treaty of versaille & league of nations

7/28/2019 Treaty of Versaille & League of Nations

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Treaty of Versailles

&

Interwar Period


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Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Fourteen Points

The idealism expressed in them was widely

acclaimed

Gave Wilson a position of moral leadership

among the Allied leadersIn order to secure support of his 14th, and most

important, point, which called for the creating of

an "association of nations," Wilson was

compelled to abandon his insistence upon the

acceptance of his full program


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Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Fourteen Points

14 Points were for political and economicreconstruction1. abolition of secret diplomacy by open convenants

2. freedom of the seas in peace and war

3. removal of international trade barriers whereverpossible and establishment of an equality of tradeconditions

4. reduction of armaments

5. adjustment of colonial disputes consistent withthe interests of both the controlling governmentand the colonial population

6. evacuation of Russian territory, with self-

determination


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7. evacuation and restoration of Belgium

8. evacuation and restoration of French

territory, including Alsace-Lorraine9. readjustment of Italian frontiers along

clearly recognizable lines of nationality

10. autonomy for the peoples of Austria-Hungary

11. ?

12. ?13. ?

14. ?


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Peace treaty signed (June 28, 1918) at the end

of World War I between Germany and the Allies Paris Peace Conference was the making of the

Treaty of Versailles, which opened on Jan. 18,1919

Represented were 27 countries, including theU. S., Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan

Neither the German Republic, which hadreplaced the imperial German government atthe end of the war, nor Soviet Russia was

invited to attend the conference Germany signed only under duress The U.S. signed but failed to ratify the treaty,

negotiating instead the separate Treaty of

Berlin with Germany (signed on Aug. 25, 1921)


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Germany also lost its entire colonialempire

Germany lost some 71,000 sq km or 13percent of its European domain

Alsace-Lorraine was returned to FranceSaar Basin was placed under a League of

Nations commission for 15 years

recognized Danzig as a free cityadministered under the League of Nationsbut subject to Polish jurisdiction in regardto customs and foreign relations


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Germany was required to abolishcompulsory military service

to reduce its army to 100,000

to demilitarize all the territory on the leftbank of the Rhine River

to stop all importation, exportation, andnearly all production of war material

to limit its navy to 24 ships, with no

submarines, the naval personnel not toexceed 15,000

to abandon all military and naval

aviation by Oct. 1, 1919


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Germany was required to make extensivefinancial reparation

Difficulty arose in collecting payment which was

made in the form ofMoney, Ships, trains, livestock, and naturalresources

War-guilt clause stating that Germany acceptedsole responsibility for causing the war

This aroused intense nationalist bitterness inGermany

The treaty also required provisional paymentsin kind and cash of 20 billion gold marks ($5billion)

The Reparations Commission subsequentlymade a total assessment of 132 billion goldmarks ($33 billion), which the Germans

accepted only under duress


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The Versailles Treaty

Negatives / Positives A dictated peace (diktat). Reparations were

exorbitant ($33 B).

Artificial boundaries

separating German people. Polish corridor.

Took awaycolonies/resources

Some nationalities becameforcefully separated

Germany was able to paythe amount asked: neededaccess to foreign markets.

Created new states that didreflect national autonomy.

Rebirth of Poland. International body: The

League of Nations

Captive peoples were freed.No other treaty ever

released so many subjectraces from domination ofoppressive empires

Major weapons wereeliminated in defeated

nations


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Estimated Costs of theFirst World War (in US Dollars)

Total for the Allied Nations $125 690 500 000

Total for the Central Powers $60 644 000 000

Grand Total $186 300 500 000

This total equals to costs approximately

$125 000 000 foreach day of the war andonly includes the direct costs of conducting

the war.


