When was the Treaty of Versailles signed? Why the Treaty of Versailles was the main mistake of the allies

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles (pp. 161-164)

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 km 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: [p. 161] 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 came under the control of 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.

See the detailed presentation of the main articles of the treaty in the Diplomatic Dictionary, vol. 1. M., Gospolitizdat, 1960, pp. 278-282.

The management of the Saar was to be carried out by a commission of the League of Nations, headed by a French chairman.

The victorious powers obliged the German government to renounce their claims to Austria and guaranteed its independence. According to Art. 80 of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany undertook to recognize and "strictly respect the independence of Austria within the boundaries to be established by the treaty concluded between this state and the main allied and associated powers ..." (This provision was implemented by the Treaty of Saint-Germain.)

Germany abandoned all her colonies in favor of the Allies. England and France divided Cameroon and Togo among themselves. The German colonies in South West Africa went to the Union of South Africa; Australia received part of New Guinea, and New Zealand - 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.

The powers that received mandates for these colonies were obliged to observe the principle of "open doors" here. This was a concession to the United States, which opened up the possibility of the penetration of American capital into the territory of the former German colonies, as well as the Arab countries.

Compulsory conscription in Germany was abolished. The army, which consisted of volunteers, was not to exceed 100 thousand people, including a contingent of officers not exceeding 4 thousand people. The General Staff was dissolved. 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 oversee the execution of the military [p. 162] of the terms of the agreement, three international control commissions were created.

The German military-economic potential was not eliminated, it was only limited. This also applied to military monopolies. 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 addition, Germany was to provide the victors with its merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1600 g, half of the ships over 1 thousand tons, one quarter of the fishing vessels and one fifth of its entire river fleet, and within five years build merchant ships for the allies of 200 thousand tons. t per year. Within 10 years, Germany pledged to supply France with up to 140 million grams of coal, Belgium - 80 million, Italy - 77 million tons. Germany was to transfer to the Allied Powers half of the entire stock of dyes and chemical products and one-fourth of 1925

Germany renounced its rights and advantages in China, Thailand, 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 the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest and recognize and respect the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914. Art. 116 of the peace treaty recognized Russia's right to receive from Germany the corresponding part of the reparations. According to the secret appendix to Art. 433 Germany left the swap of occupying troops in the east until further notice from the Allies. Thus, Germany was assigned the role of an active participant in foreign armed intervention in Soviet Russia.

On the eastern and southern borders of Germany, its defensive structures were preserved, although they were demolished on the western borders. “It was considered undesirable,” said the US representative on the military commission, General Degutt, “to demand their destruction ... because they can serve as a defense against Bolshevism.” The issue of German borders was decided taking into account the anti-Soviet plans of the Western countries. These decisions of the peace treaty, like the entire course of the work of the Versailles conference, testified that the conference in [p. 163] Paris was a kind of headquarters for the armed intervention of the imperialist powers against Soviet Russia. [p. 164]

"Foreign Relations... The Paris Peace Conference, 1919", vol. IV, Washington, 1943, p. 300.

The economic, territorial and political interests of European countries at the turn of the 20th century intersected in many areas. The struggle for influence in the international arena goes beyond diplomatic relations; this is a prerequisite for the outbreak of an armed conflict. The First World War was started to redistribute spheres of influence by the world's major powers. Its results were deplorable for the economies of all participating countries (except the US and Japan), but the new order led to even more serious consequences. The Treaty of Versailles, signed with great difficulty, turned out to be a time bomb.

