On March 25, 1919, the head of the British government sent a letter to his colleagues, which went down in history as the "memorandum from Fontainebleau."
In this document, Lloyd George protested against the transfer of western lands to Poland and called for a softening of the terms of the treaty with Germany. The "harsh treaty", in the just words of the Prime Minister, was bound to arouse revanchist aspirations in German politicians.
The French delegation proposed to divide the Austrian and German ships between the victorious countries. The British and American delegations, fearing the strengthening of France, advocated the sinking of the ships of the defeated countries.
On June 21, 1919, the vast majority of German warships brought to the British military base at Scapa Flow after the defeat of Germany were sunk by their crews. The surviving ships were transferred to France.
On the German border, it was decided to leave the fortifications. Germany had to withdraw its troops from all occupied countries except the Baltics. Here the German troops were to remain until the governments of the "Principal Allied and Associated Powers" considered that "the internal situation in the area makes their evacuation appropriate."
The German delegation arrived in Paris when the draft peace treaty was finally agreed between the victorious countries.
The German delegation tried to improve peace conditions for their country and on May 29 transmitted objections to the conference, which occupied more than 400 printed pages. Germany protested against the solution of territorial issues planned by the allies, demanded the granting of mandates for peace conditions, and on May 29 transmitted objections to the conference, which occupied more than four hundred pages of printed text.
Germany protested against the solution of territorial issues planned by the allies, demanded
delivering mandates to her former colonies, admitting her to the League of Nations, establishing a total amount of reparation obligations of 100 billion gold marks to be paid within 60 years. In addition, Germany demanded general disarmament. The draft treaty remained virtually unchanged. Concessions in favor of German diplomacy amounted to an agreement to hold plebiscites in Upper Silesia, East Prussia and the Saar.
The victorious countries gave Germany a period of five days to sign a peace treaty, after which "all necessary measures will be taken to enforce its conditions by force."
On June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles, representatives of defeated Germany put their signatures under the text of the peace treaty.
In July of the same year, Hindenburg and Trainer, who headed the former German High Command, resigned.
The Treaty of Versailles was fragile and contradictory. He gave rise to German revanchism. Hitler came to power under the slogan "Let's break the chains of Versailles!" The Treaty of Versailles was reminiscent of a truce that ended with the outbreak of World War II.
VERSAILLES PEACE TREATY 1919 - an agreement that officially ended the First World War of 1914-18. Signed in Versailles (France) on June 28, 1919 by Germany, which was defeated in the war, on the one hand, and by the “allied and united powers” that won the war, on the other: the USA, Brit, the Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hijaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbo-Croat-Slovenian State, Siam, Czechoslovakia and Uruguay. The treaty was signed on behalf of the United States by W. Wilson, R. Lansing, G. White, and others; on behalf of Brit, the empire, by Lloyd George, E. B. Low, A. J. Balfour, and others; on behalf of France, J. Clemenceau, S. Pichon, A. Tardieu, J. Cambon and others, from Italy - S. Sonnino, J. Imperiali, S. Crespi, from Japan - Saionji, Makino, Sinda, Matsui and others, from Germany-G . Muller, Dr. Bellem. The purpose of the military movement was to consolidate the redistribution of the capitalists, peace in favor of the victorious powers to the detriment of Germany. V. m. d., in a sense, was also directed against the world's first Sov. state-va, as well as against the intensified under the influence of the hardships of the war and the Great October Socialist. revolution intl. revolutionary working class movements. V. I. Lenin pointed out that there is “... an agreement between predators and robbers”, “this is an unheard of, predatory world that puts tens of millions of people, including the most civilized, into the position of slaves” ( Soch., vol. 31, p. 301).
Of the states in the United States that signed the V.M.D., Hejaz and Ecuador refused to ratify it. Amer. The Senate, under the influence of the isolationists, refused to ratify the V. M. D. because of the unwillingness of the United States to bind itself by participation in the League of Nations (where the influence of England and France prevailed), the charter of which was an inseparable part of the V. M. D. Instead of V. m. In August 1921, the USA concluded a special treaty with Germany that was almost identical to the W. M.D., but did not contain articles on the League of Nations. Due to the fact that the W. M. D. contained resolutions on the transfer of the Chinese province of Shandong to Japan, China refused to sign the W. M. D.
V. m. d. entered into force on 10 Jan. 1920, after its ratification by Germany and four chapters. allied powers - England, France, Italy and Japan. The conclusion of the V. m. allied powers. The terms of the treaty were worked out at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20.
V. m. d. consisted of 440 articles and one protocol. It was divided into 15 parts, which, in turn, were divided into departments. Part 1 (v. 1-26) set out the charter of the League of Nations. Parts 2 (Articles 27-30) and 3rd (Articles 31-117) were devoted to describing and delineating the borders of Germany with Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Denmark, and also dealt with political . European devices. In accordance with these articles, the V. m. d. Germany transferred the districts of Malmedy and Eupen to Belgium, as well as the so-called. neutral and Prussian parts of the Morena, Poland - Poznan, parts of Pomerania (Pomerania) and the West. Prussia, returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders that existed before the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71), recognized Luxembourg as having left Germany, a customs association; the city of Dan-tsng (Gdansk) was declared a free city, the city of Memel (Klaipeda) was transferred to the jurisdiction of the victorious powers (in February 1923 it was annexed to Lithuania); a small part of Silesia went to Czechoslovakia from Germany. Original Polish lands - on the right bank of the Oder, Lower Silesia, most of the Upper. Silesia and others remained with Germany. Question about Mrs. belonging to Schleswig, torn away from Denmark in 1864 (see Danish War of 1864), south. parts of the East. Prussia and Top. Silesia had to be decided by a plebiscite (as a result, part of Schleswig passed in 1920 to Denmark, part of Upper Silesia in 1921 to Poland, the southern part of East Prussia remained with Germany). Based on Art. 45 “as compensation for the destruction of coal mines in the north of France” Germany transferred to France “to full and unlimited ownership ... coal mines located in the Saar basin”, which was transferred for 15 years under the control of special. Commission of the League of Nations. After this period, the plebiscite of the population of the Saar was to decide the future fate of this area (in 1935 it was ceded to Germany). Articles 80-93, relating to Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, the German government recognized and pledged to strictly observe the independence of these states. 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. According to Art. 116, Germany recognized "the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by 1.VIII.1914", as well as the abolition of both the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and all other treaties concluded by it with the Sov. pr-tion. Art. 117 revealed the plans of the authors of the V. M. D., designed to defeat the Sov. power and dismemberment of the territory. b. Russian Empire, and obligated Germany to recognize all treaties and agreements
to-rye allied and united powers will conclude with states-you, "which were formed and are being formed on the territory of the former Russian Empire." This article had a special antisov. orientation.
Part 4 of the V. m. d. (Art. 118-158), concerning germs, rights and interests outside of Germany, deprived her of all colonies, to-rye were later divided between Ch. by the victorious powers on the basis of the system of mandates of the League of Nations: England and France were divided among themselves into parts of Togo and Cameroon (Africa); Japan received a mandate for the German-owned Pacific Islands. north of the equator. In addition, all German rights in relation to Jiaozhou and the entire Shandong Prov. were transferred to Japan. China; thus, the treaty provided for the robbery of China in favor of the imperialist. Japan. The Ruanda-Urundi region (Africa) passed to Belgium as a mandated territory, South-West. Africa became a mandated territory. Union of South Africa, part of New Guinea that belonged to Germany was transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia, Samoa - to New Zealand, the "Kionga Triangle" (Southeast Africa) was transferred to Portugal. Germany renounced its advantages in Liberia, Siam, China, and recognized the protectorate of England over Egypt and France over Morocco.
Parts 5-8 of the V. m. d. (Art. 159-247) were devoted to issues related to limiting the number of Germans, armed. forces, the punishment of the military. criminals and the situation of germs, prisoners of war, as well as reparations. Germ, the army was not supposed to exceed 100 thousand people. and was intended, according to the plans of the authors of V. m. d., exclusively for the fight against the revolution. movement within the country, mandatory military. service was cancelled. part of the surviving military-mor. fleet of Germany was to be transferred to the winners. Germany undertook to compensate the Allies for losses incurred by the Prospects and individual citizens of the Entente countries as a result of the war. actions.
Parts 9-10 (Art. 248-312) dealt with the financial and economic. issues and included a commitment
Germany to transfer to the allies gold and other valuables received during the war from Turkey, Austria-Vevg-ria (as security for loans), as well as from Russia (according to the Brest Peace of 1918) and Romania (according to the Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1918). Germany was to annul all treaties and agreements of an economic nature that she had concluded with Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, as well as with Romania and Russia.
Parts 11-12 (Articles 313-386) regulated the issues of aeronautics over germs, territory and the procedure for the use of germs, ports, railways by the allies. and waterways.
Part 13 of the V. M. D. (Articles 387-427) was devoted to the creation of the International Labor Office.
The final 14th-15th parts of the V. p.m.d. (Art. 428-440) established guarantees for the fulfillment of the treaty by Germany and obligated the latter to “recognize the full force of peace treaties and additional conventions that will be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers with the Powers, fighting on the side of Germany.
V. m. d., dictated to Germany by the victorious powers, reflected deep, irresistible imperialism. contradictions, to-rye not only did not weaken, but, on the contrary, became even more aggravated after the end of the 1st World War. In an effort to resolve these contradictions at the expense of the Sov. state-in a. the victorious powers preserved the dominance of the reactionaries in Germany. imperialist groups designed to become a striking force in the struggle against the young socialist. country and revolution. movements in Europe. In this regard, Germany's violation of military and reparation. Articles of V. M. D. were actually condoned by the pr-you of the victorious countries. Pursuing the goal of restoring the military-industrial. Germany's potential (see Dawes plan, Young plan), the United States, England and France have repeatedly revised the size and conditions of reparations. payments. This revision ended with the fact that from 1931 Germany, in accordance with the moratorium granted by the US government, stopped paying reparations altogether. The USSR was an adversary of the Great Patriotic War, invariably exposed its imperialist, predatory character, but at the same time resolutely opposed the policy of unleashing the Second World War of 1939-45, carried out by the Nazis under the guise of fighting the Great Military Democracy. In March 1935, Hitler's Germany, by introducing universal military service, violated the war by a unilateral act. articles by V. m. d., and Anglo-German. the naval agreement of June 18, 1935, was already a bilateral violation of the military sea.
