I

Started in August 1914. Coalitions of states fought: the British Empire, France, Russian empire(until 1918). USA (since 1917), its allies and dominions and Germany, the Habsburg Empire, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire. fighting were conducted mainly in Europe, partly in the Middle East, after Japan entered the war on the side of Britain - in Oceania. During the four years of the war, about 70 million people took part in it, about 10 million died, more than 50 million were injured and maimed. Having exhausted all the resources to continue the struggle, with the acute dissatisfaction of the people with the disasters that had befallen them as a result of hostilities, Germany admitted defeat. On November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed in the Compiegne Forest near Paris, after which the fighting did not resume. Allies German Empire capitulated even earlier: Austria-Hungary - November 3, Bulgaria - September 29, Turkey - October 30. With the Armistice of Compiègne, the preparation of the text and terms of the peace treaty began.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were worked out at the Paris Peace Conference.

Paris Peace Conference

Germany, as the loser of the war and, in the opinion of France and Great Britain, its main culprit, was not invited to participate in the negotiations, Soviet Russia, concluded with Germany - too. Only the victors had a voice in working out the terms of the Versailles Peace. They were divided into four categories.
— The first included the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, whose representatives had the right to take part in all meetings and commissions.
— In the second - Belgium, Romania, Serbia, Portugal, China, Nicaragua, Liberia, Haiti. They were invited to participate only in those meetings that directly concerned them.
— The third category included countries that were in a state of severing diplomatic relations with the bloc of Central Powers: Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador. The delegates of these countries could also take part in the meetings if they discussed issues directly related to them.
— The fourth group consisted of neutral states or countries that were in the process of formation. Their delegates could speak only after being invited to do so by one of the five major powers, and only on matters specifically concerning those countries.

Preparing the draft peace treaty, the conference participants sought to maximize the benefits for their countries at the expense of the losers. For example, the division of the colonies of Germany:
“Everyone agreed that the colonies should not be returned to Germany ... But what to do with them? This issue has caused controversy. Each of the major countries immediately presented its long-considered claims. France demanded the division of Togo and Cameroon. Japan hoped to secure the Shandong Peninsula and the German Isles in pacific ocean. Italy also spoke about its colonial interests” (“History of Diplomacy” Volume 3)

Smoothing out contradictions, searching for compromises, establishing the League of Nations at the initiative of the United States - international organization, designed to influence world politics so that there are no more wars between states, took six months

The main participants in the development of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles

USA: President Wilson, Secretary of State Lansing
France: Prime Minister Clemenceau, Foreign Minister Pichon
England: Prime Minister Lloyd George, Foreign Secretary Balfour
Italy: Prime Minister Orlando, Foreign Minister Sonnino
Japan: Baron Makino, Viscount Shinda

Course of the Paris Peace Conference. Briefly

January 12 - the first business meeting of prime ministers, foreign ministers and plenipotentiary delegates of the five major powers, at which the language of negotiations was discussed. They recognized English and French
January 18 - official opening of the conference in the mirror hall of Versailles
January 25 - on plenary session the conference accepted Wilson's proposal that the League of Nations should be an integral part of the entire peace treaty
January 30 - Differences of the parties on issues of press coverage of the negotiations came to light: “It seemed,” House wrote in his diary on January 30, 1919, “that everything went to dust ... The President was angry, Lloyd George was angry, and Clemenceau was angry. For the first time, the president lost his composure when negotiating with them ... ”(Diary of a negotiator from the United States, Colonel House)
February 3-13 - ten meetings of the Commission for the development of the charter of the League of Nations
February 14 - a new truce was concluded with Germany to replace the Compiègne one: for a short period and with a 3-day warning in case of a break
February 14 - Wilson solemnly reported to the peace conference the statute of the League of Nations: "The veil of mistrust and intrigue has fallen, people look each other in the face and say: we are brothers, and we have a common goal .... From our agreement of brotherhood and friendship" - finished President's speech
March 17 - note to Clemenceau Wilson and Lloyd George with a proposal to separate the left bank of the Rhine from Germany and establish the occupation of the left bank provinces by the inter-allied armed forces for 30 years, demilitarize the left bank and a fifty-kilometer zone on the right bank of the Rhine