War

The emergence of a military alliance called the Entente was due to the strengthening of the influence of the German Empire in the European political and economic arenas. Initially, the bloc includes France and Russia, which conclude an exclusively military-political agreement, later Great Britain joins, having lost the primacy of its handicraft industries by the beginning of the century. The central part of Europe is occupied by Austria-Hungary, which is teetering on the brink of internecine war due to its multinational composition, but at the same time is in confrontation with a larger and stronger neighbor - Russia. Germany is developing rapidly, compared to its European neighbors, its colonial possessions are too small, so the intentions are obvious. As an ally, the Italians, Austrians and Hungarians joined the Germans. The alignment of forces changed with the course of hostilities, in total 38 countries participated in them. The First World War began in 1914, it lasted 5 years and ended in November 1918. Military operations were conducted on the western, eastern front and in the colonies. Germany and its allies launch an offensive in 1914 quite successfully, capturing Luxembourg and Belgium. The French army is trying to hold back the onslaught through bloody battles, Russia is quite successful in the eastern direction, capturing Prussia. In 1915-16, the most tragic events take place: the Battle of Verdun and the Brusilov breakthrough, which was the last success of the Russian imperial troops. As a result of the Americans joining the armies of the Entente, the course of the war changes. Germany's allies sign a peace treaty with the victorious states, this forces the Germans to surrender. The tragic events that blew up the Russian Empire from within took it out of the war in 1917 and left it out of international economic and political relations for a long period. The Treaty of Versailles is a documentary reflection of the end of the World War.

Effects

In fact, by 1918, the entire industry and agriculture of European states were reoriented to military needs. During the war, more than 60% of enterprises were destroyed, thousands of hectares of agricultural land could not be used for their intended purpose. The loss of the main resource - human life - is difficult to estimate, more than 10 million people died, the number of disabled and incapacitated people is incalculable. The demographic situation in Europe was on the verge of collapse. Economic ties between countries and enterprises were lost, the entire international trade and economic infrastructure collapsed, its foundation - production ceased to exist. Hunger, chaos and devastation reigned on the territory of the victorious countries and the states that lost the war. The foreign exchange reserves of the parties to the confrontation were exhausted, and the United States became the main creditor for all parties to the conflict. Throughout the conflict, they sold military equipment, food and everything that was required to support the troops and the population during the war years. As an outside observer, the US was able to raise its industry and earn huge capital. In Europe, some of the previously existing countries could not cope with huge losses and ceased to exist: the Ottoman, German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires. The terms of the Versailles peace treaty really contributed to a new division of Europe, but not according to the scenario of the Germans. For the military-industrial complex, the First World War became a catalyst in the process of creating and using new types of weapons. Machine guns, tanks, grenades, bombers and fighters have significantly changed the tactics and strategy of combat operations. The first use of chemical weapons allowed all countries to draw the right conclusion and abandon their use. There have never been more violent clashes in world history, the mass destruction of enemy forces led to huge losses on all sides of the conflict.

Russia

The First World War caused a change in the world economic and political system. At the initial stage, the Russian Empire was assigned the leading role in the military actions of the Entente against the Triple Alliance, but at the same time, our country at the time of involvement in the conflict did not have any special geopolitical motives. The resource base allowed the state not to fight for colonial possessions, there was no reason to expand the territory at the expense of neighboring countries. Nicholas II was forced to enter the war because of the military-political treaties that existed at that time with England and France, this decision cost him his throne and his life. The army and rear structures of the Russian Empire were not able to wage a protracted war, rather quickly the initiative on the eastern front passes to the enemy army. Part of the territory of Ukraine, the Baltic states and Belarus were captured by German troops. In 1916, the Russian army was able to restore its viability and partially pull back the enemy forces from the western front, preventing the capture of Paris. In France, at the cost of huge losses, several cities previously occupied by the Germans were liberated. The last significant victory was the Brusilovsky breakthrough, in which the Austro-Hungarian army was defeated by the Russian imperial troops. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the policy of the king is growing inside the country, he is rapidly losing people's trust. Against the backdrop of hostilities that are not victorious, restrictions and hunger, a revolution is taking place. The new government begins to solve internal problems and exits the global conflict on unfavorable terms. The peace treaty concluded with Germany is a shameful flight, which was not accepted by many officers and soldiers. Part of the imperial troops fought on the fields of the First World War as part of the Allied formations in the Entente, considering it a debt of honor. For Soviet Russia, a period of international isolation begins, most of the world powers considered the Bolshevik government illegitimate, so the Treaty of Versailles was signed without the participation of the Russians. In the future, this will play a huge role not only in the development of our country, but also in the world political and economic system.