On March 25, 1919, Lloyd George sent Clemenceau and Wilson a memorandum from the dacha where he usually spent the weekend, entitled "Some remarks for the peace conference before drawing up the final draft of the peace conditions." This memorandum is known as the Fontainebleau Document. It outlined the English program and at the same time criticized the French demands. First of all, Lloyd George opposed the dismemberment of Germany. “You can deprive Germany of her colonies,” wrote Lloyd George, “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 makes no difference: if she considers the peace treaty of 1919 unjust, she will find means to take revenge on the victors ... For these reasons, I strongly object to the exclusion of the German population from Germany in favor of other nations to a greater extent than necessary.
Lloyd George spoke out against the demand of the Polish commission to transfer 2,100,000 Germans under Polish rule, just as he was against the cession of territories inhabited by Hungarians to other states. The following proposals were put forward. The Rhineland remains with Germany, but is demilitarized. Germany returns Alsace-Lorraine to France. Germany cedes to France the border of 1814, or else, in order to compensate France for the destroyed coal mines, the current border of Alsace-Lorraine, as well as the right to exploit the coal mines of the Saar basin for ten years. Malmedy and Moreno go to Belgium, and certain parts of the territory of Schleswig go to Denmark. Germany renounces all her rights to the former German colonies and to the leased area of Qiao Chao.
As for the eastern borders of Germany, Poland receives the Danzig Corridor, however, in such a way that it covers as few territories with a German population as possible.
Having put an end to France's territorial claims, the British Prime Minister spoke out against excessive demands on the question of reparations as well. “I insisted,” wrote Lloyd George, “that only the generation that participated in the war be burdened with reparation payments.” Germany pays annually for a certain number of years a certain amount, which is fixed by the victorious powers; however, the amount of reparations must be consistent with the ability of Germany to pay. The amounts received from Germany are distributed in the following proportion: 50% - to France, 30% - to Great Britain and 20% - to the other powers.
Finally, in order to limit the military power of France, Lloyd George proposed that the question of disarmament be discussed. True, this concerned primarily Germany and small countries: the five winners retained their armed forces until Germany and Russia proved their peacefulness. In exchange for agreeing to start negotiations on disarmament, Lloyd George offered France joint guarantees from Britain and the United States against a possible German attack.
The "Fontainebleau Document" caused the French Prime Minister to literally have a fit of rage. Clemenceau entrusted the compilation of the answer to his closest collaborator Tardieu, but was dissatisfied with his project and began to compose a note to Lloyd George himself. The French Premier sarcastically remarked that the British Premier was proposing to place moderate territorial demands on Germany, but said nothing about concessions connected with Germany's naval position. “If it is necessary,” Clemenceau replied, “to show special indulgence towards Germany, one should offer her colonial, maritime compensation, as well as the expansion of her sphere of trade influence.”
In conclusion, Clemenceau noted that the maritime and colonial powers, i.e., England in the first place, would benefit from Lloyd George's plan, because the colonies were taken from Germany, the fleet was disarmed, merchant ships were issued, and the continental powers would remain unsatisfied. Clemenceau thus refused all concessions and concessions.
The British Prime Minister did not remain in debt. “Judging by the memorandum,” Lloyd George wrote in reply, “France apparently does not attach any importance to the rich German colonies in Africa, which she has mastered, She does not attach any importance either to Syria, or to confusion, or compensation, despite the fact that in the matter of compensation she is repeatedly given priority ... She does not attach importance to the fact that she acquires German ships instead of French ships sunk by German submarines, and also receives part of the German navy ... "
“In reality, France is concerned only with taking Danzig from the Germans and handing it over to the Poles,” wrote Lloyd George. Since France considers that the English proposals are acceptable only to naval powers, Lloyd George takes them back.
“I was under the illusion,” continued the British Prime Minister, “that France attaches importance to colonies, ships, compensation, disarmament, Syria and the British guarantee to help France with all its might if it is attacked. I regret my mistake and will make sure it doesn't happen again." In conclusion, Lloyd George announced that he was withdrawing his offer to provide France with the coal mines of the Saar.
The prime ministers' correspondence was handed over to Wilson. The meetings of the Council of Four began again. Wilson supported Lloyd George on the Saar issue. Having met with a united front of both powers, Clemenceau decided to change his demand: he offered to transfer the Saar region to the League of Nations, which in turn would give France a mandate for it for 15 years. After this period, a plebiscite will be held in the region, which will decide the future fate of the Saar. But this proposal of Clemenceau was also rejected. Wilson agreed only to send experts to the Saar to find out how France could be given the exploitation of the mines without political dominance in the Saar.
2. Paris Conference (January 18 - June 28, 1919)
Organization of the conference
In total, more than a thousand delegates attended the conference. They were accompanied by a huge number of employees: scientific experts - historians, lawyers, statisticians, economists, geologists, geographers, etc. - translators, secretaries, stenographers, typists and even soldiers. Wilson brought guards with him from America, as did Lloyd George from London. The number of employees serving the delegation reached 1,300 among the Americans. The maintenance of the American mission cost 1.5 million dollars. There were more than 150 journalists officially registered at the conference, not counting the endless number of reporters and interviewers circling around the hotels occupied by delegations.
In addition to official delegates, representatives of a number of colonial countries, small powers, newly created states, and public organizations arrived at the peace conference in Paris. Noisy Paris, quite accustomed to a large influx of visitors, lived for several months in the interests of a peace conference.
On January 12, the first business meeting of prime ministers, foreign ministers and plenipotentiary delegates of the five main powers took place at the Caie d'Orsay. The presiding French Foreign Minister Pichon invited those present to discuss the order of the conference.
The question immediately arose about the language of the conference, the protocols and future texts of the peace treaty. Clemenceau stated that until now all diplomats had used French; there is no reason to change this custom, especially if you remember "what France has experienced." Lloyd George suggested using English as well, because half the world speaks that language; it must also be taken into account that the United States is acting in Europe for the first time in the diplomatic field. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sonniio, who, by the way, spoke impeccable French, said that the French proposal was an insult to Italy. If one takes into account what France has experienced, then one should not forget that Italy sent 4 to 5 million soldiers to the front, said Sonnino, insisting on the admission of the Italian language. "A bad start for the future union of nations," Clemenceau grumbled angrily. In the end, English and French were recognized as standard languages.
Having settled the question of the language, we began to discuss the rules of the conference. This presented great difficulties, because all 27 nations insisted on their participation in debates, meetings and decisions. They looked for precedents in history, recalled the organization of the Congress of Vienna, discussed whether it was possible to take its "commission of four" or "eight" as a model, etc.
Clemenceau insisted that the opinions of the great powers should be taken into account first.
“Up to now I have constantly held the opinion that there is an agreement between us,” said Clemenceau, “by virtue of which the five great powers themselves resolve important questions before they enter the conference room.
In the event of a new war, Germany will throw all her armies not on Cuba or Honduras, but on France; France will again respond. Therefore, I demand that we stick to the accepted proposal; it boils down to the fact that meetings of representatives of the five named great powers take place and, thus, the resolution of important issues is achieved. Discussion of secondary issues should be left to the commissions and committees before the meeting of the conference" 1 .
1 (Becker, Woodrow Wilson. World War. Peace of Versailles, STR. 204-205.)
On the other hand, the English dominions demanded to be treated as independent states. "We are as important as Portugal," said the Canadian delegates. Wilson objected to the discussion of issues in a close circle. England did not oppose Clemenceau's proposal, but insisted on giving the small nations the opportunity to take part in the work of the conference.
After a lengthy discussion, the French draft drawn up by Vertelo was accepted. All countries represented at the conference were divided into four categories. The first included the belligerent powers "having common interests" - the United States, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan. These countries will participate in all meetings and commissions. The second category are warring powers "having private interests" - Belgium, Brazil, British dominions and India, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Gejas, Honduras, China, Cuba, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia , Siam, Czechoslovak Republic. They will participate in those meetings at which issues concerning them are discussed. The third category includes the powers that are in a state of severing diplomatic relations with the German bloc - Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay. Their delegations participate in meetings if issues concerning them are discussed. Finally, the fourth category consists of neutral powers and states in the process of formation. They may speak either orally or in writing, when invited by one of the five major Powers having common interests, and only to meetings devoted specifically to the consideration of questions directly concerning them. Moreover, the regulations emphasized, "only insofar as these issues are raised." Neither Germany nor its allies were mentioned in the regulations.
The representation between the countries was distributed as follows: the USA, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan sent 5 plenipotentiary delegates to the peace conference; Belgium, Brazil and Serbia - 3 each; China, Greece, Gejas, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Siam and the Czechoslovak Republic - 2 each; the British dominions (Australia, Canada, South Africa) and India were represented by 2 delegates, New Zealand - by one delegate. All other countries received the right to send one delegate each. It was specifically stipulated that "the conditions for the representation of Russia will be established by the conference when the cases concerning Russia are considered."
According to the regulations, the President of the French Republic was to open the peace conference. Following this, the head of the French Council of Ministers was to preside temporarily. A secretariat was set up to edit the protocols, with one representative from each of the five main countries. Further, the maintenance of protocols, the storage of documents, who and how has the right to submit petitions, was carefully provided for. But later all this careful regulation was violated. One meeting followed another. Soon everyone was confused about which meeting was official and which was a private meeting. It is hardly possible to name another such disorderly conference in the history of diplomacy as the Paris one: its most important meetings were left completely without protocols and even without secretarial notes. When Clemenceau, who was up to his neck in these endless meetings, was told about this, he muttered: "To hell with the protocols ...".
In essence, the division of countries into categories and the distribution of mandates between countries already predetermined the nature of the work of the conference. Initially, everything was concentrated in the Council of Ten, which consisted of the prime ministers and foreign ministers of the five great powers. They were: from the USA - President Wilson and Secretary of State Lansing, from France - Prime Minister Clemenceau and Foreign Minister Pichon, from England - Prime Minister Lloyd George and Foreign Minister Balfour, from Italy - Prime Minister Orlando and Minister Foreign Affairs Baron Sonnino, from Japan - Baron Makino and Viscount Shinda. The remaining delegates of the conference were present only at the plenary sessions of the conference, of which there were only seven in almost half a year of its work.
