Why Versailles? Treaty of Versailles. Reparations and restrictions on the military

- (Versailles, Treaty of) It is believed that this treaty, signed on June 28, 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference (seven months after the armistice and the end of the 1st war), put an end to the old order in Europe. Guilt for unleashing... ... Political science. Dictionary.

TREATY OF VERSAILLES- peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919 between the Entente countries and Germany. Together with the treaties signed by the Entente countries with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey (Saint Germain of August 10, 1920, Neuilly of November 27, 1919, ... ... Legal encyclopedia

Treaty of Versailles- between the Entente powers and Germany, signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919 and diplomatically cementing the bloody results of the imperialist war. According to this agreement, in its enslaving and predatory nature it far surpassed... ... Historical reference book of Russian Marxist

Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation)- Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of Versailles: Treaty of Versailles Alliance (1756) offensive treaty in the war for Silesia (1756 1763). Treaty of Versailles Union (1758) Treaty of Versailles (1768) treaty between the Republic of Genoa... ... Wikipedia

TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1783- TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1783, a peace treaty signed at Versailles on September 3, 1783 between the United States and its allies France, Spain and the Netherlands, on the one hand, and Great Britain on the other. The Treaty of Versailles ended the victorious War of... encyclopedic Dictionary

TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1919- PEACE TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1919, the treaty that ended the 1st World War. Signed at Versailles on June 28 by the victorious powers of the USA, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, etc., on the one hand, and defeated Germany on the other... encyclopedic Dictionary

TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1758- TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1758, an alliance treaty between France and Austria, concluded on December 30, 1758, clarified and supplemented the provisions Treaty of Versailles 1756 (see TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1756). March 18, 1760 to the treaty... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Treaty of Versailles 1919- Treaty that officially ended World War I. Signed on June 28, 1919 at Versailles (France) by the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, as well as Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala... Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1756- TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1756, a treaty of alliance between Austria and France, concluded on May 1, 1756 at Versailles; formalized the anti-Prussian coalition in the Seven Years' War (see SEVEN YEARS' WAR) of 1756-1763. Due to the strengthening of Prussia in Central Europe,… … encyclopedic Dictionary

Treaty of Versailles 1919- This article is about the treaty that ended World War I. Other meanings: Treaty of Versailles (meanings). Treaty of Versailles From left to right: David Lloyd George, Vittorio Emanuel Orlando, Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson... Wikipedia

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Treaty of Versailles, S.W. Klyuchnikov. The Versailles Peace Treaty was intended to consolidate the redivision of the capitalist world in favor of the victorious powers. According to it, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders of 1870);... Buy for 1982 UAH (Ukraine only)
Treaty of Versailles, S.W. Klyuchnikov. The Treaty of Versailles was intended to consolidate the redivision of the capitalist world in favor of the victorious powers. According to it, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders of 1870);...

Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd George

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

World War I

Began in August 1914. Coalitions of states fought: the British Empire, France, Russian empire(until 1918). The USA (since 1917), its allies and dominions and Germany, the Habsburg Empire, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire. The fighting took place mainly in Europe, partly in the Middle East, and after Japan entered the war on the side of Britain - in Oceania. During the four years of the war, about 70 million people took part in it, approximately 10 million died, more than 50 million were wounded and maimed. Having exhausted all resources to continue the struggle, with the people's acute dissatisfaction with the disasters that befell them as a result of military action, Germany admitted defeat. On November 11, 1918, a truce was signed in the Compiegne Forest near Paris, after which fighting never resumed. The allies of the German Empire capitulated even earlier: Austria-Hungary - November 3, Bulgaria - September 29, Turkey - October 30. The preparation of the text and terms of the peace treaty began with the Compiegne Truce.

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

Paris Peace Conference

Germany, as the loser of the war and, in the opinion of France and Great Britain, its main culprit, was not invited to participate in the negotiations, nor was Soviet Russia, which had concluded a deal with Germany. Only the winners had a voice in developing the terms of the Versailles Peace. They were divided into four categories.
— The first included the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, whose representatives had the right to participate in all meetings and commissions.
— In the second - Belgium, Romania, Serbia, Portugal, China, Nicaragua, Liberia, Haiti. They were invited to participate only in those meetings that directly affected them.
— The third category included countries that were in a state of severance of diplomatic relations with the bloc of central powers: Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador. Delegates from these countries could also take part in the meetings if issues directly affecting them were discussed.
— The fourth group consisted of neutral states or countries that were in the process of formation. Their delegates could speak only after being invited to do so by one of the five major powers, and only on issues specifically affecting those countries.