Germany

Possessing a fairly powerful army, navy and great ambitions, Wilhelm II pursued an aggressive foreign policy. Germany, having Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire as allies, could not conduct military operations on two fronts at the same time. According to the calculations of the Germans, they had to capture France in a short time, and then switch to the destruction of the forces of the Russian Empire. The emphasis was on the speed and support of the countries of the Triple Alliance. At the same time, in fact, German troops were forced to operate in the Balkans, Africa, Europe and Asia. This is due to the great maneuverability and combat capability of the German formations. In fact, all naval operations involving the troops of the Triple Alliance were carried out under the leadership of the officers of the German Empire. In 1915, a massive attack on the French capital was thwarted due to the inability of the Austro-Hungarian troops to hold the positions of the eastern front. In fact, Germany was defeated in the First World War for economic reasons. For four years, all the production and agricultural capacities of the state worked for the needs of the army. Famine and war led to a revolution that ended in an uprising among the troops and the overthrow of Wilhelm II in November 1918. At the same time, Germany admits defeat and concludes a truce with the Entente countries (without Russia, which became known as the USSR as a result of the revolution).

Treaty of Versailles

The peaceful settlement of the military conflict was a long process of reconciling the contradictions of the victorious countries. Entente, expanded at the expense of Japan and the United States, began to redistribute Europe and colonial possessions in Africa and the Far East. The treaties of the Versailles system were supposed to ensure the independence and stability of the states that won the First World War, while the interests of the losing countries were infringed upon with the help of financial instruments and territorial annexations. An international conference was held in Paris in 1919-1920. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919. Its main articles were the positions on which a consensus was reached at an international conference. The document entered into force in January 1920. His project was proposed by Wilson (the current President of the United States) in 1918. The essence of the Treaty of Versailles in its original version was to redistribute the spheres of influence of the countries of the winners, in particular the United States. At the same time, domination in Europe was necessary for the Americans in terms of economic indicators, but the allied states had their own interests. The document was supposed to limit the influence of all countries participating in the conflict, not only from the losing side, the leader of which was Germany. The Treaty of Versailles created a group of independent states in central Europe that served as a buffer zone between Soviet Russia and the Western European powers. To maintain peace and prevent potential conflicts, the document created a special organization called the League of Nations. The Treaty of Versailles was ratified by the Entente: Great Britain, France, Japan, by the Triple Alliance: Germany. In 1921, the Americans created the Versailles-Washington system of treaties, which, in essence, did not differ from the original version, but excluded participation in the League of Nations. Germany was forced to sign it too.

The League of nations

The Versailles Peace Treaty is a document on the basis of which the first international organization was created, designed to regulate relations between countries through diplomacy. The League of Nations during its existence created several commissions that specialized in analyzing the situation in specific areas: women's rights, drug trafficking, refugees, etc. At various times, it included 58 countries, the founders are France, Spain, Great Britain. The last meeting of the Council of the League of Nations took place in 1946. Many international institutions that exist today are its legal successors and successors of traditions: UNESCO, the UN, the International Court of Justice, the World Health Organization.

Partition of Europe

The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles implied the rejection of part of the territory of Germany in favor of the victorious countries and the newly formed states created after the collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. Most of them had an anti-Soviet government and were used as a buffer against Bolshevism. Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Yugoslavia have gone through a difficult path of internal political settlement. Under the terms of the agreement, Germany separated: Poland - 43 thousand km 2, Denmark - 4 thousand km 2, France - more than 14 thousand km 2, Lithuania - 2.4 thousand km 2. The 50-kilometer zone on the left bank of the Rhine River was subject to demilitarization, that is, it was actually occupied by enemy troops for 15 years. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, concluded between Germany and Soviet Russia, was annulled, which led to the return of the occupied lands (partially Belarus, Transcaucasia, Ukraine). The Saar was transferred to the control of the League of Nations, with the use of coal mines by France. The Gdansk district was declared a free city. Germany lost all colonial possessions, which were distributed among the victorious countries. Protectorate rights over Egypt and Morocco were transferred to England and France respectively. The Chinese territories leased by Germany for 99 years were transferred to Japan, which is why the largest delegation left the international conference and did not sign the Treaty of Versailles. Briefly, the main provisions were rejected in favor of the winners of 70 thousand km 2, on which more than 5000 people lived.

