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today-in-wwi · 5 years ago

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Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

June 28 1919, Versailles--After more than five months of negotiations, the terms of the peace treaty with Germany had been signed by Germany and (almost) all the Allies.

The first article of the Treaty was dedicated to the League of Nations, which Wilson saw as its most important feature. Initial members of the League would be all the Allied signatories of the treaty, as well as most neutral countries. Not initially invited were the defeated Central Powers (including Hungary), as well as Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Luxembourg, Albania, Ethiopia, or any part of the former Russian Empire (including Finland).

The League’s overall structure was largely similar to the later United Nations’; an Assembly with one vote per country, and a Council with the Big Five (the UK, the US, France, Italy, and Japan) as permanent members and four other members chosen by the Assembly (to begin with, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and Greece). Decisions, by default, had to be unanimous; like with the UN, this gave the permanent members veto power, but it also gave it to the temporary members as well, and to any country for matters to be considered by the Assembly; this would prove to be a problem in the decades to come. The League would be headquartered in Geneva.

The Council was charged to formulate plans for arms reductions. League members would "undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members...the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled." Disputes between members were to be submitted to inquiry by the Council or arbitration, rather than war. If war should occur anyway, it would be considered an act of war against all other League members, resulting in (at least) an embargo and blockade against that country; the Council would recommend what forces countries would contribute in any military effort.

German colonies, as well as Ottoman territory in the Middle East, would officially fall under the auspices of the League. However, the day-to-day governance would fall to one of the Allied powers, holding a mandate over them on behalf of the League. The degree to which the local population was to have any say in their self-determination would vary; more so in the Middle East, less so in Central Africa, and very little in Southwest Africa [Namibia] (which South Africa effectively annexed) and in Germany’s former colonies in the Pacific.

Additionally, League members were to endeavor to “maintain fair and humane conditions of labour,” ensure “just treatment” of their colonial subjects, help to prevent and control the spread of disease, and “secure and maintain freedom of communications and transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members.” Furthermore, the League was to supervise agreements against drug and human trafficking, to regulate arms trading, and the Council was to draw up plans for arms reduction.

The rest of the treaty dealt with Germany more directly. Alsace-Lorraine was to be returned to France. A large swath of territory was to be given to Poland in the east (cutting off East Prussia except by sea), and small regions were awarded to Belgium and Czechoslovakia. A plebiscite would be held in northern Schleswig, in areas annexed by Prussia in 1864, to decide whether the region would rejoin Denmark or stay with Germany; if it decided to rejoin Denmark, another plebiscite would be held in southern Schleswig. Three other plebiscites (two in East Prussia and one in Upper Silesia) would be held in territories disputed between Germany and Poland. Danzig would become a free city; while it would govern itself, Poland would have free use and service of its port, and full control of its railroads, waterways, and communications. The territory around Memel, near Lithuania, was to be handed over to the Allies, who would determine its final disposition.

France was to receive ownership of the coal mines in the Saar basin. The Saarland itself would be under League control, and in 1934 would hold a plebiscite on whether to join France, join Germany, or continue under League administration indefinitely. If it chose to join Germany, Germany would have to buy the mines back from France in gold within a year. Luxembourg would exit the German customs union.

Germany was prohibited from building, mobilizing, or maintaining any military forces, fortifications, or infrastructure west of the Rhine or 50 km to the east of it. Doing so would be considered a “hostile act...calculated to disturb the peace of the world.” All already-existing fortifications in that area were to be dismantled. Additionally, fortifications and harbors on Heligoland and Dune (in the North Sea) are to be destroyed, and Germany will dismantle all fortifications on her Western Baltic coast, to ensure that she cannot disrupt the free passage of trade there. Germany is to allow all countries’ ships, civilian or military, passage through the Kiel Canal on equal terms.

Germany was to respect Austrian independence unless the League Council said otherwise. Germany was to completely repudiate the treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest that it had signed with Russia, Ukraine, and Romania the previous year.

All German colonies would be handed over to the Allies, who would determine their final disposition as mandates under the League of Nations. Japan would receive the German concession in Shantung (around Tsingtao); all China would receive is an end to the indemnity payments owed Germany due to the Boxer Rebellion, and a return of the German concessions in Hankow [now part of Wuhan] and Tientsin [Tianjin]. It is little surprise China refused to sign the treaty.

