The Paris Peace Conference of 1919

About the Committee

The Paris Peace Conference started on January 18, 1919 in Quai D’Orsay. Approximately thirty nations took part in the negotiations, but the representatives of Great Britain, France, the USA and Italy became acknowledged as the “Big Four”. All countries present have voting power except for the Zionist Organization, the delegate for Arabia and the delegate for Armenia, who will take part as observers. For the sake of this simulation, the delegates for Germany and Austria have also been invited to take part in the negotiations (contrary to what actually happened). The diplomats meeting in Paris in 1919 faced a daunting task. The peacemakers are meeting in a state of grief and they know that it is up to them to prevent that such a conflict never happens again.

The Great War

All countries present at the Conference took part in the Great War, and were greatly affected by the conflict. The major players were the Central powers (the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany), which fought against the Allies (France, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Russia and later the USA) in Europe. The Great War ended with the victory of the Allies over the Central Powers, and in order to properly decide the peace terms after this War, the Paris Peace Conference is going to take place.

The aftermath of the Great War and points of discussion

Territorial claim and concessions

The task of drawing Europe’s post-war borders falls primarily to the Paris Peace Conference. Prior to the war the center of Europe was dominated by two powerful states: Germany to the north and its politically more unstable cousin, the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the South, which now are the center of the debate. Four and half years of ceaseless combat left those countries scared and vulnerable. Germany underwent a peaceful transition from a monarchy to a republic, known under the name of Weimar Republic. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is gradually falling apart with Czechoslovakia and Croatia having declared their independence in October 1918. They newly independent countries surrounding the former empire will have their claims over the different regions (including the former Kingdoms Bohemia, Dalmatia, Bukovina). Another region in question is Alsace-Lorraine, one of the most sought after regions in Europe. The French are arguing that the German region should belong to France as Louis XIV had founded one of its cities. However, virtually all of its inhabitants are Germans and were not able to speak French.

 Germany also possesses some territories in the South (present day Namibia), the West (present day Togo and Cameroon) and the East (present day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) of Africa. The Germans ruled with an iron fist installing a clear segregation between the superior Europeans and the inferior native people. Under the ideology of racial superiority, no atrocity was too cruel or not justifiable. With the end of World War one Germany surrendered its colonies. As the territories had not been captured by any of the allied forces during the War, it is now to be decided what to do with these places and their population. Finally, Germany also possessed a Chinese colony in Tsingtau (now Qingdao); after the invasion by Japan in 1915, the territorial claim over this region is also in need of a solution.

In the East of Europe lie the remains of the Russian empire, stretching from central Europe to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic to the borders of Afghanistan. Through the last years Vladimir Lenin convinced the people that the government failed by still being in war with the central powers; he overthrew said government and installed himself as leader of Russia. He then signed a peace treaty (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) with Germany and Austria-Hungary and started implementing his political ideas. Unhappy with the peace treaty, which saw Russia lose a lot of land and the beginning of independence movements in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and the Ukraine, Lenin was losing the support of the people. An opposition formed and the Russian civil war began. The two sides were the pro-Bolshevik Reds against the anti-Bolshevik Whites. The ongoing civil war will have great effect on the conference since the Russian Delegation might argue that the Tsar and later the provisional government had supported the allies in the war.

In May of the year 1916 diplomats from Great Britain and France met in secret and discussed the question of the Ottoman Empire, now a shadow of its former self. They struck the Russian claims and divided the Ottoman territories into spheres of influence. It would remain up to the countries to either a direct or an indirect administration in those spheres. With this new agreement Great Britain would now take over control in central and southern Mesopotamia (provinces incl. Baghdad and Basra) while the French would have the Syrian coast and modern-day Lebanon under their administration.

War Reparation

Apart from the territorial consequences, it is of utmost importance to put the war damage into numbers. It is almost impossible to calculate how much money the allies spent in order to wage war but it is even more difficult to estimate the amount of compensations Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire ought to pay for the burnt down villages, the floated mines and the destroyed cities. Moreover which of those countries has to pay what amount? Who carries the blame for the First World War? In a second step, how much of this money each of the allies are to be awarded. The economies of all countries across Europe had been shattered. Not only did each country rack up significant amounts of war debt, they almost all suffered massive losses in gross domestic product over the course of the conflict. Is it possible to put all the suffering and damage in one number (34 million dollars for example)? While discussing this, the diplomats have to keep in mind that the losing powers themselves have not made profit during the war. The newly elected government will not be able to pay the war reparations all up front. If the reparations are paid in instalments one has to think about the dependence on their economic output and whether the currency stays stable. These questions are not just preoccupying diplomats but also the general public. It is imperative for the different parties to strike a good deal, as the domestic elections would depend on it. But it is not just to save their own economy, simultaneously the countries either tried to weaken Germany to save themselves from future aggressions or to strengthen it again to create a power balance between the European countries. Again, it has to be mentioned that there was a growing fear of the communist revolution. A strong and capitalistic Germany could withstand a possible red army until forces are gathered in the west.

Reconfiguration of the German military and a possible demilitarised zone

The German military was extremely powerful during the war. Therefore it goes without saying that the countries sharing a continent with Germany are afraid of being attacked again as soon as Germany recovers from the loss. Therefore, most countries will agree to demilitarise the German forces. But to what extent? Should Germany still be able to defend itself in case of a possible threat, may that be internal or external? Besides the ground forces, one problem has to be tackled separately: the navy and especially its submarines. The German submarines and the threat they posed on the civil water transports were arguably one of the reasons why the Americans joined the war. But what to do with submarines and other ships that were still in good shape but the reason for devious and atrocious deaths of soldiers and civilians? Another possible solution to shield the French Republic and other neighbouring states such as the recreated nation of Poland from another German invasion is the establishment of a demilitarised zone. This would most likely include border regions and would forbid the presence of any military personnel in those regions at any given time. Just as the idea to limit the size of the German military this poses the question of possible sanctions in case of a violation. Would it pose a threat of war in which case it would entitle the allies to strike first or would it be handled by imposing sanctions?

War crimes

At this point in time, there is no international legislation. Atrocities such as the deliberate and systematic killing of entire groups have never been labeled as crimes before and the perpetrators have never faced internationally organized responses. Is the time ready for such a response? There certainly have been events during the war that could be considered. Not only in the African colonies, but also in Europe mass atrocities were committed, for example in Armenia and in Greece. For instance, most sources report that before the Great War there were around 2 million Armenians within the Ottoman Empire; now only 388’000 remain. How will the Conference react to these reports? Some delegates will definitely mention these issues.

Further relevant issues:

Would the international community benefit from a supernational organization, and if so, how would it have to be organized? Which of the European nation-states who declared independence by way of self-determination will have this independence and their territories recognized and accepted as such? Will there be a need to alter their borders?