Restrictions

As a result of German military aggression, many territories of central, eastern and western Europe suffered, reparations in their favor were also reflected in the Treaty of Versailles. The articles of the document did not contain specific figures, they were determined by a specially created commission. The total amount of payments at the initial stage was approximately 100 thousand tons of gold. Restrictions were also imposed on the armed forces of the aggressor country. Compulsory conscription was abolished, all military equipment was transferred to the Entente countries, and the number of ground forces was stipulated. In fact, Germany from the most influential country in Western Europe was becoming a disenfranchised member of international relations. The living conditions of the population and constant pressure from the victors allowed the Nazi regime to come to power in 1933 and create a more powerful totalitarian state, which in the future, with the help of the United States and England, will become a counterbalance in a silent war with the USSR. According to the conclusions of many historians, the Versailles Treaty of 1919 was a truce that led to a new war. The Germans were humiliated by the terms of the document, they lost the war, not allowing a single enemy soldier to enter their territory, and at the same time remained the only aggressor country that suffered the brunt of economic and military-political restrictions.

Disagreements

The Versailles-Washington treaty system actually aggravated relations between the former allies. The Americans and the British sought to reduce the burden of Germany's obligations with the help of the Jungi plan, which made it possible to accelerate the recovery of the country's economy and industry by 1929. Hoping to acquire a reliable ally in the fight against the USSR, the United States invested quite large sums in the restoration of the former aggressor. England sought to reduce the level of influence of France in the European arena, which, due to reparations, practically restored the economy within five years. At this time, Germany finds itself an unexpected ally - the USSR. Two large states that have fallen out of the system of international relations are uniting. And for a long time they have been cooperating quite effectively in the field of creating military equipment, trade, and food supplies. Japan begins to increase its appetites in the Far East and China, there is no unity among the allies, each of the countries pursues its own interests. The Treaty of Versailles is violated primarily by its creators, who were preparing for peace, but received a new war.

Failure

The structure of the world system after the end of the First World War on the basis of the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles contained many contradictions. It is impossible to control the situation by excluding one sixth of the globe from international relations. The concept of 14 points of the document had an anti-Russian (anti-Soviet) orientation. Consent and equality are the basic principles of any contract. A special role in the failure of the peace agreements was played by negative economic factors associated with the cyclical development of any system. While the leading imperialist powers were preoccupied with their own economy, Germany not only learned to maneuver and circumvent the Versailles agreements, but also created a new regime of aggression. To a large extent, this was due to the principle of non-intervention of the countries of the former Entente in its military policy. The creation of a new war machine was welcomed by the former allies, as they hoped to direct its aggression to the east. The United States, in turn, decided to raise the growth rate of its own economy through a new war in Europe.

VERSAILLES PEACE TREATY 1919

treaty that officially ended the First World War of 1914-18. Signed at Versailles (France) on June 28, 1919 by Germany, which was defeated in the war, on the one hand, and by the "Allied and Associated Powers" that won the war, on the other: USA, Brit. 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, Mr. White and others, on behalf of Brit. empire - Lloyd George, E. B. Low, A. J. Balfour and others, from 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, etc., from Germany - Mr. Muller, Dr. Belle. V. m. d. had the goal of consolidating the redistribution of the capitalist. peace in favor of the victorious powers to the detriment of Germany. V. m. d. in means. measure 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 Germany's borders 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 to Belgium the districts of Malmedy and Eupen, 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 withdrawn from Germany. customs association; the city of Danzig (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 ceded 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 "in 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 concerning Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, DE. The government recognized and undertook to strictly observe the independence of these states. All germ. 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 Brest Peace of 1918 and all other treaties concluded by it with the Soviets. 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 the states "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 the German. 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, "Kionga Triangle" (Southeast Africa) was transferred to Portugal. Germany abandoned the advantages in Liberia, Siam, China, 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 position of Germany. prisoners of war, and reparations. Germ. the army was not 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 provided for the obligation of Germany to transfer to the allies gold and other valuables received during the war from Turkey, Austria-Hungary (as collateral 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 (art. 313-386) regulated the issues of aeronautics over the German. territory and the procedure for the use of german allies. ports, railway 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 the deep, insurmountable imperialist. 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-va, the victorious powers retained the dominance of the reactionaries in Germany. imperialist groups called upon 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 government 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 military mass movement, invariably exposed its imperialist, predatory character, but at the same time resolutely opposed the policy of unleashing the Second World War, 1939-45, carried out by the Nazis under the guise of fighting the military mass movement. 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 maritime agreement of June 18, 1935, was already a bilateral violation of the military code. elimination of V. m.