The German army was to be reduced to no more than 100000 men and 4000 officers, with civilian support staff no more than a tenth of pre-war levels. There would be no conscription and no system of mobilization. Military missions could not be sent abroad. The treaty also made attempts to prevent paramilitary organizations: “associations of every description...must not occupy themselves with any military matters.” This proved exceedingly difficult to enforce. Severe limits were placed on stores of munitions and ammunition; any manufacture thereof would have to be approved by the Big Five. Import of any war materiel was prohibited. Germany was forbidden to have any chemical weapons, and would disclose the full details of their wartime chemical weapons program to the Allies. The manufacture or import of armored cars or tanks was prohibited. After October 1, 1919, Germany could not have any military air force whatsoever.

German troops in the Baltic were to be returned to Germany when the Allies deemed it fit; in the meantime, they were not to interfere with the Baltic states’ defense nor seize supplies to send back to Germany.

The German Navy would be reduced to no more than 6 pre-dreadnought battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats--no submarines, no battlecruisers, and no dreadnoughts. Any ships beyond this number were to be handed over to the Allies or scrapped. The Navy could consist of no more than 15000 men. Any German ships outside of Germany now no longer belonged to Germany; since the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, however, there were far fewer ships in this category than anticipated. Germany would sweep all the mines in the North Sea east of 4° E.

All remaining prisoners of war and interned civilians (by this time, mostly German) were to be repatriated “with the greatest rapidity;” the French and British ultimately had different ideas as to what that phrase meant, and many would not be returned from France until 1920. Some prisoners who had been kept in Siberia would not be returned until after the end of Allied intervention there in 1922.

The Allies were to hold military tribunals to try Kaiser Wilhelm II and other German war criminals. These provisions were largely moot, however; the Netherlands refused to extradite the Kaiser, and the Allies did not really attempt to make Germany extradite other war criminals. A few were tried in Germany; fewer were convicted; none served more than a few days of their sentence.

As justifications for war reparations, “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.” Germany was to compensate the Allies for all the damage done to the Allied civilian population and property, for Belgium’s war loans (including interest), pensions to disabled veterans and their dependents, wartime payments to relatives of mobilized soldiers, and any expenses relating to the occupation of the Rhineland. The amount to be paid was not specified in the treaty, but was to be determined by an Allied commission by May 1921; in the meantime, the Germans were to pay 20 billion marks.

General Smuts signed the treaty on behalf of South Africa, but left an official note in protest of the harsh reparations terms--this despite the fact that he authored the pension-related terms.

The Germans were also to make in-kind payments of farm equipment, animals, and merchant ships, to replace wartime losses. Additionally, Germany was to provide large amounts of coal and chemicals to France, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg. Louvain’s library was to be replenished with works from Germany. Loot seized during the Franco-Prussian war was to be returned (though many French battle flags were burned in Germany in the days before the signing of the treaty, to the consternation of the French). The control of most German submarine cables was to be given to the Allies.

The payment terms (though not technically the overall sum) could be modified based on Germany’s ability to pay. Germany would also receive credit for the in-kind payments, as well as property lost due to Germany’s border changes (Alsace-Lorraine excepting).

Germany was not to impose higher customs duties on the Allies than they would on any other country. Germany was to take action against counterfeit goods, and recognize “regional appellation” of wine and spirits. In other words, the Treaty of Versailles codified that Champagne refers only to sparkling wine from Champagne. The Elbe, Oder, Niemen, and Danube were made international rivers; Czechoslovakia was to be given 99-year leases for free zones in Hamburg and Stettin to give that country some form of access to the sea.

The occupation of the Rhineland and three bridgeheads across the Rhine would continue to ensure German cooperation with the terms of the treaty. The northern region would be evacuated after five years, the central after ten, and the southern after fifteen; these could be extended if “the guarantees against unprovoked aggression by Germany are not considered sufficient.”

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.

#wwi #ww1 centenary #ww1 history #world war 1 #world war i #world war one #The First World War #peace terms #Treaty of Versailles #The Great War #june 1919

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alevelandigcsenotes · 7 years ago

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A* IGCSE International relations (1919-39) package!

About my notes:

My detailed notes cover all the points on the International Relations Unit of the Edexcel IGCSE Specification. I’ve included tables and timelines to enhance your understanding, as well as tips on how to answer the Paper 1 exam questions and exemplar essay responses to illustrate how to achieve top marks.

