"Aux vainqueurs la spoliation" - Critique (Anglais)

« Decided by the Allied troops (so de facto by the World War I victors) without consulting Germany, it has heavy consequences on the shaping of a new post-war Europe.

Indeed, its article 231 4 held Germany accountable for the war and the country was consequently forced to pay for the reparations caused by the conflict.

On top of that, Germany saw its influence limited while its territory was partitioned: in 1914, Germany had 6 789 200 inhabitants and was left with 73 000 km 2 less (due to the loss of Alsace and Moselle for example, which are now part of France’s territory) and only 5 936 000 inhabitants due to the loss of these territories in 1919.

The German Empire was dismantled and its colonies given to the Allies who were the direct beneficiaries of this peace treaty.

Indeed, if it appeared clearly that Germany was the great victim of this peace treaty, it is important to highlight that the victors were therefore the pillars of Germany: besides the annexation of other territories, France and the British Empire shared Togo and Cameroon while Rwanda and Burundi went to Belgium, as well as some islands of the Pacific were given to Japan.

The losses of the losers are the spoliations of the victors.

But even more important is the qualification given to this peace treaty – which stayed tragically famous – by the German: ‘Diktat’.

The treaty was perceived as a strong humiliation by the German people who clearly perceived it as the spoliation of German authority by the victors. In the same way, the other important World War I peace treaties are to be examined. Indeed, not only Germany lost the war but so did the Austro-Hungarian Empire 5 and the 3 Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany 4 Article 231: ‘The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.’ 5 Also known as the Habsburg Empire. »