The regulation has been approved. They were about to close the meeting, when suddenly Marshal Foch demanded to speak. Regardless of the fact that the conference was quite numerous, Foch openly proposed organizing a campaign against the Bolsheviks. In the hands of the marshal was Paderevsky's message about the occupation of Vilna by the Bolsheviks. Marshal insisted on the transfer of troops to the Danzig-Thorn region: this explains why Foch, discussing the extension of the armistice with Germany, demanded the passage of troops through Danzig. The core of the troops intended for the expedition were to be the US Army. "They show an even greater cheerfulness," Foch explained his proposal. The marshal's proposal had a threefold purpose: it provided assistance to the French ally - Poland, on the other hand, connected the United States with the interests of France, and, finally, removed American troops from France.
Wilson was not averse to implementing his plan to fight the Bolsheviks, but in this form the proposal of the marshal did not eliminate him. The president spoke out against the marshal's idea. Lloyd George also declined to discuss the proposal. Under such conditions, Clemenceau had no choice but to abandon the marshal's plan, and Pnshon even made a proposal "that the meetings continue without the participation of the military, who should retire" 1 .
1 (Nowak, Versailles, p. 40.)
Conference opening
The conference, which was to present the peace treaty of Germany, opened on the same day, January 18, and in the same hall of mirrors at Versailles, where the creation of the German Empire was proclaimed 48 years ago. In a grand speech at the opening of the meeting, President Poincaré demanded sanctions against the perpetrators of the war and guarantees against new aggression. Recalling that the German Empire was proclaimed in the meeting hall at one time, seizing two French provinces, Poincaré said:
"Through the fault of her founders, she was vicious in her very origin. She kept the germ of death in herself. Born in injustice, she ended her existence in dishonor" 2 .
2 ("Le Monde Diplomatique et Economique", Juin, 1919, no. 2, p. 6.)
The attack was directed, one might say, directly on the forehead: France, in the person of Poincaré, immediately put forward a program for the dismemberment of Germany. But the other delegates of the big countries did not support the French position: they had their own plans. Wilsoy recommended that the question of the League of Nations be considered first. He made his proposal after the meeting of the Council of Ten on January 12th. Several times later Wilson returned to the League of Nations. The rest of the Council of Ten hesitated. They were afraid that the adoption of the charter of the League of Nations might complicate the subsequent solution of territorial and financial problems. So before the plenum the question of the League of Nations was not decided.
The plenum of the peace conference approved the rules of work, elected Clemenceau as president, and Lansing, Lloyd George, Orlando and Saionji as vice-presidents of the conference.
Four days after the plenum there were lengthy discussions in the Council of Ten. Wilson insisted that the charter of the League of Nations and the peace treaty should form a single and inseparable whole, binding on all. Lloyd George agreed only to the inclusion of the Charter of the League of Nations in the peace treaty. The French proposed not to link the League of Nations with the peace treaty. In the English proposal, in a disguised form, and in the French more explicitly, the League of Nations was somehow or other separated from the peace treaty. Finally, they decided to refer the question of the League of Nations to a special commission. By referring the question of the League of Nations to a commission, the diplomats of France and England hoped to remove it from the agenda for a long time to come. Moreover, they tried to make the commission as cumbersome as possible in order to delay its work. The French and British proposed to include representatives of small nations in the commission. In vain Wilson insisted on the creation of a small commission. In response, Lloyd George repeated: since the League of Nations should become a shield of small peoples, they must be admitted to the commission. Clemenceau assured that the great powers would prove their readiness to cooperate with the small nations if they opened the doors of the commission to them. So insistently they included in the commission representatives of small peoples, who were so scornfully not allowed to take part in the actual work of the peace conference.
Wilson understood that they wanted to impede the work of the commission in every possible way, and for his part made a diplomatic move. The President announced that he was taking over the chairmanship of the commission. It has been called the "Hotel Crillon Commission".
On January 25, at the plenary session of the conference, Wilson stated his thesis: the League of Nations should be an integral part of the entire peace treaty. The Peace Conference accepted Wilson's proposal. The President is engrossed in the work of the Crillon Hotel Commission.
Having got rid of the question of the League of Nations for the time being, the conference participants decided to move on to other problems. "Eastern and colonial questions are less complicated," Lloyd George assured, offering to discuss the fate of the colonies taken from Germany, and at the same time the Turkish possessions.
This was supported primarily by the British dominions, who all the time demanded an immediate division of the colonies. The representative of New Zealand has explicitly stated that he is an enthusiastic fan of the League of Nations. However, fearing to "overburden" it, he recommended first dividing the colonies, and then giving full control to the League of Nations. Even the day before, Japan, in preliminary negotiations, also expressed its consent to raising the question of colonies. Italian Prime Minister Orlando did not mind. Lloyd George could thus hope to accept his offer. However, he was mistaken: the colonial question was not at all easy. Everyone agreed that the colonies should not be returned to Germany. Wilson noted this unanimity, declaring: "Everyone is against the return of the German colonies." 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 islands in the Pacific. Italy also spoke of its colonial interests. The French hinted that the Treaties concluded during the war had already resolved a number of issues. Everyone understood that there are secret agreements between countries. That which had been hidden so carefully broke through.
With this turn of affairs, the League of Nations was already on the sidelines. Meanwhile, for Wilson the question of the League of Nations was above all a matter of his personal honor. Although the president himself, according to his historiographer Becker, did not own a single idea - all were borrowed from others - the president nevertheless worked hard to create a charter, and the whole world associated the League of Nations with the name of Wilson. The masses are tired of the war. They did not want to hear about new military hardships. Peace was demanded in all countries, in all sections of the population. A pacifist wave has swept over the peoples. Entire libraries have been written about the League of Nations. Pacifist elements sowed peaceful illusions among the broad masses. The League of Nations was seen as the only guarantee of peace. When Wilson got off the ship in Brest, he saw a huge banner, where it was written: "Glory to Wilson the Just!". It was extremely difficult to get around the League of Nations in such a state of mind. To give in on the question of the League of Nations meant for Wilson to lose all his halo. But, of course, it was not so much a matter of Wilson's personal prestige. The League of Nations was to be the vehicle by which America could obtain the billions it had lent to Europe. The League of Nations could become America's leverage in Europe. Wilson therefore forced the conference again to turn to the question of the League of Nations. "The world will say that the great powers first divided the defenseless parts of the world, and then created an alliance of peoples," 1 said Wilson.
1 (Becker, Woodrow Wilson. World War. Peace of Versailles, p. 288.)
The President insisted that the issue of German colonies and Turkish territory occupied by the Allies be resolved within the framework of the League of Nations. He suggested that the guardianship of these territories should be entrusted to the advanced nations who were willing and able, by their experience and geographical position, to assume such responsibility; Wilson proposed to carry out this guardianship on the basis of the mandates of the League of Nations. All members of the Council of Ten opposed the principle of mandates. Lloyd George put forward the demand of the English dominions - to consider the territories occupied by them during the war, conquered and included in the corresponding dominions. Wilson objected. Then the Prime Minister of England invited representatives of the dominions themselves to the meetings of the Council of Ten to demonstrate their claims. But even this maneuver made no impression on Wilson.
Convinced of the intransigence of the President, the British and French demanded, if the principle of mandates be adopted, that they be immediately distributed among the countries. Wilson did not yield on this issue either. He insisted that first it was necessary to develop and approve the charter of the League of Nations.
Negotiations began between individual members of the Council of Ten. Council meetings were held in a tense atmosphere. Between Wilson and other members of the Council there were continuous bickering. Someone announced in the press what was secretly said at the meeting of the Council of Ten; someone told about Wilson's fights with other delegates. Ironic articles appeared about Wilson's idealism: it was argued that the president himself did not know how to turn his ideas into reality. The irritated president demanded an end to the newspaper hype; if it continues, he will be forced to make an exhaustive public presentation of his views. “It seemed,” House wrote in his diary on January 30, 1919, “that everything had gone to pieces ... The president was angry, Lloyd George was angry, and Clemenceau was angry. For the first time, the president lost his temper when negotiating with them ... "1
1 (Archive of Colonel House, vol. IV, Gospolitizdat, 1944, p. 233.)
There were rumors that Wilson was leaving the conference.
The conference has just begun - and has already cracked. The threat of Wilson's departure alarmed everyone. The meeting seemed to have reached an impasse, but then Lloyd George was found: he argued that the League of Nations was recognized as an integral part of the peace treaty; the development of separate provisions of the charter will not change this fact; this means that it is possible, without waiting for the final development of the charter, to immediately begin the distribution of mandates. But Wilson objected: once the colonies were divided, the League of Nations would remain a formal institution; the charter of the League of Nations must first be approved.
No one can know when this complicated procedure for drawing up a charter for the League of Nations will end, Lloyd George objected.
To this, Wilson replied that it would take only ten days to complete the commission's work.
But can you do it in ten days? asked Lloyd George.
Yes, Wilson confirmed.
Well, if so, you can wait, - and Lloyd George turned to Clemenceau with a question if he would find it necessary to say something.
Clemenceau stepped into the arena, silently watching the fight until now.
Third extension of the truce
Clemenceau decided to achieve his goal in a different way. On February 17, the armistice with Germany ended. The negotiation was in the hands of Marshal Foch. Much of what one would like to see in a peace treaty could be introduced into the terms of the armistice - by the way, this is how France has acted up to now. But when the French Prime Minister in the Council of Ten announced the extension of the truce and hinted that its terms would be revised again, Wilson spoke out against it. Clemenceau insisted with ardor. The single combat between the French prime minister and Wilson began. In the end, Wilson succeeded in gaining the upper hand on this issue as well. It was decided to extend the truce, leaving basically the same conditions. The only thing that Wilson yielded to was the question of the disarmament of Germany: the president did not object to the acceleration of disarmament.
Marshal Foch left for Trier. On February 14, negotiations began there for the third time to extend the truce. Foch demanded that the Germans meet the old conditions, pointing out what had not been met, and along the way putting forward additional requirements. The marshal insisted that Germany stop the offensive against the Poles in Posen, East Prussia and Upper Silesia and that Poznan, a large part of Central Silesia and all of Upper Silesia be cleared of German troops.