In preparing the draft peace treaty, the conference participants sought maximum benefit for their countries at the expense of the losers. For example, the division of the colonies of Germany:
“Everyone agreed that the colonies should not be returned to Germany... But what to do with them? This issue has caused controversy. Each of large countries immediately presented her long-thought-out claims. France demanded the division of Togo and Cameroon. Japan hoped to secure the Shandong Peninsula and the German islands in Pacific Ocean. Italy also started talking about its colonial interests” (“History of Diplomacy” volume 3)

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

The main participants in the development of the terms of the Versailles Peace

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

Progress of the Paris Peace Conference. Briefly

January 12 - the first business meeting of prime ministers, foreign ministers and plenipotentiary delegates of the five major powers, at which the language of negotiations was discussed. They recognized English and French
January 18 - official opening of the conference in the hall of mirrors at Versailles
January 25 - at a plenary meeting, the conference adopted Wilson's proposal that the League of Nations should be an integral part of the entire peace treaty
January 30 - Disagreements between the parties regarding the coverage of the negotiations in the press emerged: “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 composure during negotiations with them...” (Diary of a US negotiator, Colonel House)
February 3-13 - ten meetings of the Commission to develop the Charter of the League of Nations
February 14 - a new truce was concluded with Germany to replace Compiègne: for a short period and with a 3-day warning in case of a break
February 14 - Wilson, in a solemn atmosphere, reported to the peace conference the statute of the League of Nations: “The veil of mistrust and intrigue has fallen, people look each other in the face and say: we are brothers, and we have a common goal ... From our treaty of brotherhood and friendship,” concluded President's speech
March 17 - note to Clemenceau Wilson and Lloyd George with a proposal to separate the left bank of the Rhine from Germany and establish the occupation of the left bank provinces by inter-allied armed forces for 30 years, demilitarize the left bank and the fifty-kilometer zone on the right bank of the Rhine

(at the same time) Clemenceau demanded the transfer of the Saar Basin to France. If this does not happen, he argued, Germany, owning coal, will actually control the entire French metallurgy. In response to Clemenceau's new demand, Wilson stated that he had never heard of Saarland until now. In his temper, Clemenceau called Wilson a Germanophile. He sharply declared that not a single French prime minister would sign such an agreement that did not condition the return of the Saar to France.
“This means that if France does not get what it wants,” the president noted in an icy tone, “she will refuse to act together with us.” In that case, would you like me to return home?
“I don’t want you to return home,” replied Clemenceau, “I intend to do it myself.” With these words, Clemenceau quickly left the president’s office.”

March 20 - meeting of the prime ministers and foreign ministers of France, England, the USA and Italy on the division of spheres of influence in Asian Turkey. Wilson summed up the meeting: “Brilliant - we agreed on all issues.”
March 23 - Disputes between England and France over Syria leaked to the press. Lloyd George demanded an end to newspaper blackmail. “If this continues, I will leave. I can’t work under these conditions,” he threatened. At Lloyd George's insistence, all further negotiations were conducted in the Council of Four. From that moment on, the Council of Ten (leaders and foreign ministers of the USA, France, England, Italy and Japan) gave way to the so-called “Big Four”, consisting of Lloyd George, Wilson, Clemenceau, Orlando
March 25 - Lloyd George's memorandum, the so-called "Document from Fontainebleau", outraged Clemenceau. In it, Lloyd George spoke out against the dismemberment of Germany, against the transfer of 2,100 thousand Germans to Polish rule, proposed leaving the Rhineland for Germany, but demilitarizing it, returning Alsace-Lorraine to France, giving it the right to exploit the coal mines of the Saar Basin for ten years, giving it to Belgium Malmedy and Moreno, Denmark - certain parts of Schleswig territory, force Germany to give up all rights to colonies

“You can deprive Germany of its colonies, raise its army to the size of a police force and its navy to the level of the fleet of a power of the fifth rank. Ultimately it makes no difference: if she considers the 1919 peace treaty unjust, "

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

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

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securities

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Results of the Treaty of Versailles

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And the Paris Peace Conference was formalized by the Treaty of Versailles, a voluminous and complex document containing more than 450 articles. Questions, fears, anxieties and doubts manifested themselves in post-war years, revolutionizing fields such as art, religion, psychology and philosophy. Europe was dizzy and confused, like a boxer after the end of a terrible fight. People were faced with a difficult task - establishing a peaceful life. It was clear to everyone that the way of life would never be the same as it was before the war. Great War changed everything: the economy was in ruins, politics changed, the map of Europe was redrawn.