Issues related to the preparation of V. m. d., an assessment of its nature and significance in the post-Versailles structure of Europe and the new alignment of forces in the world, are devoted to an extensive literature of various political. directions. At the same time, the main trend is bourgeois. historiography in the assessment of V. m. d. is the desire to hide the predatory, imperialistic. the nature of this treaty, an attempt to justify the position taken by the delegation of "their" country during the development and signing of the V. p.m. authors such as D. Lloyd George, The truth about the peace treaties, v. 1-2, 1938, Russian translation, vol. 1-2, 1957), How the World Was Made in 1919." G. Nicholson (N. Nicolson, Peacemaking 1919, 1933, Russian translation 1945), "Great Britain, France and the German problem in 1918-1939." W. M. Jordan (W. M. Jordan, Great Britain, France and the German problem 1918-1939, L.-N. Y., 1943, Russian translation 1945), in the works of J. M. Keynes (J. M. Keynes, The economic consequences of the peace, 1920, Russian translation: The Economic Consequences of the Versailles Peace Treaty, 1924), H. W. Temperley, A history of the Peace conference of Paris, v. 1-6, 1920-24) and etc. Despite the frank apology Brit. imperialism, these books can serve as a historical. sources due to the huge fact. and documentary material, which is given in them.

A characteristic feature of the Amer. historiography relating to V. m. d. is an attempt to justify the external. the policy of the Prospect of W. Wilson, to idealize his "Fourteen Points", which formed the basis of the "peacekeeping" activity of the head of the Amer. delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20, to convince readers that Amer. diplomacy in the development of military pact and treaties with states allied with Kaiser Germany was guided by the principles of "justice" and "self-determination of peoples" (E. M. House, The intimate papers of colonel House, v. 1-4, 1926 R. S. Baker, Woodrow Wilson and world settlement, v. 1-3, 1923-28, Russian translation: E. House, Colonel House Archives, vols. 27, Russian translation: S. Baker, Woodrow Wilson, World War II, Treaty of Versailles, 1923; H. C. F. Bell, Woodrow Wilson and the people (1945); D. Perkins, America and two wars (1944) ; Ch. Seymour, American diplomacy during the World war (1934); Th. Bailey, Woodrow Wilson and the lost peace (1945), etc.). However, Amer. historiography is powerless to refute the assessment of Wilson's policy given by V. I. Lenin, who noted that "Wilson's idealized democratic republic turned out to be in fact a form of the most frenzied imperialism, the most shameless oppression and strangulation of weak and small peoples" (Soch., v. 28 , p. 169).

Extensive documentary and factual. material about V. m. d. is contained in the book of the French. state figure A. Tardieu "The World" (A. Tardieu, La paix, 1921, Russian translation 1943). Being a participant in the Paris Conference and being the closest assistant of J. Clemenceau at it, Tardieu closely followed the progress of the discussion of germs. and other problems. This allowed him to cover in detail in his book the struggle around the territorial, reparation, and other decrees of the V. m. d. imperialism, its external politicians in Germany question.