At first glance, this demand did not violate Wilson's instructions: it seemed to be only a refinement of the previous negotiations on Danzig. In fact, it was a new, independent requirement. The cleansing of Posen and Silesia predetermined the fate of these areas: it was clear that France was going to give them to the Poles.
The chairman of the German delegation, Erzberger, protested. He said that Germany had almost finished demobilization, that only 200 thousand people remained under arms. Erzberger rebelled against the further disarmament of Germany. He demanded the return of German prisoners of war. He insisted on sending food to Germany, reminding Foch that in 1871 Bismarck, at the request of the French government, delivered bread to the starving population of Paris. "Despair is the mother of Bolshevism," Erzberger threatened, "Bolshevism is a bodily and mental illness caused by hunger. The best medicine is bread and law..." 1
1 (Erzberger, Germany and the Entente, p. 331.)
In Berlin, Foch's new demands caused alarm. At first, they wanted to categorically refuse to purify Poznań and Upper Silesia. Foreign Minister Brockdorff-Rantzau even submitted his resignation. But in Berlin there were unofficial representatives of the United States. They met with trusted representatives of the German government. The Germans, apparently, were informed that the question of Upper Silesia had not yet been resolved at a peace conference and was unlikely to be resolved in the Polish spirit. The German government decided to sign Foch's demand, hoping that it would not have to be carried out. Brockdorf remained at his post.
The truce was concluded for a short, indefinite period, with a three-day warning in case of a break. As regards the question of Poland, the victory formally remained with France; the Germans were to abandon all offensive operations against the Poles in Posen and in all other areas. It was decided to appoint a subcommittee to establish the Polish demarcation line and to implement the agreement on the cleansing of these areas. In fact, the Germans sabotaged the implementation of the treaty; they never cleared a single part of Silesia. Wilson himself later described Germany's tactics in the Senate as follows: "accept on principle and reject in fact." By the way, the subcommittee itself was subsequently withdrawn without any protests from the Entente, which was busy with the Paris Conference.
Adoption of the statute of the League of Nation
In the "Commission of the hotel Crillon" in the meantime, feverish work was going on. Wilson was in a hurry to complete the Charter of the League of Nations by the deadline. It was not easy: every point was controversial. The commission appointed by the plenum for the development of the charter worked from 3 to 13 February; in total it had ten meetings. Before the official opening of the commission, and then in the course of its work, there were private meetings. The Americans were negotiating with the British, then with the Italians, then with both. A lengthy discussion was caused by the question of whose draft charter to base the discussion on. Wilson pushed for the American project; the British put forward their own. After long hesitation, the president proposed to take as a basis the joint Anglo-American project, agreed upon at a number of private meetings.
With great difficulty, Wilson achieved the acceptance of the principle of mandates. Lansing later explained what argument played a decisive role in this. It was argued that if the German colonies were annexed, the Germans would demand that their value be included in the repayment of indemnity; the mandate principle made it possible to take away the colonies from Germany without any compensation.
The French delegate Léon Bourgeois demanded the creation of an international army that would operate under the operational control of the League of Nations. Without this, the French argued, the League would lose all practical significance, and its charter could turn into a theoretical treatise.
The French proposal by no means intended to make the League of Nations an instrument of collective struggle against aggression. His goal was to consolidate the military predominance of France over Germany and thus establish French hegemony on the European continent. This desire was confirmed by the fact that the delegates of France objected to the entry of Germany into the League of Nations; apparently they were plotting to turn the League into an anti-German alliance. Neither Britain nor the United States wanted this. The debate dragged on. Having met with a united bloc of all partners, the French offered to create at least an international headquarters for the League of Nations. However, this project did not find a favorable response. The French retreated.
A sharp clash was caused by the proposal of the Japanese to introduce into Article 21 of the charter, which stated the equality of religions, also the thesis of the equality of races. Japanese diplomacy was hypocritical. She herself was imbued with the spirit of racism. In this case, she only needed to achieve the abolition of those restrictions against Japanese immigration that were established in the United States and in the dominions of England. The Americans would very much like to support Japan in order to have her on their side against England. However, racial equality also meant equality between black and white; of course, such a declaration would have made it more difficult for the already dubious ratification of the League of Nations charter by the US Senate.
Day after day, the Japanese knocked first on the Americans, then on the British, seeking the adoption of their amendment. Finally, they found a way out in omitting the entire article 21, which spoke about religious equality. Thus, the Japanese were forced to withdraw their offer for a while.
On February 14, the day Marshal Foch began negotiations for an extension of the armistice, Wilson solemnly presented the statute of the League of Nations to the peace conference. "The veil of distrust and intrigue has fallen," the president ended his speech, "people look each other in the face and say: we are brothers, and we have a common goal. We did not realize this before, but now we gave ourselves in this
report. And here is our treaty of brotherhood and friendship.
1 (Nowak, Versailles, p. 59.)
Representatives of different countries spoke one after another. Everyone congratulated mankind on the creation of an "instrument of peace". True, Leon Bourgeois, whose draft was rejected, said that the charter of the League of Nations should be subject to changes and additions. The representative of Gejas also said that there are "not quite clear" expressions in the charter. What is meant by the word "mandate", he asked. Nobody answered him. The plenary session of the peace conference approved the president's project. The next day, Wilson, accompanied by a cannon salute, left Europe.
Discussing peace conditions
With the approval of the charter of the League of Nations, the motive that hindered the discussion of the terms of the peace treaty disappeared. The Council of Ten began to work. Its composition has changed somewhat. Lloyd George has gone to London. Orlando went with a report to Rome. Clemenceau was bedridden by an anarchist shot. It may not have been accidental that the heads of government left Paris: they were replaced by foreign ministers, and this emphasized the business-like nature of the conference. The representative of England, Lord Balfour, suggested discussing the main issues of the world - about the borders! "of Germany, about compensation for losses, etc. It would be necessary to finish the discussion no later than mid-March. Baron Mackinac asked if the question of the colonies was included in the concept of" Germany's borders " He was answered in the affirmative. Various points of peace conditions appeared on the table. The countries concerned defended their projects. Passions flared up.
How heated the atmosphere can be judged by the demands of the Persian delegation. Persia did not participate in the war, but was on the list of powers invited to join the League of Nations. The Persian delegation arrived in Paris and presented the conference with a memorandum signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moshaver el-Memalek. Referring to "historical rights" allegedly dating back to the 16th-18th centuries, the Persian government demanded that Persia be granted no more than almost half of the Caucasus, including all of Azerbaijan with the city of Baku, Russian Armenia, Nakhichevan, Nagorno-Karabakh and even part of Dagestan with the city of Derbent , as well as a vast territory beyond the Caspian Sea, extending north to the Aral Sea, and east to the Amu Darya with the cities of Merv, Ashgabat, Krasnovodsk, Khiva, and others. In total, all these areas accounted for over 578 thousand square kilometers. In addition, the Persian government also claimed large Turkish territories. It is difficult to assume that such claims were the fruit of the desires of Persian politicians alone. Apparently, behind the back of Persia was a certain large derava. In any case, the demands of Persia give an idea of the atmosphere that was created at the Paris Conference.
There was no issue around which the diplomatic struggle would not boil. Japan demanded Shandong, which was sharply opposed by China. Since we have declared war on Germany, then all the areas captured by her must be returned to us, the delegates of China repeated. The British were inclined to support Japan, but the Americans stood up for China.
The French demanded that Germany be dealt with as soon as possible in order to deal with the Russian question later. Marshal Foch argued that the Allies could lose the war if they did not solve the Russian problem: this could happen when Germany settled relations with Russia in its own interests or itself became a victim of Bolshevism. According to House, the marshal, in order to fight Bolshevik Russia, was "ready to cooperate with Germany after the signing of a preliminary peace treaty, believing that such cooperation could be very valuable" 1 .
1 (Archive of Colonel House, vol. IV, p. 259.)
Clemenceau demanded that the French border be moved to the Rhine, and that an independent republic be created from the Rhine provinces, deprived of armed force and the right to reunite with Germany. Wilson, who was in the United States, responded with a categorical refusal. The French agreed to make a concession: they offered to create the Republic of the Rhine only for a limited time, after which it would be possible to allow the population to determine their own fate. Wilson did not accept this offer.
Of course, by mid-March, the discussions on peace terms had not been completed. By this time, Wilson had returned from America. He was bombarded with requests and statements. Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania handed over to him their memorandums demanding that their requests be met. Without warning either England or France, Wilson gave an interview about the inseparability of the charter of the League of Nations and the peace treaty. He will achieve this continuity, Wilson added emphatically.
However, Wilson himself returned from America by no means a triumph. A number of senators opposed US participation in the League, fearing American involvement in European affairs. Increasingly, voices were heard in the press that Wilson had violated the Monroe Doctrine. The passage of the League of Nations charter into law required the approval of the US Senate by at least a two-thirds majority; meanwhile, the opposition in the Senate was growing stronger and stronger. Upon returning to Paris, Wilson began to receive disturbing telegrams about the agitation of his opponents. They demanded the inclusion of the Monroe Doctrine in the charter of the League of Nations.
In Europe, Wilson's difficulties were known. "The president's ideas conquered Europe," wrote one prominent historian. "We must wait...whether Wilson's ideas conquer America!" 2 Therefore, Wilson's outcry had no effect on the conference. Annoyingly shrugging off the annoying question, the delegates of the major countries continued to insist on the implementation of their programs. Clemenceau demanded a strategic border along the Rhine and the creation of an independent state from the German provinces on the left bank of the Rhine, in the extreme case under the protectorate of the League of Nations. The French imperialists toyed with a plan to combine Lorraine ore with Ruhr coal. Marshal Foch spoke about the danger of Bolshevism threatening Poland. He demanded the creation of a "great Poland" with the transfer of Poznan and Danzig to it. At the same time, the French were not at all touched by the interests of Poland. They were not going to defend her needs. The French imperialists wanted to create a counterbalance to Germany and Soviet Russia. In the midst of the debate, Clemenceau stated bluntly: "When the question of the formation of the Polish state was raised, it was meant not only to make amends for one of the greatest crimes of history, but also to create a barrier between Germany and Russia ..."
2 (Temperley, A history" of the Peace Conference of Paris, London 1923-1924, v. I, p. 204.)
Wilson understood this - just look at the pages of the book of his historiographer Becker. But the creation of Poland on the French model meant the strengthening of France in Europe. Neither America nor England agreed to this. "There is no need to create a new Alsace-Lorraine," said Lloyd George. Clemenceau insisted on his own, threatening to leave the conference.
