Chapter Fifty Seventy-One: The End of the First World War Five
The person behind this incident is naturally Li Ningyu, but he also has his own reasons. First of all, he did not want the emotions of the German people, and in the end he was completely used by the Nazi Party to create the tragedy of World War II. Secondly,
He can be regarded as a person with integrity who can stand up and speak for Germany. After all, he is also Germany's son-in-law.
However, this will inevitably cause strong dissatisfaction among the French people, and he can only accept it helplessly. After all, France paid a huge and painful price for the First World War, with more than 5 million French military and civilian casualties.
Most of the battlefields on the Western Front were within France, so the French authorities hoped to gain control of German industry to compensate for their various losses.
Therefore, after the armistice, the French army quickly took control of important areas in the Ruhr Industrial Zone in Germany. George, then prime minister of the French Radical Party government, ordered the eviction of German cities such as Ersen and Kiching, ultimately leaving a large number of German residents homeless.
At the same time, coal produced in various places was transported to France by rail. This incident also triggered a general strike organized by German railway workers. However, 200 of the German railway workers who resisted were executed on the spot by the French authorities.
In this peace negotiation, the French Radical Party Prime Minister George's proposition can be said to be very simple, but it is not ambiguous at all. It can be roughly classified into the following points. First, Germany must compensate France for the losses caused by the war, including personnel, property, etc.
Carry out necessary war compensation; secondly, reduce the German military strength so that Germany will no longer pose a threat to France in the future, and also agree to symbolically punish German militarism so that Germany can never return to the political structure before 1904, but this is
It called for the public execution of German Emperor William II; the third France took back the Alsace to Lorraine area and established the Rhine demilitarized zone there; and then worked with the victorious countries to carve up all of Germany's overseas colonies and demanded that Germany's military power be used
, cut it to a lower level, and at the same time hope that the Allied Powers will sign a secret treaty to block Germany's entire coastline, so that France can control Germany's import and export trade.
Li Ningyu could accept most of the proposals proposed by Prime Minister Georges of the French Radical Party government, except for a few points. Naturally, one of them was to save William II's life. However, William II could not refuse the title of war criminal.
There is a secret treaty that blocks Germany's entire coastline and controls Germany's import and export trade. These two points cannot be agreed to at all, because such regulations will inflame the emotions of the German people.
Negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles began on January 18, 1909, in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles. This was where the coronation ceremony of William II of the unified Germany was held after Germany won the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. But this time, from
38 regional countries and 70 representatives participated in the conclusion of the contract between the defeated Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia was excluded from the negotiations because it signed a separate contract with Germany.
Originally, representatives from Germany and Austria-Hungary were excluded. Later, it was Li Ningyu’s suggestion that representatives from the two countries were eligible to participate. After all, behind the Far East Group, there were subsidiaries such as Spain, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, and Iran.
Powerful countries support it.
Starting in 1919, the negotiations were led by a peace negotiation committee composed of the heads of government and foreign ministers of the victorious countries, Britain, France, the United States, and Italy. However, this organization was complicated in composition and full of internal contradictions. In addition, Li Ningyu repeatedly interrupted,
In the end, it was difficult for this committee to make the most effective decision, so as time went by, the foreign ministers of Japan and other small countries successively withdrew from the committee during the negotiation process. In fact, only the "Big Four" of Britain, France, the United States, and Italy remained.
That is, the British Prime Minister, the French Prime Minister, the American President, and the Italian Prime Minister. But in fact, Italy's role is minimal. When it comes to the later discussion, the German authorities are not even allowed to continue to participate in the discussion of the treaty. After all, it is already embarrassing to sign a war reparations contract, and they still have to watch it.
Others carve up their own country with a smile, but the four giants also have some kind of conflict because their negotiation goals are inconsistent. In the end, every decision can only be reached step by step after unpleasant compromises.
Although the British mainland did not suffer a single fire in the war during World War I, many British soldiers still died in the war. The then British Prime Minister David, combined with the widespread popular opposition in the United Kingdom, advocated hope
Severely punish Germany, but the specific measures are lighter than France. After all, David knows that once all the conditions proposed by France are met, it will become a superpower on the European continent and destroy the balance of power on the European continent. This is in line with the British intention to maintain a
It goes against the traditional policies of a balanced Europe.
At the same time, British Prime Minister David was worried about U.S. President Wilson's policy of national self-determination, because Britain had huge overseas colonies, but he strongly agreed to sign a secret treaty, completely blockade Germany's coastline, and obtain German export taxes.
After repeated confrontations, and with Li Ningyu blocking them, British Prime Minister David hoped to find a middle line between the idealism of Wilson in the United States and France's idea of severely punishing Germany. However, the political status of British Prime Minister David in the UK is quite different.
Subtly, British Prime Minister David himself was appointed prime minister when he won the general election in order to cater to the British people's claim that Germany was responsible for starting the war.
At the same time, during the election campaign, he united with the conservative parties in the government and pledged to severely punish Germany and prevent Germany from posing a potential threat to the United Kingdom. Against this multifaceted background, British Prime Minister David strongly advocated increasing Britain's war reparations.
, and control the share of Germany's overseas colonies. In the end, British Prime Minister David and French Prime Minister Georges both wanted to own huge overseas colonies, and they did not agree with the United States' national self-determination policy.
At the same time, under Li Ningyu's repeated reminders, British Prime Minister David gradually realized that if too many harsh conditions were proposed, it would inevitably arouse the strong revenge mentality of the German people, which would be very detrimental to the long-term peace situation in the future.
In addition, in Europe, Germany is still the UK's second largest trading partner. If Germany's economy is weakened too much, it will also damage the UK's own economy. Both British Prime Minister David and the French Prime Minister realize that at this time, the United States has become
As an economic power in the Americas, it will also become a military power in the future, so it must borrow the help of the Far East Group to suppress the United States, resolutely veto the United States' claim for national self-determination, and deliberately ignore some suggestions from the United States when the peace conference was held.
In the end, British Prime Minister David's propositions can be summarized as follows. The first is to ensure Britain's maritime hegemony; the second is to carve up the share of Germany's overseas colonies, which will strengthen Britain's strength; and the third is to weaken Germany's military power to a larger
A low level is enough. In order to avoid Germany's revenge aroused by war compensation, Britain will then help Germany rebuild its economic system.