Of particular interest to students of the history of V. m. d. are the books of b. ital. premiered by F. Nitti (F. Nitti, La decadenza dell "Europa, 1921, Russian translation: "Europe over the Abyss", 1923) and General Secretary of the Italian delegation at the Paris Conference L. Aldrovandi-Marescotti (L. Aldrovandi- Marescotti, Guerra diplomatica..., 1937, Russian translation: Diplomatic warfare..., 1944. The works of these authors reflected the fact that Great Britain, France and the USA "deprived" Italy of solving territorial problems at the conference. Hence the sharp criticism which they subjected to the decisions of this conference.

A scientifically substantiated assessment of V. m. d. was given by owls. historiography. Based on the characteristics of V. m. d., given by V. I. Lenin, on extensive documentary material, analyzing foreign policy. courses of state-in - the main initiators and leaders of the Paris Peace Conference 1919-20 - Great Britain, France and the USA, owls. historians (B. E. Stein ("The Russian Question" at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-20), 1949, I. I. Mints, A. M. Pankratova, V. M. Khvostov (authors of the chapters of the "History of Diplomacy" , vol. 2-3, Moscow, 1945) and others) have convincingly shown the imperialist essence of the military movement, its fragility and harmful consequences for the peoples of the whole world.

Publication: Treaty of Versailles, trans. from French, M., 1925; Traité de Versailles 1919, Nancy - R.-Stras., 1919.

B. E. Stein,

E. Yu. Bogush. Moscow.

Division of the former German colonies after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919

Territorial changes in Europe by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles

Soviet historical encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ed. E. M. Zhukova. 1973-1982 .

See what the "VERSAILLES PEACE TREATY 1919" is in other dictionaries:

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

The treaty that officially ended the First World War of 1914 18 (See World War I 1914 1918) was signed on June 28, 1919 in Versailles (France) by the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan, as well as Belgium ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia - 1919 treaty that ended the 1st World War. Signed at Versailles on June 28 by the victorious powers of the United States, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, etc., on the one hand, and defeated Germany, on the other. The terms of the agreement were... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Treaty of Versailles- 1919, the treaty that ended the 1st World War. Signed at Versailles on June 28 by the victorious powers USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and others, on the one hand, and defeated Germany, on the other. The terms of the agreement were... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

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

Treaty of Versailles- (Versailles Peace Settlement) (1919 23), sometimes called the Treaty of Paris, a system of peace treaties between the states of the Triple Alliance and the countries of the Entente, the signing of which marked the end of the 1st World War. Ch. among these... ... The World History

Signed on 10. IX in Saint-Germain en Lay (near Paris) on the one hand by Austria, on the other by the Allied and Associated Powers: the USA, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan (called the Principal Allied Powers), as well as Belgium, China ... Diplomatic Dictionary

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 km east of the Rhine was completely demilitarized. In the districts of Eupen and Malmedy, a plebiscite was envisaged, as a result they went 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. The German territory was divided by the "Polish Corridor".

In total, one eighth of the territory and one twelfth of the population was torn away 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 were ceded 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 thousand people, including a contingent of officers not exceeding 4 thousand people. 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.

From March 31, 1920 at the latest, the German army must not have more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry.

Each infantry division should have 410 officers and 10,830 enlisted men, and a cavalry division 275 officers and 5,300 enlisted men.

The artillery of the infantry division was to consist of twenty-seven 7.7 cm guns and twelve 10.5 cm howitzers, 9 medium and 27 light mortars. The cavalry division had to make do with only twelve 7.7 cm guns.

Field units were not supposed to have heavy artillery. The German army was generally forbidden to have anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery, as well as tanks and armored cars.

According to article 181 of the treaty: “After a period of two months from the date of entry into force of this Treaty, the forces of the German navy must not exceed in armed courts:

6 battleships of the "Deutschland" or "Lothringen" type,

6 light cruisers,

12 counter-destroyers,

12 destroyers

or an equal number of replacement ships constructed as provided in Article 190.

They must not contain any submarines.

Any other warships, insofar as there is no contrary provision of this Treaty, must be put into reserve or receive a commercial assignment.

According to Article 191: "The construction and acquisition of all submarines, even merchantmen, will be prohibited to Germany."