However, in defending his claims, Clemenceau made a mistake. Justifying his program, he insisted that the security of France required it. Denying him a Rhine frontier, Lloyd George and Wilson offered to guarantee French frontiers in return, pledging to provide immediate assistance to France if Germany attacked her. Clemenceau knew that in America they demanded the inclusion of the Monroe Doctrine in the charter of the League of Nations. In this case, American guarantees would have no real value, because the Monroe Doctrine forbade the use of American troops outside America. Clemenceau tried to correct his oversight. On March 17, he sent a note to Wilson and Lloyd George agreeing to accept guaranteed aid from both countries. As for the Rhine provinces, Clemenceau proposed to separate the left bank of the Rhine from Germany in the political and economic sense and to establish the occupation of the left-bank provinces by the inter-allied armed forces for 30 years. At the same time, Clemenceau set the condition that the left bank and the fifty-kilometer zone on the right bank of the Rhine would be completely demilitarized.
As compensation for his concession on the Rhine question, Clemenceau demanded that the Saar Basin be handed over to France. If this does not happen, he argued, Germany, owning coal, will actually control all French metallurgy.
In response to Clemenceau's new demand, Wilson said with annoyance 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 remarked icily, "she will refuse to work with us. In that case, would you like me to return home?"
"I don't want you to come home," Clemenceau replied, "I intend to do it myself."
With these words, Clemenceau hurried out of the president's office.
The crisis in relations between France and the United States was supplemented by a sharp aggravation of contradictions between the maenads of the United States and England, as well as between France and England on the issue of partitioning Turkey. On March 20, the prime ministers and foreign ministers of France, England, the United States and Italy gathered at the apartment of Lloyd George. On the wall of Lloyd George's office hung a large map of Asiatic Turkey; it depicted in various colors the territories that go to the victorious countries. The French foreign minister laid out the whole story of the partition of Turkey, insisting on French demands. Then Lloyd George spoke. He stated that England fielded up to a million soldiers against Turkey, and insisted on his project. Wilson, by his own admission, first heard of the Sykes-Picot treaty. "It sounds like a new tea company: Saike - Pico," the American president said with a hint of disdain. He suggested sending a special commission, consisting of French, British, Italian and American representatives, to find out what the desire of the Syrians themselves was. Clemenceau did not object to the survey, but suggested that Palestine, Mesopotamia and other territories mentioned in the English requirements should also be surveyed.
The outcome of the discussion was fairly aptly defined by Wilson. When asked by House how the meeting with Clemenceau and Lloyd George went, the president replied: "Brilliant - we parted on all issues" 1 .
1 (Archive of Colonel House, vol. IV, p. 305.)
By the way, only the Americans left for Syria without waiting for the British and French experts. Returning, American experts reported that the Syrians want to be independent. Clemenceau made an unimaginable noise in protest against such a proposal. So the question of Syria was not resolved at the peace conference.
Rumors of disagreements between the powers crept into the lobby. Three days later, the newspapers reported on the disputes between France and England, depicting in detail the clash of the premiers. This time Lloyd George demanded an end to the newspaper blackmail: "If this continues, I'll leave. I can't work under these conditions," 1 he threatened. At the insistence of Lloyd George, all further negotiations were conducted in the Council of Four. From that moment on, the Council of Ten actually gave way to the so-called "big four", which consisted of Lloyd George, Wilson, Clemenceau, Orlando. Japan was not included in it, because it was not represented by the head of government. However, the "big four" was often reduced to the "troika" - Lloyd George, Wilson and Clemenceau. The conference again stalled.
1 (Novak; Versailles, p. 86.)
"Document from Fontainebleau"
On March 25, 1919, Lloyd George sent Clemenceau and Wilson a memorandum from the dacha where he usually spent the weekend, entitled "Some remarks for the peace conference before the drafting of the final peace terms." This memorandum is known as the Fontainebleau Document. It outlined the English program and at the same time criticized the French demands. First of all, Lloyd George opposed the dismemberment of Germany. “You can deprive Germany of her colonies,” Lloyd George wrote, “bring her army to the size of a police force and her navy to the level of a fleet of a power of the fifth rank. Ultimately, it is indifferent: if she considers the peace treaty of 1919 unjust, she will find means take revenge on the victors... For these reasons, I strongly object to the exclusion of the German population from Germany in favor of other nations to a greater extent than is necessary "2.
2 (David, Lloyd, George, The Truth about the Peace Treaties, v. I, p. 405.)
Lloyd George spoke out against the demand of the Polish commission to transfer 2,100,000 Germans under Polish rule, just as he was against the cession of territories inhabited by Hungarians to other states. The following proposals were put forward. The Rhineland remains with Germany, but is demilitarized. Germany returns Alsace-Lorraine to France. Germany cedes to France the border of 1814, or else, in order to compensate France for the destroyed coal mines, the present border of Alsace-Lorraine, as well as the right to exploit the coal mines of the Saar basin for ten years. Malmedy and Morenay go to Belgium, and certain parts of the territory of Schleswig go to Denmark. Germany renounces all her rights to the former German colonies and to the leased area of Qiao Chao.
As for the eastern borders of Germany, Poland receives the Danzig Corridor, however, in such a way that it covers as few territories with a German population as possible.
Having put an end to France's territorial claims, the British Prime Minister spoke out against excessive demands on the question of reparations as well. “I insisted,” Lloyd George wrote, “that only the generation that participated in the war be burdened with reparation payments.” Germany pays annually for a certain number of years a certain amount, which is fixed by the victorious powers; however, the amount of reparations must be consistent with the ability of Germany to pay. The amounts received from Germany are distributed in the following proportion: 50% - to France, 30% - to Great Britain and 20% - to other powers.
Finally, in order to limit the military power of France, Lloyd George proposed that the question of disarmament be discussed. True, this concerned primarily Germany and small countries: the five winners retained their armed forces until Germany and Russia proved their peacefulness. In exchange for agreeing to start negotiations on disarmament, Lloyd George offered France joint guarantees from Britain and the United States against a possible German attack.
"Document from Fontainebleau" caused literally a fit of rage in "" the French prime minister. Clemenceau entrusted the compilation of the answer to his closest collaborator Tardieu, but was dissatisfied with his project and began to compose a note to Lloyd George himself. The French Premier sarcastically remarked that the British Premier was proposing to place moderate territorial demands on Germany, but said nothing about concessions connected with Germany's naval position. “If it is necessary,” Clemenceau replied, “to show special indulgence towards Germany, one should offer her colonial, maritime compensation, as well as the expansion of her sphere of trade influence” 1 .
1 (Nowak, Versailles, p. 101.)
In conclusion, Clemenceau noted that the maritime and colonial powers, i.e., England in the first place, would benefit from Lloyd George's plan, because the colonies were taken from Germany, the fleet was disarmed, merchant ships were issued, and the continental powers would remain unsatisfied. Clemenceau thus refused all concessions and concessions.
The British Prime Minister did not remain in debt. “Judging by the memorandum,” Lloyd George wrote in reply, “France does not seem to attach any importance to the rich German colonies in Africa that she has taken possession of. that in the matter of compensation she is repeatedly given priority ... She does not attach importance to the fact that she acquires German ships instead of French ships sunk by German submarines, and also receives part of the German navy ... "1
1 (David, Lloyd George, The Truth about the Peace Treaties, v. I, p. 420-421.)
"In reality, France is only concerned with taking Danzig from the Germans and handing it over to the Poles," 2 wrote Lloyd George. Since France considers that the English proposals are acceptable only to naval powers, Lloyd George takes them back.
2 (Ibidem.)
“I was under the illusion,” continued the British Premier, “that France attaches importance to colonies, ships, compensation, disarmament, Syria and the British guarantee to help France with all its might if it is attacked. I regret my mistake and will see to it so that it doesn't happen again." In conclusion, Lloyd George announced that he was withdrawing his offer to provide France with the coal mines of the Saar.
3 (Ibidem.)
The prime ministers' correspondence was handed over to Wilson. The meetings of the Council of Four began again. Wilson supported Lloyd George on the Saar issue. Having met with a united front of both powers, Clemenceau decided to change his demand: he offered to transfer the Saar region to the League of Nations, which in turn would give France a mandate for it for 15 years. After this period, a plebiscite will be held in the region, which will decide the future fate of the Saar. But this proposal of Clemenceau was also rejected. Wilson agreed only to send experts to the Saar to find out how France could be allowed to exploit the mines without political dominance in the Saar.
Wilson also spoke out against the secession of the Rhineland from Germany, even against its prolonged occupation by the French. But he promised, together with England, to guarantee the borders of France and to help her in the event of a German attack.
Contribution problem
The question of reparations was discussed with the same vehemence. How much can be taken from Germany - experts puzzled over this. The British Commission, chaired by the Australian Prime Minister Hughes, set a figure of 24 billion pounds sterling, almost 480 billion gold marks. Lloyd George called this figure "a wild and fantastic chimera", although he himself promised at election meetings in England to "turn the pockets of the Germans." The French demanded 3 billion pounds (60 billion gold marks) for the restoration of the northeastern departments, while according to statistics, the national wealth of all France in 1917 was only 2.4 billion pounds.
The Americans feared that Clemenceau and Lloyd George would kill the golden goose. After all, the United States could receive debts from England and France only if Germany was solvent. The American expert Davis considered it possible to demand only 25 billion dollars from the Germans.
The same disputes aroused the question of the distribution of reparations among the winners. Lloyd George proposed to give 50% of the total amount to France, England - 30% and other countries - 20%. France insisted on 58% for themselves and 25% for England. After much debate, Clemenceau announced that the last word for the French was 56% for France and 25% for England. Wilson offered 56% and 28%.
In the end, American experts proposed not to fix the figures for the indemnity, but to entrust this to a special reparation commission, which would have to present the final demands to the German government no later than May 1, 1921. The French seized on this proposal, assuming in the future through the commission to achieve the fulfillment of their plan. On other issues, no agreement was reached. Clemenceau again began to threaten to leave, which could cause a government crisis and the resignation of the prime minister. Wilson, for his part, summoned the steamer "George Washington" from America. The peace conference hung in the balance. It could be saved only by making mutual concessions.