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Germany was required by the Treaty ofVersailles to pay reparations due its moralguilt in initiating the First World War. The

commission established by the terms of thetreaty set the total payment of reparationsat:

$33 000 000 000 (US) The commission also determined that this

amount of money was to be divided among

the victorious Allied nations as follows: France: 52% Belgium: 8%

British Empire: 22% Other Nations: 8%

Italy: 10%


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League Of Nations

International alliance for the preservation ofpeace, with headquarters at Geneva

League existed from 1920 to 1946

First meeting was held in Geneva, on Nov. 15,1920, with 42 nations represented

Last meeting was held on April 8, 1946

During the last meeting, the league wassuperseded by the UN


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During the league's 26 years, a total of 63

nations belonged at one time or another President Woodrow Wilson presented a

plan for a general association of nations

The plan formed the basis of the Covenantof the League of Nations, the 26 articlesthat served as operating rules for the

league The covenant was formulated as part of

the Treaty of Versailles


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Although President Wilson was a member ofthe committee that drafted the covenant

U.S. Senate never ratified the covenantbecause of Article X: all members preservethe territorial independence of all othermembers, even to joint action against

aggression During the next two decades, American

diplomats encouraged the league's activities

and attended its meetings unofficially, butthe U.S. never became a member

The efficacy of the league was considerablylessened without USA as a member


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One important activity of the league wassupervision of the former Germany and Turkey

colonies/territories Territories were awarded to league members in

the form of mandates

Mandated territories were given differentdegrees of independence, in accordance withtheir stage of development, their geographic

situation, and their economic statusA new world concept had prompted the

league's inception, that of collective securityagainst the "criminal" threat of war


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Unfortunately for the fate of the world, theleague rarely implemented its available

resources to achieve this goal League may be credited with certain social

achievements such as curbing internationaltraffic in narcotics and prostitution, aiding

refugees of World War I, and surveying andimproving world health and labor conditions

In the area of preserving peace, the league had

some minor successes, including settlement ofdisputes between Finland and Sweden over theAland Islands in 1921 and between Greece andBulgaria over their mutual border in 1925


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Alth h G j i d th l i 1926


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Although Germany joined the league in 1926,the National Socialist government (NaziRegime) withdrew in 1933

Japan also withdrew in 1933, after Japaneseattacks on China were condemned by theleague

The league failed to end the war betweenBolivia and Paraguay over the Gran Chacobetween 1932 and 1935

The league failed to stopthe Italian conquest ofEthiopia begun in 1935

In 1935,

EmperorHaile

Selassie ofEthiopia

condemns the

Italian

invasion of

Abyssinia in

his address to

the League.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinia_crisishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinia_crisishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinia_crisishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinia_crisishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie


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Finally, the league was powerless to preventthe events in Europe that led to World War II

The USSR, a member since 1934, wasexpelled following the Soviet attack on Finlandin 1939

In 1940 the secretariat in Geneva was reducedto a skeleton staff, and several small serviceunits were moved to Canada and the U.S.

In 1946 the league voted to effect its owndissolution, whereupon much of its propertyand organization were transferred to the UN.


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Never truly effective as a peacekeepingorganization

Lasting importance of the League ofNations it provided the groundwork for theUN

The United Nations formed after WorldWar II, not only profited by the mistakesof the League of Nations but borrowedmuch of the organizational machinery ofthe league


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Besides Manchuria &Abyssinia,Other Lof NActions

Date Countries Detail Result Success1920 Finland & Sweden AalandIsland

Finland getsisland, localgovt

Yes

1920-21 Poland & Germany Silesia Pleb. Silesia

was divided

Ques.

1923 Italy & Greece Corfu Greece paidcompensation to Italy

Yes

1924-25 Turkey & Iraq Mosul Stayed in Br.

Mandate ofIraq

Ques.

1925 Greece & Bulgaria Borderdispute

L of NcondemnedGreece

Yes


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L of N Compared/Contrasted to UN

Contained charters

Collective Action

Designed to promote peace Assemblies

Council

Secretariat

Mandate commission andTrusteeship commission

No human rights inL of N

Leagues Council

members had no vetopower, but unanimitywas needed.

No commission tosupervise a free zonein UN


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International Courtsof Justice are same

US a member of UN

UN is more intl

Headquarters basedin New York, L of Nwas in Geneva.

treaty of versaille & league of nations

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