Germany was deprived of the right to use long-distance radio communications.

According to Article 197: “During the three months following the entry into force of this Treaty, the German high power radiotelegraph stations at Nauen, Hanover and Berlin shall not be used, without the permission of the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, for the transmission of messages relating to questions of a maritime, military or political order and of interest to Germany or the powers that were allies of Germany during the war. These stations may transmit commercial telegrams, but only under the control of the said governments, who will fix the wavelengths to be used.

During the same period, Germany must not build radio-telegraph stations of high power either on its own territory or on the territory of Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria or Turkey.

Neither the army nor the navy were to have any aircraft at all, or even "guided balloons."

According to Article 201: "During the six months following the entry into force of this Treaty, the manufacture and importation of aircraft, aircraft parts and aircraft engines and aircraft engine parts shall be prohibited throughout Germany."

Germany actually lost sovereignty over its territory. So, all its airfields were to be open to Allied aircraft, which could fly anywhere and anytime. The Kiel Canal, which runs deep into German territory, was to be always open to merchant and military (!) Allied ships. The rivers Elbe, Oder, Neman and Danube (from Ulm to the confluence with the Black Sea) were declared international routes.

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 sunk ships, Germany was to provide all of its merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1600 tons, half of the ships over 1000 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 with a total displacement of 200 thousand tons per year.

The capture of the German merchant fleet was an open act of piracy. It is curious that the Allies did the same with the Russian merchant fleet, however, without any articles of the treaties. Now Russian-speaking educated intellectuals are touched by Baron Wrangel, who supposedly preserved the honor of the Russian flag by bringing the Russian fleet under the St. Andrew's flag to Bizerte. It is curious that Wrangel stole 134 pennants from the Crimea, one small destroyer sank along the way, but about 15 ships arrived in Bizerte. Rhetorical question: where did the rest go? Yes, the baron "pushed" them at a dumping price, and the money mostly went into the pockets of the French admirals and generals. Well, of course, something went to the baron himself and his entourage. In Bizerte, no one needed worn-out warships. In 1925, Narkomfin estimated the merchant ships of the Black Sea hijacked by Wrangel at 8 million 300 thousand gold rubles.

Similarly, the Whites took away and sold the entire merchant fleet from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Admiral Stark took the whole flotilla from Vladivostok to Manila and sold it to the Americans there.

Among other things, Germany undertook to supply France with up to 140 million tons of coal for 10 years, Belgium - 80 million, Italy - 77 million. 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.

The articles of the Treaty of Versailles in the section "Russia and the Russian States" are very interesting. According to Article 116: “Germany recognizes and undertakes to respect, as permanent and inalienable, the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914.

In accordance with the provisions included in Articles 259 and 292 of Parts IX (Financial Provisions) and X (Economic Provisions) of this Treaty, Germany definitively recognizes the annulment of the Brest-Litovsk treaties, as well as any other treaties, agreements or conventions concluded by her with the Maximalist Government in Russia.

The Allied and Associated Powers formally stipulate the rights of Russia to receive from Germany any restitutions and reparations based on the principles of this Treaty.

The article seems to be quite good. But already in the first phrase there is boundless arrogance and stupidity of the "wise men of Versailles".

By June 28, 1919, the Civil War was going on throughout Russia, and not only whites and reds fought. The war was waged by dozens of nationalist cliques with the Reds, Whites and among themselves. There were no boundaries yet. Even the operetta Estonian and Latvian governments could not agree on a common border, and it came to armed clashes. What "independent" states was Germany supposed to recognize and what borders? As history has shown, even the Western allies themselves did not have unity in recognizing certain borders within the former Russian Empire.

Article 116 was specially written by the allies in order to quarrel Germany in advance with red or white Russia - it makes no difference.

As for Russia's right to reparations with Germany, it was a mockery of two great nations. On the one hand, Russia in the war of 1914-1918. suffered much greater human and material losses than France, and in fairness should have received large reparations from Germany. But, on the other hand, Germany was physically unable to pay the reparations already imposed on her by France, England and Belgium. So what could Russia get, whether Bolshevik or Denikin?