On April 14, Clemenceau informed the president, who had not yet recovered from his illness, through House, that he agreed to the inclusion of the Monroe Doctrine in the charter of the League of Nations. For this, the Americans, in turn, must make concessions: transfer the mandate to the Saarland to France, allow Anglo-French troops to occupy the left bank of the Rhine for 15 years as a guarantee of Germany's fulfillment of the terms of the peace treaty, demilitarize the Rhine provinces, as well as a zone 50 kilometers wide on the right bank of the Rhine.
Wilson, who was experiencing great anxiety in connection with the agitation of his political opponents in America, was delighted with Clemenceau's proposal. He stated that he was ready to reconsider his categorical "no" on the Saar and Rhine issues. Colonel House informed Clemenceau of Wilson's reply. Clemenceau was delighted: he embraced the colonel. House immediately asked Clemenceau to stop attacking Wilson in French newspapers. Now the "tiger" was given the necessary order. On the morning of April 16, the Paris newspapers were full of praises for Wilson.
The agreement seemed to have been reached. How unexpected it was can be judged by the fact that in the commission where the charter of the League of Nations was discussed, French experts still spoke out against the inclusion of the Monroe Doctrine in the charter; they did not yet know about the Clemenceau-Wilson deal.
It remained to persuade the British to join Wilson's concessions. The American delegation conducted parallel negotiations with the British. They wanted the United States to give up competition in naval arms. Eventually, they were given appropriate verbal assurances. Then the British decided to support Wilson. On April 22, Lloyd George announced that he joined the President's position on the Rhine and Saar questions.
Establishment of the League of Nations
A delighted Wilson was finally given the opportunity to present the final charter of the League of Nations at the plenary session of the conference on 28 April. Leon Bourgeois proposed the creation of a military body under the League of Nations; Hymans, the Belgian delegate, began to express regret that Brussels had not been chosen as the seat of the League of Nations. Suddenly, Clemenceau broke off the debate: he declared that the proposal of the President of the United States, due to the absence of objections, was adopted unanimously. Clemenceau spoke French; he spoke quickly; the translators were silent. Most of those present did not understand him, and many did not hear him. Only after Clemenceau had moved on to the next item on the agenda did the conference learn with bewilderment that it had "adopted unanimously" the charter of the League of Nations.
The controversial issue of the Monroe Doctrine, which had so worried Wilson, was formulated as follows:
"Article 21. International obligations, such as treaties of arbitration, and agreements limited to known areas, such as the Monroe Doctrine, which ensure the preservation of peace, shall not be considered inconsistent with any of the provisions of this statute" 1 .
1 ("International politics of modern times", part 2, p. 263.)
According to the statute of the League of Nations, its founders were the states that participated in the war against Germany, as well as the newly formed states (Gedzhas, Poland, Czechoslovakia).
The second group of states consisted of countries invited for immediate entry into the League of Nations: Argentina, Venezuela, Denmark, Spain, Colombia, the Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Persia, El Salvador, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden. In November - December 1920 they all joined the League of Nations.
Switzerland, upon accession, made a reservation about maintaining its permanent neutrality, in view of which the Council of the League of Nations recognized its "extraordinary position" and indicated that Switzerland participates in the military actions of the League only with economic assistance.
The third category included all other states of the world. For their admission to the membership of the League of Nations, the consent of two-thirds of the votes of the Assembly of the League of Nations and the unanimous decision of the Council was necessary.
The main organs of the League of Nations were the Assembly of all representatives of the members of the League and the Council, which included a permanent Secretariat. Each member of the League had one vote in the general meeting of the League: thus, the British Empire had 6 votes with the dominions, and since 1923 - together with Ireland - 7 votes. The Council of the League of Nations, according to the original statute, consisted of 9 members: 5 permanent (Great Britain, Italy, USA, France, Japan) and 4 temporary, changing annually. The first provisional members of the Council of the League of Nations were Greece, Spain, Belgium, and Brazil. Since the United States did not join the League of Nations, because the Senate did not approve the Treaty of Versailles, the Council actually had 8 members.
The League of Nations recognized that any war "interests the League as a whole" and the latter must take all measures to preserve peace. At the request of any member of the League, a Council is immediately convened. In the event of a conflict between the members of the League of Nations, they shall submit it to arbitration either by arbitration or by the Council, and shall not resort to war until a period of three months has elapsed after the decision of the Court or the report of the Council.
If a member of the League resorts to war contrary to the obligations assumed, then the other members undertake to immediately break off all commercial and financial relations with him, and the Council must invite the various governments concerned to send one or another contingent of troops "destined to maintain respect for the obligations of the League." However, the obligations of the League of Nations to curb the aggressors were outlined so vaguely that, in essence, they were reduced to zero.
The article on disarmament was formulated with the same vagueness. The League of Nations declared it necessary "to limit national armaments to the minimum compatible with national security and with the fulfillment of international obligations imposed by common action." The Council was asked, taking into account the "geographical position and special conditions of each state", to prepare plans for the limitation of armaments and submit them for consideration by the governments concerned. Only. The governments concerned could not heed such a recommendation.
With regard to mandates, they were divided into three categories. The first included those Turkish regions which "have reached such a degree of development that their existence as independent nations can be temporarily recognized." The powers that have received a mandate over this category of areas will govern them until the moment when the countries under mandate are able to govern themselves. Of course, the date and conditions for the onset of such a moment have not been determined.
The second category included areas of Central Africa, which are governed by mandate holders on the terms of the prohibition of the trade in slaves, weapons, alcohol, the preservation of freedom of conscience and religion of the subject population.
The third category included the colonies in South West Africa and certain islands in the South Pacific which are governed by the laws of the Mandatory State as an integral part of its territory.
The very distribution of mandates was not provided for by the charter of the League of Nations; that was what the peace conference was supposed to do.
Finally, the International Labor Office was organized under the League of Nations. Countries not invited to the League of Nations could be included in the labor bureau, which thus turned into a kind of test committee for those wishing to be admitted to the League.
Claims by Italy and Japan
So the agreement was reached. The Charter of the League of Nations was adopted. It remains to complete the discussion of the terms of the peace treaty. All 58 commissions of the Paris Conference were hastily completing their work. Again and again disputes flared up on this or that issue. So, the British and Americans demanded the destruction of submarines. "They should be outlawed," Wilson said. But the French insisted on the division of German submarines between the allies. In conclusion, Germany was deprived of its submarines: they went into service with the victors.
The question of the prohibition of the use of poison gases caused similar disagreements. Germany undertook to inform the Allies of the method of making gases. But the requirement to organize supervision over the chemical industry in Germany was withdrawn on the pretext that the production of gases is closely connected with the entire chemical industry, therefore the disclosure of military secrets is unthinkable without the disclosure of commercial and technical secrets. Thus, having stopped before the inviolability of the private property of the German owners of the chemical industry, in which some Americans were also interested, the peace conference left in the hands of the Germans the strongest and most dangerous weapon of war.
With a sin in half settled the main issues. It was already possible to invite the Germans to acquaint them with the preliminary terms of the treaty. But then the badly put together building of the peace conference began to tremble again: the Italian Prime Minister Orlando sharply opposed the invitation of Germany. He kept waiting for the claims of Italy to be dealt with. He supported the great powers on the principle of "do ut des" - "I give so that you give." But they forgot about Italy. Now Orlando spoke. He insisted not only on the fulfillment of the promises made by the secret London Treaty in April 1915. He went further and demanded the city of Fiume, which was never intended for Italy. The rest of the great powers did not want to hear about the implementation of the London Treaty. Fiume was also planned to be transferred to Yugoslavia.
Italian diplomats, as usual, played a double game. Orlando urged Lloyd George and Clemenceau that the Treaty of London should remain in effect. Thus, Orlando seemed to agree with that clause of the London Treaty, according to which Fiume was not intended for Italy. At the same time, Orlando told Wilson that the London Agreement was not binding on the United States and that Fiume should be handed over to Italy. Soon the double game of the Italians was revealed. Wilson persisted. Orlando said that without Fiume he could not return home: the Italians would raise indignation. To this, the president threw him: "I know the Italians better than you!". On April 23, Wilson addressed an appeal to the Italian people, demanding generosity from them. In the Council of Four, Wilson proposed to turn Fiume into an independent state under the control of the League of Nations. Orlando left the peace conference the next day. But having left Paris, he still left his expert there. A storm of indignation against Wilson was staged in Rome. The newspapers have forgotten what they wrote some time ago about Wilson the Just. Now they called him the cause of all the misfortunes of Italy.
On the day of Orlando's departure, April 24, the Japanese suddenly came out. They demanded that the Shandong issue be settled "with a minimum of delay"; if this demand is not met, they will not sign the treaty. The Japanese very well chose the moment for their speech. Italy's departure from the conference has already dealt her some blow. It was obvious that if Japan also followed Orlando, the conference might collapse. As is well known, Wilson already once failed the Japanese demand for recognition of the equality of races; to oppose the Japanese again seemed to the president too obvious a diplomatic inconvenience.
Wilson hesitated. But England took the side of Japan. Lloyd George advised the President to relent. The Japanese, in turn, announced their intention to return Shandong to China in the future. In the end, Wilson gave in: despite his repeated promises to help China, he agreed to hand over Shandong to Japan.
Yielding to Japan, the Allied diplomats took revenge on Italy. Taking advantage of the departure of Orlando, the Council of Three allowed the Greeks to occupy Smyrna, which, according to a secret treaty, was intended for Italy. On the other hand, Italy, on the verge of financial collapse, continued to negotiate with America for a loan. Fearing that the conference would sign peace with the Germans without Italy, Orlando - already without any noise - returned to Paris.
German delegation and peace conference
The German delegates were invited to the German Versailles on 25 April. The telegram emphasized that German delegates were being summoned to receive the text of the preliminary peace. The German Foreign Minister, Count Herockdorf-Rantzau, replied that he was sending delegates who would be empowered to adopt the draft treaty and hand it over to the German government. In order to set off the offensive tone of the answer, Brockdorf named several delegates, including two clerical employees. Clemenceau realized that he had gone too far: in a new telegram, he asked to send a delegation empowered to discuss all issues related to the world. On April 28, a special train with a German delegation headed by Brockdorf-Rantzau left Berlin.