The speech delivered by American President Woodrow Wilson to members of the US Congress was called the “14 Points”. It was a peace proposal approved by the American legislature and addressed to both the conqueror and the conquered. “14 points” can be classified according to two main criteria.

The first group of articles was mandatory for all countries, providing for open diplomacy, freedom of navigation, general disarmament, the removal of trade barriers, the impartial settlement of colonial disputes, the restoration of Belgium, the liberation of occupied Russian territories and the creation of the League of Nations. Open diplomacy prohibits the widely used practice of countries conducting secret negotiations and signing secret agreements.

The liberation of Russian territories was a mandatory requirement, since German troops occupied a significant part of Western Russia and Ukraine. The American president expressed his “anti-imperialist” beliefs and even some sympathy for the Germans: “we have no jealousy of German greatness, and there is nothing in this program that would diminish it.”

The essence of Wilson's idealism can be seen from the following paragraph: “an obvious principle runs through the whole program that I have outlined. It is the principle of justice towards all peoples and nationalities and their right to live in equal conditions of freedom and security with each other, whether they are strong or weak."

Another group of articles contained six regional decisions: Alsace-Lorraine would be returned to France, autonomy would be granted to the peoples of Austria and Hungary, Ottoman Empire, the borders of Italy will be adjusted, the Balkans will be liberated, the Dardanelles will be open to ships of all countries, a new Poland will be created - independent, with access to the sea.

Russia on the sidelines of the Versailles peace treaty

Some of the greatest multinational empires have sunk into oblivion. Tsarist Russia, which at one point in history ruled over 200 nations and nationalities, disappeared from the map. Enormous human and material losses made the survival of the Romanov Empire impossible. Decay Tsarist Russia led to the emergence of the first communist state after the so-called October Revolution, which was actually a Bolshevik coup.

Together with Soviet Russia such independent states as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland were created or recreated from the ruins of the tsarist empire. At the same time, the collapse of the empire, a separate peace with Germany and Civil War Russia was not allowed to be among the winners.

Germany's situation

Germany was losing relatively important territories in Europe and on other continents. Alsace-Lorraine was returning to France. The districts of Eupen, Moresnet and Malmedy were included in Belgium. Northern Schleswig returned to Denmark. The strip of West Prussia and Poznań returned to Poland, becoming the so-called “Polish corridor”. Danzig, known to Poles as Gdansk, will become a free city under the leadership of the League of Nations. The Rhineland, the area between the Belgian-French border and the Rhine, as well as the 50 km wide area east of the Rhine will be demilitarized.

Germany and its allies were considered entirely responsible for starting the war. Under Article 231, these countries are required to pay “war reparations.” IN Last year conflict, the German army systematically destroyed mines, factories and public buildings, including hospitals, as it retreated from Belgium and France. These German actions radicalized the Allied position. Even the pacifist Wilson became convinced of the need to force Germany to pay reparations for the destruction it had caused and to completely disarm it.

The amount of reparations was not specified in the Treaty of Versailles. It was announced later, after many disputes and disagreements. The total amount was 132 billion marks in gold. The region, known as the Saar, rich in coal deposits, will be administered by the League of Nations for the next 15 years.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, seized by Germany from Russia under the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, gained independence. The Anschluss of Germany and Austria was prohibited. The African colonies were taken away from Germany. They became "mandates" under the supervision of the League of Nations.

Germany had to comply with some very restrictive military regulations, such as: an army of 100,000 soldiers, of whom only 5,000 could be voluntary officers, with compulsory conscription prohibited. They were not allowed to have offensive weapons: tanks, armored cars, military aviation and submarines, with the exception of 6 warships.

Germany and its allies were defeated, but not destroyed. Berlin asked for peace and signed a peace treaty. The Allies could continue the war, invade German territory and inflict enormous material damage on the main author of the disaster.

Changing the world map after the Treaty of Versailles

The treaty with Germany was the most important document for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. However, treaties signed with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey also brought about significant changes. Under the Treaty of Saint-Germain, Austria ceded to the Czechoslovak state two developed industrial provinces with a population of about 10 million people: Bohemia and Moravia.

Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina were part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later called Yugoslavia. Northern Bukovina returned to Romania. Galicia was included in the Polish state. South Tyrol, Trentino, Istria and Trieste went to Italy. The Treaty of Trianon sanctioned Hungary's loss of Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia; Croatia and Slovenia - Yugoslavia; Transylvania and a large part of the Banat region - Romania. According to the treaty signed in Neuilly, Bulgaria lost territory, confirming its losses in the Balkan wars.

