WWI: THE TERMS OF PEACE

How did the war end?

Russian Revolution of 1917 forced Russia to exit war

America joined to safeguard democracy in 1917

Germany signed an armistice in Nov. 1918

The Paris Peace Conference

Allies now face task of arranging peace terms at the Paris Peace Conference

Conflicting viewpoints create long negotiations

The Paris Peace Conference

Eventually, separate treaties made with each Central Power country Stripped away substantial territories

Imposed heavy reparations Germany received harshest punishment & was forced to take blame for the war; penalties outlined in Treaty of Versailles

Early Critics of the Terms of Peace

John Maynard Keynes, English Economist, believes the treaty will bring economic ruin to Europe

The Economic Consequence of the Peace, 1920 “The treaty includes no provisions for the

economic rehabilitation of Europe, - nothing to make the defeated Central Empires into good neighbors, nothing to stabilize the new states of Europe, nothing to reclaim Russia; nor does it promote in any way a compact of economic solidarity amongst the Allies themselves; no arrangement was reached at Paris for restoring the disordered finances of France and Italy, or to adjust the systems of the Old World and the New.”

Early Critics of the Terms of Peace

Other critics believed the treaty sowed the seeds of future war…

Historians began to debate…

Was Germany really responsible for starting the war?