Assessing the Treaty of Versailles, Lenin called it predatory and brutal: "He takes coal from Germany, takes dairy cows and puts her in conditions of unheard of, unprecedented slavery."

The phrase became even more accurate: the Treaty of Versailles "is the greatest blow that the capitalists and imperialists of ... the victorious countries could inflict on themselves."

I note that Lenin was not the only one who predicted the collapse of the Treaty of Versailles, something similar was expressed by dozens of diplomats and politicians from England, the USA, Italy and Germany. Peace was only a twenty-year truce.

Some time after the end of World War I, the victorious countries established a new system of peace. The main document of the system is the Versailles Peace Treaty, concluded at Versailles in June 1919, on the one hand by Germany, and on the other by the victorious countries. Its main part was the status of the League of Nations.

The conference at Versailles began on January 18, 1919. Each of the victorious countries at the conference pursued its own interests, the attitude of nations towards each other was distrustful, they had to go through a difficult path together. In total, delegations from 27 countries took part. But all the most important issues were submitted to the meeting of the "Council of Ten". Representatives of 5 countries were present here: France, Japan, England, USA and Italy. The most stringent demands were put forward by the delegation from France - weakening and dismemberment by Germany.

After the Versailles Peace Treaty was reached, some peace conditions were announced:

• Germany loses a significant part of its territories, which go to France;
• Germany loses all her colonies;
• The army of Germany must be reduced to one hundred thousand men, in addition, it is necessary to disband its general staff, aviation and navy;
• Germany must pay reparations to the victorious countries.

On the basis of this peace treaty, this entire system was built. But this did not guarantee the stabilization of relations. Civil wars continued in a number of European countries. Then the US proposed to hold another conference to resolve the conflicts in Washington.

In 1921, the US made its agreement without mentioning the League of Nations. The American government put forward the "14 points" of peace, while the USSR provided the "Decree on Peace". Despite the fact that the treaty signed by the United States was supposed to rally the world community, because of it a lot of disagreements arose, which later gave rise to a new war.

Treaties and results of the Versailles system during the Washington Conference

In total, three agreements were signed by the participating countries of the Washington Conference:

• "Treaty of the Four". Signed in December 1921. The parties to the treaty were: France, England, Japan and the United States. The treaty provides for the inviolability of the possessions of the participating countries in the Pacific Ocean.
• "Treaty of Five". Signed in February 1922. The treaty provided for the use of a limited number of naval armaments of the countries.
• "Treaty of the Nine". The principle of "open doors" was introduced into international relations. Basically, the treaty was aimed at the problems of China.

The end of the Washington Conference is considered the beginning of a new model of relations between countries. The result of the Versailles system was the emergence of new centers of power within states that were able to establish international relations. Post-war tensions between the great powers were removed.

Principles of the Versailles Peace System

• By creating the League of Nations, the security of European countries was ensured. Until that time, there had already been attempts to create such a body, but in the post-war period it received legal confirmation. Now European countries began to unite to protect common interests and preserve peace.
• One of the principles of the Versailles system of peace was the strict observance of the norms of international law.
• Germany lost all her colonies. France and England may also lose their colonies. Imperialism and colonialism in Europe was completely suppressed.
• An agreement was signed on the observance of the principle of demilitarism: the state needs as many weapons as necessary to protect the territory.
• The principle of individuality is being replaced by the principle of collegiality: all international issues must be resolved jointly by European states.

Causes of collapse and crises Versailles-Washington system

Among the main reasons for the collapse of the Versailles system are:

• The system covered far from all world powers. First of all, it did not include the guarantors of the USA and the USSR. Without these two countries, it was impossible to ensure stability in Europe. In Europe, a system was established in which there should not be countries on the continent with more opportunities than the rest.
• One of the main weaknesses of the Versailles system is considered to be an undeveloped scheme of economic international interaction. The new system completely severed economic ties between Eastern and Central Europe. There was no single economic market, instead there were dozens of separate markets. An economic split emerged in Europe, which the economically developed countries could not overcome.