The new Bulgarian state no longer had access to the Aegean Sea. Most of Macedonia became part of the new Yugoslav state. Southern Dobruja remained in Romania. Thus, one million Bulgarians found themselves outside national borders. The Treaty of Sèvres, signed by Turkey, finalized the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty also contained punitive measures for Turks accused of genocide. Türkiye lost most of its territory. Eastern Thrace, many islands in the Aegean Sea and Smyrna, called Izmir by the Turks, returned to Greece. Antalya and Rhodes went to Italy.

France gained control of Sicily. Occupied Syria and Lebanon were under the mandate of the League of Nations. Palestine, Iraq and Transjordan became British Mandate territories. A huge territory in Eastern Anatolia was included in the Armenian state.

Ending the First World War, it was signed on June 28, 1919 in the suburbs of Paris, in the former royal residence.

The truce, which effectively ended the bloody war, was concluded on November 11, 1918, but it took the heads of the warring states about another six months to jointly develop the main provisions of the peace treaty.

The Treaty of Versailles was concluded between the victorious countries (USA, France, Great Britain) and defeated Germany. Russia, also part of the coalition of anti-German powers, had previously entered into a treaty with Germany in 1918 (according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk), and therefore did not participate in either the Paris Peace Conference or the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It is for this reason that Russia, which suffered huge human losses, not only did not receive any compensation (indemnity), but also lost part of its original territory (some regions of Ukraine and Belarus).

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

The main provision of the Treaty of Versailles is the unconditional recognition of “causing the war.” In other words, full responsibility for inciting the global European conflict fell on Germany. The consequence of this was sanctions of unprecedented severity. The total amount of indemnities paid by the German side to the victorious powers amounted to 132 million marks in gold (in 1919 prices).

The last payments were made in 2010, so Germany was able to fully pay off the “debts” of the First World War only after 92 years.

Germany suffered very painful territorial losses. Everything was divided between the countries of the Entente (anti-German coalition). Part of the original continental German lands was also lost: Lorraine and Alsace went to France, East Prussia- Poland, Gdansk (Danzig) was recognized as a free city.

The Treaty of Versailles contained detailed requirements aimed at demilitarizing Germany and preventing the re-ignition of military conflict. The German army was significantly reduced (to 100,000 people). The German military industry was actually supposed to cease to exist. In addition, a separate requirement was stated for the demilitarization of the Rhineland - Germany was prohibited from concentrating troops there and military equipment. The Treaty of Versailles included a clause on the creation of the League of Nations, an international organization similar in function to the modern UN.

Impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the German economy and society

The terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty were unjustifiably harsh and harsh, and she could not withstand them. The direct consequence of fulfilling the draconian requirements of the treaty was complete destruction, total impoverishment of the population and monstrous hyperinflation.

Moreover, the offensive peace agreement affected such a sensitive, albeit insubstantial, substance as national identity. The Germans felt not only ruined and robbed, but also wounded, unfairly punished and offended. German society readily accepted the most extreme nationalist and revanchist ideas; This is one of the reasons that a country that just 20 years ago ended one global military conflict with grief, easily got involved in the next one. But the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which was supposed to prevent potential conflicts, not only did not fulfill its purpose, but also to some extent contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

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

What were the goals of the document and who signed it?

The first world war in human history ended in the fall of 1918 with the signing of the Compiegne Armistice, which provided for a cessation of hostilities. However, in order to finally sum up the bloody events and develop the principles of the post-war world order, representatives of the victorious powers needed several more months. The document that sealed the end of the war was the Treaty of Versailles, signed during the Paris Conference. It was concluded on June 28, 1919 in the former royal estate of Versailles, located near the French capital. The signatories of the treaty were representatives of England, France and America (the Entente states) on the side of the winners and Germany on the side of the losing state.

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

Thanks to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, it was established new system post-war world order, the goal of which was to quickly revive the economies of the victorious powers and prevent another global military conflict. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles became the subject of long negotiations and discussions between representatives of the victorious states. Each country sought to extract as much benefit as possible from the signing of the future document, so drafting it general provisions It took the participants at the Paris Conference long weeks. Finally, at the end of June 1919, after long secret meetings, the terms of the Versailles Peace were drawn up and agreed upon between the countries that fought on the side of the Entente.