Читать книгу A THREE PART BOOK: Anti-Semitism:The Longest Hatred / World War II / WWII Partisan Fiction Tale - Sheldon Cohen - Страница 13

The four leaders of the ‘Allies’ who fought against Germany in the World War all came to the peace treaty with demands. The leaders and their demands were:

Georges Clemenceau the French Prime Minister: Germany must pay monetary damages for the cost of rebuilding physical assets destroyed by Germany during the war. He insisted on the return of Alsace-Lorraine taken by Germany during the war of 1871. France would take control of the Rhineland as a defensive shield against Germany. The Rhineland was an industrial area lying along the German border with France, Luxemburg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

David Lloyd George the British Prime Minister: Preferred a more lenient approach as he felt that harshness might only precipitate future revengeful action by Germany. He preferred that the Rhineland not return to French hands, but that it becomes a “demilitarized zone.”

Vittorio Orlando the Prime Minister of Italy: After a secret London treaty with Britain and France, Italy entered the war in 1915 on the promise that Italy’s reward would be the Adriatic Coast after the war.

Woodrow Wilson the President of the United States: He was against Italy having the Adriatic Coast as he did not favor the idea of Europe setting up internal empires. He also favored the formation of a “League of Nations” to settle future disputes, which history would prove was unworkable.

In essence, Germany had to accept blame for starting the war, substantially reduce their military capacity, had to pay 6.6 billion in reparations for damages, abandon the Saar coalfields to France for fifteen years, return Alsace-Lorraine to France, give Poland a corridor to the Baltic Sea, turn over German colonies to Great Britain or France, and make Danzig a free city. In addition, Germany was refused entry into the League of Nations, and forbidden to ever unite with Austria. All of this was intended to weaken Germany for as long as possible. The League of Nations was proposed by Woodrow Wilson in a speech given to the U.S. Congress on January 8, 1919. Wilson called for the formation of an association of nations that would guarantee political independence and territorial integrity for all regardless of size. The world eagerly accepted this treatise, but the United States whose congress, fearful of being drawn into European entanglements, soundly rejected Wilson’s proposed league.

The Peace Treaty of Versailles ending World War I was signed on the 28th of June 1919. Germany had no choice but to accept all of its harsh terms.