January 18 - Paris Peace Conference

This Day in History: 18 January 2020

 

18 January 1919

 

101 years ago, today, in Paris, France, the world's most powerful people met to begin the peace negotiations to mark the end of the First World War. Leaders of the Allies, consisting of France, Great Britain, the United States, and Italy, gathered here to discuss the crucial decisions they would make over the next few months, however, Russia, another ally, was not invited as they had already concluded a peace treaty with the Central Powers in the spring of 1918. The US President at the time, Woodrow Wilson, wanted to make sure that Germany was not treated too harshly, as he fought for his idea of "peace without a victory". The Prime Minister of France, Georges Clemenceau, and the Prime Minister of Britain, David Lloyd George, argued against Wilson and wanted to punish Germany, as their weakness would justify the large costs of the war. Wilson later compromised, in order to express his desire of creating the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping organisation.

 

Any German representatives were excluded from the conference until May, four months later. When they arrived in Paris, they were presented with the draft of the Treaty of Versailles, which would later be signed in June. The Germans were extremely frustrated, because they had put their faith in Wilson's promises, and the treaty required for them to forfeit a great deal of territory, pay reparations, and accept sole blame for the war. In the decades after the treaty was eventually signed, anger and hatred towards the treaty developed in Germany, causing extremists, such as Adolf Hitler, to capitalise on these emotions and gain power. This was exactly what Woodrow Wilson had wanted to prevent, a second, devasting world war.

 

Want to find out more about the Paris Peace Conference? Click here for more details.