Treaties of the Paris Peace Conference

World War I was a brutal and damaging war that was fought between the Allied Forces and the Central Powers.  The war resulted with a victory for the Allied Forces, and harsh punishments against the countries of the Central Powers, most significantly, Germany. The Paris Peace Conference was held in 1919 following the war, and its purpose was to set peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations. The Paris Peace conference placed restrictions upon the losing countries, and conjured up different treaties for each defeated country, attempting to remove all capabilities Germany had of starting another war. Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Russia are the countries whose treaties are in focus. The treaties created during the Paris Peace Conference had to appease individual countries of the Allied Forces, whilst creating and upholding stability within Europe.

WWI began by Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian archduke, by a Serbian nationalist in 1914. Countries were drawn into the chaos and fighting due to alliances and requested support, which quickly became a larger problem than it was at the start. Although Austria-Hungary was the main creator of the war, they held back when the fighting began, leaving Germany, their ally, to take responsibility and fight against the Allied Forces without any true supportive alliances. The Treaty of Versailles, which occurred in June 1919, directly after the war, announced that Germany was mostly responsible for the war and the damages that were inflicted amongst nations during the war period. The treaties that followed the ending of WWI induced responsibilities of defeated nations to restore damaged countries, reduce territory and military numbers, and end alliances with countries that could provoke a threat unto other nations, such as France. Amongst other demands in the treaties, the defeated nations were obligated and forced to comply with the terms and sign the treaties.

The Paris Peace Conference was lead by “The Big Four”, and these were the leaders of strong and powerful countries: Woodrow Wilson from the United States, David Lloyd George from Great Britain, Georges Clemenceau from France, and Vittorio Orlando from Italy, who did not stay part of the conference when the land promised to Italy was not delivered. The treaties created at the Paris Peace Conference were the Treaty of Versailles which dealt with the German Empire, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which affected Austria, the Treaty of Neuilly that addressed Bulgaria, the Treaty of Trianon, which was based on Hungary, and finally, the Treaty of Sevres, subsequently revised by the Treaty of Lausanne, which concerned the Ottoman Empire. These treaties occurred mostly between 1919 and 1920, with the exception of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed in 1923. Each of these treaties set restrictions and rules that were enforced by the Allied Forces, and they violated aspects of self-determination whilst weakening economies, militaries, and cultures by separating peoples by announcing new territory ownerships.

The Treaty of Trianon addressed Hungary following the forced separation from Austria. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was strong and threatening to countries during the post-war time era, and in order for it to be weakened, Austria and Hungary were to be separated and decreased in size and other aspects. Hungary lost 72% of all territory, and 64% of its total population. These major changes affected Hungary’s access to the sea, trade, economic stability, cultural and nationalistic pride, along with loss of much citizenship due to the rule that any Hungarian living outside of the new Hungarian borders would lose their citizenship to Hungary. The Hungarian army was reduced to 35,000 men, and due to the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary was politically unstable as well as economically and militarily. The biggest concern expressed by Woodrow Wilson on the Treaty of Trianon was the effect it had on the people, for they were transferred from one state to another sans consultation, which was inhumane and wrong.

A treaty relatively similar to the Treaty of Trianon was the Treaty of Sevres, which address the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sevres divided the Ottoman Empire among the Allies, removed the Ottoman Empire from Europe, created new independent states, limited the Ottoman army, and removed much territory, despite the fact that it did not stand due to the fact that the Ottoman Sultan was overthrown, and the treaty was only proposed due to the expectation that each of the Allied Powers wished to gain land from it. The Treaty of Sevres is similar to the Treaty of Trianon in the sense that it was assigned very similar restrictions, and had it been enforced, it would have developed similar effects. Both empires were obligated to transform into smaller, weaker, and less powerful independent states, while renouncing control over areas where they held territory, sacrificing economic and political stability. These empires proved threatening to frightened nations such as France, who had suffered the most during WWI and was very specific in ensuring protection of France by weakening threatening nations.

The Treaty of Neuilly was also similar. This treaty dealt with Bulgaria, and was signed on November 27^th, 1919. This treaty had many of the same restrictions that the Treaty of Trianon induced onto Hungary, such as the removal of access to the sea, the limitation of the army, economic obligations and reduced borders. Many Bulgarians were placed under Greek rule; this was similar to how many Hungarians were placed under Romanian or Croatian-Slovenian control.  The restrictions placed unto Bulgaria created a sense of resentment, which later caused Bulgaria to side with the Nazis during WWII. The Bulgarian military was limited to 20,000 men, and compulsory military service was abolished. Military groups that were pro-war were forbidden as the Allied Forces expressed control over the Bulgarian people. This aspect, similar to the other treaties, violated self-determination and freedom of human rights of the people of the countries affected by these treaties.

Although the Paris Peace Conference issued a feeling of protection to the Allied Forces, it created a strong feeling of resentment within the countries that were affected by the treaties. The amount of economic, political, military, and cultural strains these treaties placed upon the countries induced limits that caused suffering and losses of nationalism, all for the sake of acknowledging the power of the Allied Forces. Some treaties were far too harsh, such as the Treaty of Trianon and the Treaty of Neuilly, for it greatly affected nations who had not held all that much responsibility for the outcome of the war and the damage caused. Although the treaties were in many cases overly damaging, they were understandably necessary for the prevention of a new war. These treaties ensured the safety of the European people, although it dismissed regard for countries and the position they were placing them in. The Paris Peace Conference developed a regime to prevent war and sustain peace, a development that was definitely required by Europe at that time.