Versailles-Washington System Briefly. Treaty of Versailles

- (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 Historical reference book of Russian Marxist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 of the 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 1921 UAH (Ukraine only)
Treaty of Versailles, S.W. Klyuchnikov. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. The Treaty of Versailles was intended to consolidate the redivision of the capitalist world in favor of...

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

The Versailles conference began on January 18, 1919. Each of the winning countries at the conference pursued its own interests, the nations’ attitude 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 brought 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 Treaty of Versailles was reached, some peace terms were announced:

Germany loses a significant part of its territories, which go to France;
Germany loses all its colonies;
The German army must be reduced to one hundred thousand people, in addition, it is necessary to disband its general headquarters, aviation and military flotilla;
Germany must pay reparations to the winning countries.

This entire system was built on the basis of this peace treaty. But this did not guarantee stabilization of relations. In a number of European countries, civil internal wars continued to occur. Then the United States proposed holding another conference to resolve conflicts in Washington.

In 1921, the United States entered into its agreement without mention of 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 agreement signed by the United States was supposed to unite the world community, because of it a lot of disagreements arose, which subsequently gave rise to a new war.

Treaties and results of the Versailles system during the Washington Conference

In total, the countries participating in the Washington Conference signed three agreements:

"Treaty of Four" Signed in December 1921. The parties to the agreement were: France, England, Japan and the USA. The treaty provides for the inviolability of the participating countries' possessions in the Pacific Ocean.
"Treaty of Five" Signed in February 1922. The treaty provided for the use of a limited number of countries' naval weapons.
"Treaty of Nine" The principle of “open doors” was introduced into international relations. The treaty was mainly 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 eased.

Principles of the Versailles Peace System

By creating the League of Nations, the security of European countries was ensured. Before this 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 maintain peace.
One of the principles of the Versailles peace system was strict adherence to international law.
Germany lost all its colonies. France and England may also lose their colonies. Imperialism and colonialism in Europe were completely suppressed.
An agreement was signed to adhere to 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 should 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 did not cover 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 be no countries on the continent with greater capabilities than others.
One of the main weaknesses of the Versailles system is considered to be an undeveloped scheme of economic international interaction. The new system completely broke economic ties between Eastern and Central Europe. There was no single single economic market, but instead there were dozens of separate markets. An economic split arose in Europe, which economically developed countries were unable to overcome.

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. All were 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 to 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 arms 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 and military equipment there. 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.

On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty was signed in Versailles, France, officially ending the First World War.

In January 1919, an international conference met at the Palace of Versailles in France to finalize the outcome of the First World War. Its main task was to develop peace treaties with Germany and other defeated states.

At the conference, which was attended by 27 states, the tone was set by the so-called “Big Three” - British Prime Minister D. Lloyd George, French Prime Minister J. Clemenceau, and US President William Wilson. The defeated countries and Soviet Russia were not invited to the conference.

Until March 1919, all negotiations and development of the terms of the peace treaty took place at regular meetings of the “Council of Ten,” which included the heads of government and foreign ministers of the five main victorious countries: Great Britain, France, the United States, Italy and Japan. Later it turned out that the creation of this coalition turned out to be too cumbersome and formal an event for effective decision-making. Therefore, representatives of Japan and the foreign ministers of most other countries participating in the conference stopped taking part in the main meetings. Thus, during the negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference, only representatives of Italy, Great Britain, France and the United States remained.

On June 28, 1919, at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, they signed a peace treaty with Germany, which officially ended the First World War and became one of the most important international treaties of the entire 20th century.

According to the agreement, the Germans lost all their colonial possessions. This also applied to recent conquests in Europe - Alsace and Lorraine went to France. In addition, Germany also lost part of its ancestral lands: Northern Schleswig went to Denmark, Belgium received the districts of Eupen and Malmedy, as well as the Morena region. The newly formed Polish state included the bulk of the provinces of Poznan and West Prussia, as well as small territories in Pomerania, East Prussia and Upper Silesia.

Near the mouth of the Vistula River, the so-called “Polish Corridor” was created, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany. German Danzig was declared a “free city” under the supreme control of the League of Nations, and the coal mines of the Saar region were temporarily transferred to France. The left bank of the Rhine was occupied by Entente troops, and a demilitarized zone 50 kilometers wide was created on the right bank. The rivers Rhine, Elbe and Oder were declared free for the passage of foreign ships.

In addition, Germany was prohibited from having aircraft, airships, tanks, submarines and ships with a displacement of more than 10 thousand tons. Its fleet could include 6 light battleships, 6 light cruisers, as well as 12 destroyers and torpedo boats. Such a tiny army was no longer suitable for the defense of the country.

It was the conditions of the Versailles Peace - unbearably difficult and humiliating for Germany - that ultimately led Europe to World War II. The Germans quite rightly considered the humiliating treaty a dictate from the victors. Revanchist sentiments were especially strong among former military men, who were perplexed by the capitulation despite the fact that the German army was not defeated at all. After all, it was from this environment that the figure of Hitler eventually emerged.

The majority of the population perceived democracy as a foreign order imposed by the victorious countries. The idea of revenge became a consolidating factor for German society - the struggle against Versailles began. Politicians who called for restraint and compromise in foreign policy were accused of weakness and betrayal. This prepared the ground on which the totalitarian and aggressive Nazi regime subsequently grew.

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

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

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

Treaty of Versailles 1919 - terms of peace

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

Germany admitted its responsibility for all the damage caused to all countries that participated in the First World War. The losing party will have to compensate for this damage.
Wilhelm 2, the emperor of the country, was recognized as an international war criminal and was required to be brought before a tribunal (Article 227)
Clear boundaries were established between European countries.
The German state was prohibited from having a regular army (Article 173)
All fortresses and fortified areas west of the Rhine must be completely destroyed (Article 180)
Germany undertook to pay reparations to the winning countries, but specific amounts are not specified in the documents, and there are rather vague formulations that allow these reparation amounts to be assigned at the discretion of the Entente countries (Article 235)
The territories west of the Rhine will be occupied by Allied forces to ensure compliance with the terms of the treaty (Article 428).

This is not a complete list of the main provisions that the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 contains, but it is quite enough to evaluate how this document was signed and how it could be implemented.

Prerequisites for signing the agreement

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

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

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

After Ebert was declared Chancellor of Germany, the miracles continued. Just one hour after his appointment, he declared Germany a Republic, although he had no such powers. In fact, immediately after this, negotiations began on a truce between Germany and the Entente countries.

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

Results of the Treaty of Versailles

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

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