In Germany, they knew about the differences in the Entente camp. Quartermaster General Trainer tried to establish contact with England and America, acting through figureheads. Ludendorff, through his agents, suggested that Clemenceau create a special German army to fight Soviet Russia. Erzberger also maintained relations with the French, with whom he developed a plan for the restoration of Belgium and Northern France through the hands of German workers. Orders were to be divided between French and German industrialists, and all work was to be carried out under the supervision and on the instructions of the French Control Commission.
The German Foreign Minister, in turn, tried to establish contacts with representatives of England and especially America. In a word, Germany tried to exploit as widely as possible the contradictions in the camp of her opponents.
In anticipation of an invitation, Germany set up several commissions to prepare its counter-draft. There they studied the debate at the peace conference, got acquainted with the mood of the governments. German agents elicited from the representatives of small countries the details of the negotiations in the Council of Four. Therefore, they knew that it was about Alsace-Lorraine, about Schleswig, Danzig.
There were frequent meetings of the German government. General Coach insisted on preserving the army at all costs. Just before Brockdorf's departure, Groener, accompanied by three generals and staff officers, came to him on behalf of Hindenburg. Groener warned against surrender. He protested against the recognition of Germany as the culprit of the war, because such recognition would entail the extradition of the generals, and the army had to be preserved under all and any conditions.
Germany's opponents, for their part, negotiated with Germany separately from each other. On the way, the German delegation was visited by a representative of Wilson. He advised Breckdorf to sign a peace treaty. Brockdorf replied that he would not sign anything beyond Wilson's 14 points.
The delegation arrived in Paris on 30 April. Quickly settled in the hotel, hoisted the antenna. They created an apparatus, preparing to start negotiations, but the conference showed no signs of life. Brockdorff-Rantzau discussed the line of his future behavior day and night. Various plans were made depending on how the situation developed.
Only on May 7, 1919, the German delegation was summoned to Versailles. Clemenceau opened the conference session with a short speech. "The hour of reckoning has come," he declared. "You asked us for peace. We agree to give it to you. We give you the book of peace." At the same time, Clemenceau emphasized that the victors had made a solemn decision "to use all the means at their disposal in order to fully achieve the legitimate satisfaction they were following" 2 . The German delegates had previously been told that no oral discussions could be tolerated and that German comments had to be submitted in writing. The Germans were given a period of 15 days during which they could apply for clarifications. After that, the Supreme Council will decide in what time the final answer of the German government should follow.
1 (Nowak, Versailles, p. 153.)
2 (There.)
While Clemenceau's speech was being translated, the secretary of the peace conference, the Frenchman Dutasta, with a thick white book in his hands, approached the table where the German delegation was sitting and handed over the terms of peace to Brockdorf-Rantzau.
The German minister had two responses prepared for Clemenceau's speech: one, in case Clemenceau's speech was correct, and the second, if it was aggressive. Brockdorff-Rantzau chose the second option. "We are required to admit that we are the only culprits of the war," Brockdorf said. "Such a confession in my mouth would be a lie" 1 .
1 (Nowak, Versailles, p. 156.)
Germany recognizes the injustice committed by her in relation to Belgium. But only. Not only Germany made a mistake, said Brockdorf. He emphasized that Germany, like all other powers, accepts the 14 Wilson points. Thus, they are binding on both warring camps. He is therefore against excessive reparations. “The ruin and ruin of Germany,” Brockdorf threatened, “would deprive the states entitled to compensation of the benefits they claim, and would entail an unimaginable hass throughout the economic life of Europe. Both winners and losers must be on the alert to avert this formidable danger with its immeasurable consequences" 2 . Brockdorff's speech ended the whole procedure.
2 (Ibid., p. 158.)
For more than two days the Germans studied the terms of peace. Under the first impression, one of the delegates suggested leaving Paris immediately. A protest demonstration was organized in Berlin. On May 12, 1919, President Ebert and Minister Scheidemann made speeches from a balcony to a crowd gathered outside. Scheidemann shouted: "Let their hands wither before they sign such a peace treaty." But Brockdorf was ordered to stay in Paris. He tried to enter into personal negotiations with the leaders of the conference, hoping to achieve a revision of certain clauses of the treaty. The German delegation sent note after note, insisting on softening certain conditions. But Clemenceau invariably refused. The Germans also used their favorite trick here, trying to intimidate opponents with a revolution. Brockdorff-Rantzau suggested that an international labor congress should be convened at Versailles to discuss questions of labor legislation. Of course, it was not a matter of protecting workers' interests. The Germans wanted to use the labor movement to influence the peace conference. But Clemenceau understood this plan. He refused to conduct any negotiations for a congress.
Telegram after telegram was sent from Berlin protesting against Germany being held responsible for the war. The German delegation stated in the note that it did not recognize only its own country as the culprit of this disaster. After all, it is not for nothing that the peace conference has a "commission to investigate the responsibility of the instigators of the war."
Such a commission has indeed been created. The Germans, having learned about its existence, demanded that they be informed of the results of its work.
Clemenceau caustically replied to the Germans that Germany's continuous desire to shift blame could only be understood if she really felt it behind her. After all, Germany itself in November 1918 declared that it agreed to compensate for all losses that occurred as a result of its attack on land, on water and from the air.
In response to the argument that the new Germany could not be held accountable for the actions of the old government, Clemenceau recalled the year 1871, when Germany did not ask the French Republic if it was willing to answer for the sins of the French monarchy. In the same way, in Brest, Germany forced the new Russia to recognize the obligations of the tsarist government.
On May 20, Count Brockdorf asked for an extension of the deadline for submitting a reply. He did not lose hope of playing on the contradictions among the allies and therefore insisted on a delay. He was given 8 days. The German ambassador left for Spa. Representatives of the German government also arrived there. On May 29, Brockdorff-Rantzau presented Clemenceau with a reply note to Germany. "Having read in the said document about the conditions of peace," wrote Brockdorf, "the demands that the victorious force of the enemy presented us, we were horrified" 1 . Germany protested against all points of the peace conditions and put forward its own counterproposals. The Germans agreed to a 100,000-strong army, but insisted on admitting Germany to the League of Nations. They refused in favor of France from Alsace-Lorraine, demanding, however, that a plebiscite be held there. They expressed their readiness to cede to the Poles a significant part of the Posen province and give Poland access to the open sea. They accepted the transfer of their colonies to the League of Nations, on the condition that Germany also be recognized as entitled to a mandate. As reparations, Germany agreed to pay 100 billion gold marks, of which 20 billion before May 1, 1926. She conceded part of her fleet. With regard to guilt in the war, Germany insisted on the creation of an impartial commission that would investigate this issue.
1 ("International politics of modern times", part 2, p. 251.)
While the Council of Four was getting acquainted with the German counterproposals, Brockdorf was visited by unofficial representatives of the warring powers. He had both the French and the British. The Germans had the idea that the enemy was ready to make concessions. From some sources, the Germans learned about the differences on the question of disarmament. However, when on May 23 the Council of Four discussed the report of the military experts of the Supreme Council on the limitation of armaments of small states, more than thirty people were present. With such a number, it was tricky to keep the secret!
Shortly before this meeting, military experts were instructed to determine the number of troops of small nations in proportion to the army left to Germany and amounting to 100,000 people. This meant that Austria should have an army of 15,000, Hungary 18,000, Bulgaria 10,000, Czechoslovakia 22,000, Yugoslavia 20,000, Romania 28,000, Poland 44,000 and Greece 12,000.
Germany's allies were not represented at the conference, although Austria had already received an invitation. They could not openly express their protest, but the rest of the countries did not want to hear about such a composition of their armies. The American General Bliss, who made the report, believed that 100 thousand people were not enough for Germany, that the army should be increased and the number of troops of small nations should be increased accordingly. But Clemenceau sharply opposed the revision of this question. On June 5, representatives of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece were invited to a meeting of the Council in Wilson's apartment. At a preliminary meeting, after a lengthy discussion, they worked out a common line of conduct - to refuse to reduce armies. The President's meeting took place in an extremely tense atmosphere. The delegates of the invited countries categorically insisted on the preservation of their armies. In vain they were persuaded by Wilson and Lloyd George. Clemenceau did not speak. The delegates felt his tacit support. The agreement was never reached. The delegates of the smaller countries left the meeting.
Germany was aware of these differences and hoped that they would help her win concessions. But her expectations were not met. On June 16, Brockdorf was handed a new copy of the peace treaty. It was the same thick book, in which some changes were now written in red ink by hand. France renounced its sovereignty in the Saarland in favor of the League of Nations. Five commissioners were appointed to manage the region. A plebiscite was to be held in Upper Silesia. In an accompanying note, Clemenceau stressed that the treaty "should be accepted or rejected as it stands today." Five days were given for a response. If no answer is received, the Powers will announce that the armistice is at an end and will take such measures as they deem necessary "in order to enforce and fulfill these conditions by force." The only concession was that the Germans, at their insistent request, added another 48 hours to these five days.
The German delegation left for Berlin.
The meetings of the German government began. Some ministers, including Brockdorff-Rantzau, proposed not to sign a peace treaty, hoping that disagreements in the camp of the victors would make it possible to achieve softer conditions. Others insisted on signing a peace treaty, fearing the collapse of the empire. But even those who demanded signing openly said that the conditions should not be met. Hindenburg's opinion was requested. He replied that the army was unable to resist and would be defeated; the army and its supreme headquarters must be preserved at all costs. They secretly negotiated with the French. They made it clear that the Kaiser and the generals would not be touched.
On June 21, the German government announced that it was ready to sign a peace treaty without recognizing, however, that the German people were responsible for the war. The next day, Clemenceau replied that the allied countries would not agree to any changes in the treaty and to any reservations and demanded either signing the peace or refusing to sign it. On June 23, the German National Assembly decided to sign peace without any reservations. The mood was extremely tense. They were afraid that the Entente might launch an offensive. Some deputy, according to Erzberger, worried about the protracted debate, hysterically shouted: "Where is my car? I must go immediately! French pilots will appear tonight!" one .
1 (Erzberger, Germany and the Entente, p. 356.)
On June 28, 1919, the new German Foreign Minister Hermann Müller and Justice Minister Bell signed the Treaty of Versailles.