(at the same time) Clemenceau demanded the transfer of the Saar basin to France. If this did not happen, he argued, Germany, owning coal, would actually control all of French metallurgy. In response to Clemenceau's new demand, Wilson stated that he had never heard of the Saar until now. In his temper, Clemenceau called Wilson a Germanophile. He bluntly declared that no French prime minister would sign a treaty that would not condition the return of the Saar to France.
“So if France doesn’t get what she wants,” the president said icily, “she will refuse to act together with us. In that case, would you like me to come home?
“I don’t want you to go home,” Clemenceau replied, “I intend to do it myself.” With these words, Clemenceau quickly left the president's office.

March 20 - a meeting of prime ministers and foreign ministers of France, England, the United States and Italy on the division of spheres of influence in Asian Turkey. Wilson summed up the meeting: “Brilliant - we parted ways on all issues”
March 23 - Disputes between Britain and France over Syria are leaked to the press. Lloyd George demanded an end to newspaper blackmail. “If this continues, I will leave. Under such conditions, I cannot work,” he threatened. At the urging of Lloyd George, all further negotiations took place in the Council of Four. From that moment on, the Council of Ten (leaders and foreign ministers of the United States, France, England, Italy and Japan) gave way to the so-called "Big Four", consisting of Lloyd George, Wilson, Clemenceau, Orlando
March 25 - Lloyd George's memorandum, the so-called "Document from Fontainebleau", outraged Clemenceau. In it, Lloyd George opposed the dismemberment of Germany, against the transfer of 2,100 thousand Germans to Poland, proposed that the Rhineland be left to Germany, but demilitarize it, return Alsace-Lorraine to France, grant it the right to exploit the coal mines of the Saar basin for ten years, give Belgium Malmedy and Moreno, Denmark - certain parts of the territory of Schleswig, force Germany to give up all rights to the colony

“You can deprive Germany of her colonies, bring her army to the size of a police force and her fleet to the level of the fleet of a power of the fifth rank. Ultimately, it doesn't matter: if she finds the 1919 peace treaty unfair, "

April 14 - Clemenceau informed Wilson of his consent to the inclusion of the Monroe Doctrine * in the charter of the League of Nations. In response, Wilson revised his categorical "no" on the Saar and Rhine issues.
April 22 - Lloyd George announced that he joins the President's position on the Rhine and Saar issues.
April 24 - in protest against the unwillingness Council of Four to annex the city of Fiume (today the Croatian port of Rijeka) to Italy, the Italian Prime Minister Orlando left the conference
April 24 - Japan demanded that the Shandong Peninsula, which belongs to China (in eastern China), be handed over to it.
April 25 — German delegation invited to Versailles
April 30 - German delegation arrived in Versailles
May 7 - A draft peace treaty is presented to Germany. Clemenceau: “The hour of reckoning has come. You asked us for peace. We agree to provide it to you. We give you the book of the world"
May 12 - At a meeting of many thousands in Berlin, President Ebert and Minister Scheidemann said: "Let their hands wither before (the German representatives in Vnrsala) sign such a peace treaty"
May 29 - German Foreign Minister von Brockdorff-Rantzau presented Clemenceau with a reply note to Germany. Germany protested against all points of the peace conditions and put forward its own counterproposals. All of them were rejected
June 16 - Brockdorf was handed a new copy of the peace treaty with minimal changes
June 21 - The German government announced that it was ready to sign a peace treaty, without recognizing, however, that German people is responsible for the war
June 22 - Clemenceau replied that the allied countries would not agree to any changes in the treaty and to any reservations and demanded either to sign peace or refuse to sign
June 23 - National Assembly Germany decided to sign peace without any reservations
June 28 - New German Foreign Minister Hermann Müller and Minister of Justice Bell sign the Treaty of Versailles.

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

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balloons

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river fleet

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Results of the Versailles Peace

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Military establishment

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