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany undertook to return Alsace-Lorraine to France within the borders of 1870 with all bridges across the Rhine. The coal mines of the Saar basin became the property of France, and the management of the region was transferred to the League of Nations for 15 years, after which the plebiscite was to finally decide on the ownership of the Saar. The left bank of the Rhine was occupied by the Entente for 15 years. The territory 50 kilometers east of the Rhine was completely demilitarized. In the districts of Eupen and Malmedy, a plebiscite was envisaged; as a result of it, they retreated to Belgium. The same applied to the districts of Schleswig-Holstein: they went over to Denmark. Germany recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia and Poland and refused in favor of the first from the Gulchinsky region in the south of Upper Silesia, and in favor of Poland - from some regions of Pomerania, from Poznan, most of West Prussia and part of East Prussia. The question of Upper Silesia was decided by a plebiscite. Danzig with the region passed to the League of Nations, which undertook to make it a free city. It was included in the Polish customs system. Poland received the right to control the railway and river routes of the Danzig corridor. German territory was divided by the Polish Corridor. In general, one eighth of the territory and one twelfth of the population departed from Germany. The Allies occupied all the German colonies. England and France divided Cameroon and Togo among themselves. The German colonies in South West Africa went to the Union of South Africa; Australia got New Guinea and New Zealand got Samoa. A significant part of the German colonies in East Africa was transferred to Great Britain, part - to Belgium, the Kyong triangle - to Portugal. The islands in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator that belonged to Germany, the Kiao-Chao region and the German concessions in Shandong became the possessions of Japan.
Compulsory conscription in Germany was abolished. The army, which consisted of volunteers, was not to exceed 100,000 men, including a contingent of officers not exceeding 4,000 men. The General Staff was dissolved. The term for hiring non-commissioned officers and soldiers was determined at 12 years, and for newly appointed officers - 25 years. All German fortifications were destroyed, with the exception of the southern and eastern ones. The navy was reduced to 6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 destroyers. It was forbidden to have a German submarine fleet. The rest of the German warships were to be transferred to the Allies or destroyed. Germany was forbidden to have military and naval aviation and any kind of airships. However, Germany was liberated from occupation. To monitor the implementation of the military terms of the treaty, three international control commissions were created.
The economic terms of the agreement were as follows. By May 1, 1921, a special reparation commission was to determine the amount of indemnity that Germany was obliged to cover within 30 years. Until May 1, 1921, Germany pledged to pay the Allies 20 billion marks in gold, goods, ships and securities. In exchange for the sunken ships, Germany was to provide all of its merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1,600 tons, half of the ships over 1,000 tons, one quarter of its fishing vessels and one fifth of its entire river fleet, and within five years build merchant ships for the allies of 200 thousand tons per year. Within 10 years, Germany pledged to supply France with up to 140 million tons of coal, Belgium - 80 million, Italy - 77 million. Germany was to transfer to the Allied Powers half of the entire stock of dyes and chemical products and one-fourth of the future production until 1925. Germany renounced its rights and advantages in China, Siam, Liberia, Morocco, Egypt and agreed to the protectorate of France over Morocco and Great Britain over Egypt. Germany had to recognize the treaties to be concluded with Turkey and Bulgaria. She pledged to renounce Brest-Litovsk, as well as from Bucharest, peace and recognize and respect the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914. Article 116 of the peace treaty recognized Russia's right to receive from Germany the corresponding part of reparations. Germany left its troops in the Baltic republics and in Lithuania until further notice from the allies. In this way, Germany became an accomplice to the intervention in Soviet Russia.
FROM THE SPEECH OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE JE. CLEMENCEAU
January 1919
Sir Robert Borden, Canada's first delegate, chided the Great Powers quite amicably for having already made up their minds. Yes, we have made a decision regarding the commissions, just as we have taken it regarding the convening of this conference, as we have adopted it regarding the convening of the representatives of the countries concerned.
I make no secret of this: there is a conference of great powers, and it is sitting in the next room. The five Great Powers, on whose actions they now wish to receive an account, are in a position to submit this report.
The British Prime Minister has just reminded me that on the day of the cessation of hostilities, the main Allies had 12 million soldiers in their active armies - this is our right and foundation.
Our losses in killed and wounded number in the millions, if we did not have the big question of the League of Nations before our eyes, it is possible that we selfishly decided to discuss all issues among ourselves. Who could say that we would not have the right to do so?
But we didn't want that. We have convened the interested nations in full force. We called them together not to dictate our will to them, not to force them to do what they do not want to do, but so that they would render us their assistance.
Tardieu A. Mir. S. 87.
FROM THE RESOLUTION OF THE CONFERENCE ON THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
January 1919
1. In order to maintain universal peace, for the sake of establishing which the united states have now gathered, it is necessary to create a League of Nations, which would promote international cooperation, ensure the fulfillment of accepted international obligations and create guarantees against war.
2. This League must be formed as an inseparable part of the general peace treaty, and must be open to all civilized states which may be relied upon to further the aims of the League.
3. The members of the League shall meet periodically at international conferences and shall have a permanent organization and secretariat to conduct the affairs of the League between conferences.
Accordingly, the (Paris) Conference appoints a commission representing the united governments to work out in detail the constitution and functions of the League.
Archive of Colonel House. T. 4. S. 227.
FROM THE RESOLUTION ON MANDATES PROPOSED BY GENERAL SMETS
January 1919
1. In view of the material on the German administration of the colonies formerly part of the German Empire, and of the threat to the freedom and security of all states which the German possession of submarine bases in many parts of the world inevitably poses, the Allied and Associated Powers agree that under no circumstances under circumstances, no German colony should be returned to Germany.
2. For similar reasons, and especially in consequence of the historical oppression by the Turks of all subject peoples and the terrible massacre of Armenians and other peoples in recent years, the Allied and Associated Powers agree that Armenia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Arabia should be completely separated from the Turkish Empire.
3. The Allied and Associated Powers agree that the opportunity afforded by the necessity of disposing of these colonies and territories, formerly belonging to Germany and Turkey and inhabited by peoples not yet able to exist independently in the tense conditions of the present, should be seized, in order to apply to these territories the principle that that the welfare and development of such peoples constitute the sacred guardianship of civilization, and that the guarantees for the exercise of this guardianship must be expressed in the constitution of the League of Nations.
4. After careful study, the Allied and Associated Powers recognize that the best method of putting this principle into practice should be to place the guardianship of such peoples in the advanced nations which, by virtue of their resources, their experience, or their geographical position, are in the best position to assume this responsibility, and that this guardianship should be exercised by them as mandate holders of the League of Nations.
5. The Allied and Associated Powers consider that the nature of the mandate should vary according to the stage of development of the people, the geographical location of the territory, economic conditions, and the like.
Archive of Colonel House. T. 4. S. 248.
FROM THE SPEECH OF US PRESIDENT W. WILSON
AT THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE
February 1919
I am glad that I can present to you the unanimous report of the representatives of the fourteen nations... Something living has been born... The Regulations on the League of Nations are elastic and contain only general principles, but they are resolute and categorical in one thing, in which we too must be resolute and categorical. It is a decisive, definitive guarantee of peace, a decisive guarantee of a treaty against aggression...
Armed influence is relegated to the background in this project, but it exists in the background, and if the moral authority of the world turns out to be insufficient, physical force will emerge from there. But she is our last refuge, for this alliance is an instrument of peace, not of war...
This union is conceived not only as a guarantee of peace among people. It is rather an alliance of cooperation in all matters of an international character.
Becker S. Woodrow Wilson. World War.
Versailles world. M.-Pg., 1923. pp.306-307
FROM THE FRENCH DRAFT AGREEMENT
ON THE WESTERN BORDER OF GERMANY
March 1919
I. In the interests of world peace and in order to ensure the implementation of the basic conditions of the League of Nations, the western border of Germany is established along the Rhine. In this regard, Germany renounces all sovereignty over the territories of the former German Empire located on the left bank of the Rhine, as well as any customs union with these territories.
II. The line of the Rhine will be occupied by virtue of a League of Nations mandate by an Allied military force. The limits and conditions for the occupation on German territory of the bridgeheads of Kiel, Mannheim, Mainz, Koblenz, Cologne and Düsseldorf, necessary for the security of the inter-Allied forces, will be determined by the final peace treaty. Until the signing of the said treaty, the provisions fixed on this subject of the truce of November 11, 1918 remain in force.
In the 50-kilometer zone east of its western border, Germany can neither maintain nor build fortifications.
III. On the territory of the left bank of the Rhine (with the exception of Alsace-Lorraine) one or more independent states under the protectorate of the League of Nations will be created. Their western and southern borders are established by a peace treaty. Germany undertakes not to do anything that could prevent the said state or states from fulfilling the obligations or enjoying the rights arising from the causes and conditions for the emergence of these states.
Tardieu A. Mir. P.149
FROM THE MEMORANDUM
GREAT BRITAIN PRIME MINISTER D.LLOYD GEORGE
("MEMORANDUM FROM FONTAINBLAU")
March 1919
You can take away her colonies from Germany, reduce her armies to the size of an ordinary police force, and her fleet to the level of a power of the fifth rank. In the end, it's all the same: if in time she feels that she was treated unfairly at the conclusion of peace in 1919, she will find means to take revenge on her winners ...
For allies to be satisfied, their conditions must be strict; they can be harsh and even ruthless, but at the same time they can be so fair that the country to which we present them feels that it has no right to complain. But we will never be forgiven and will not forget manifestations of injustice and arrogance in the hour of victory.
For these reasons, I strongly object to separating from Germany even more than necessary numbers of Germans and placing them under the administration of some other country ...
The [peace] settlement should have three goals: first, to pay tribute to the allies, given that Germany is the culprit of this war and is responsible for the methods that were used in this war. Secondly, it must be a settlement that the responsible German government can sign in the firm belief that it will be able to fulfill all the obligations associated with it. Thirdly, it must be such a settlement that will not contain any reasons for the outbreak of future wars and will be an alternative to Bolshevism, since it will appear before all reasonable people as a just settlement of the European problem.
A very essential part of the peace agreement should be ... the creation of the League of Nations as an effective defender of international law and international freedom throughout the world ... The League of Nations will be able to fulfill its duty to the whole world only if the members of the League themselves trust it and if there is no suspicion, rivalry and envy between themselves on the issue of armaments.
Lloyd George D. The Truth About Peace Treaties.
In 2 volumes. M., 1957. T. 1. S. 348-352.