These notes cover:

The aims of the ‘Big Three’.

Key terms of the treaties of Versailles, St Germain, Sevres, Trianon and Neuilly.

Reactions to the peace treaties.

The impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.

The League of Nations; aims, membership, weaknesses, organization and structure.

Successes of the League of Nations: Aaland Islands (1920), Upper Silesia (1921), Greece and Bulgaria (1925).

Failures of the League of Nations: the Corfu incident, the Manchurian Crisis, the Disarmament Conference of 1932-1933, the Abyssinian Crisis.

Impact of World Depression on the League of Nations.

The Dawes Plan, the Washington Conference, the Locarno Treaties, the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Appeasement, Hitler’s challenges to the TOV; German rearmament, the Saar Plebiscite, remilitarization of the Rhineland.

Anschluss, the Sudetenland Crisis and the Munich Conference.

The Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact.

German occupation of Czechoslovakia.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact, and the German invasion of Poland.

Here’s some free samples of my notes:

Click here - The League of Nations free sample notes

Pictures of my notes: The aims of the Big Three!

The disarmament conference!

What do you get in this package?

32 pages of notes, covering all the points above

An international relations timeline to help you with the chronological order question

Tips on how to structure your essay response the the 8 mark and 10 mark questions

2 exemplar essay response to the following questions:

Why did the British and French agree to defend Poland in 1939?

'Why was there a crisis over Manchuria in the years 1931- 1933?'

If anyone’s interested, you can buy the whole package for only £8.00 from here: Click here! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message! :-) x

#study #history #igcse #notes #studyblr #study motivation #motivation

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mostly-history · 7 years ago

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In 1938, Hitler was demanding that Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland, where 3 million ethnic Germans were living, to Germany. He threatened war if he didn’t get his way. The Munich Conference was held from 29th-30th September, and Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler signed the Munich Agreement early in the morning of the 30th. The Czechs were not allowed to attend the conference; their delegation was forced to wait outside. When they objected to the agreement, they were told that if a war resulted, they would be held responsible.

Text of the Munich Agreement

Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking into consideration the agreement, which has been already reached in principle for the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory, have agreed on the following terms and conditions governing the said cession and the measures consequent thereon, and by this agreement they each hold themselves responsible for the steps necessary to secure its fulfillment:

1. The evacuation will begin on October 1st.

2. The United Kingdom, France and Italy agree that the evacuation of the territory shall be completed by October 10th, without any existing installations having been destroyed, and that the Czechoslovak Government will be held responsible for carrying out the evacuation without damage to the said installations.

3. The conditions governing the evacuation will be laid down in detail by an international commission composed of representatives of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia.

4. The occupation by stages of the predominantly German territory by German troops will begin on October 1st. The four territories marked on the attached map will be occupied by German troops in the following order: the territory marked number I on the 1st and 2nd of October, the territory marked number II on the 2nd and 3rd of October, the territory marked number III on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October, the territory marked number IV on the 6th and 7th of October. The remaining territory of preponderantly German character will be ascertained by the aforesaid international commission forthwith and be occupied by German troops by the 10th of October.

5. The international commission referred to in paragraph 3 will determine the territories in which a plebiscite is to be held. These territories will be occupied by international bodies until the plebiscite has been completed. The same commission will fix the conditions in which the plebiscite is to be held, taking as a basis the conditions of the Saar plebiscite. The commission will also fix a date, not later than the end of November, on which the plebiscite will be held.

6. The final determination of the frontiers will be carried out by the international commission. The commission will also be entitled to recommend to the four Powers, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, in certain exceptional cases, minor modifications in the strictly ethnographical determination of the zones which are to be transferred without plebiscite.

7. There will be a right of option into and out of the transferred territories, the option to be exercised within six months from the date of this agreement. A German-Czechoslovak commission shall determine the details of the option, consider ways of facilitating the transfer of population and settle questions of principle arising out of the said transfer.

8. The Czechoslovak Government will, within a period of four weeks from the date of this agreement, release from their military and police forces any Sudeten Germans who may wish to be released, and the Czechoslovak Government will within the same period release Sudeten German prisoners who are serving terms of imprisonment for political offences.

#history #military history #german occupation of czechoslovakia #munich crisis #munich conference #munich agreement #germany #nazi germany #czechoslovakia #czech republic #sudetenland #adolf hitler #neville chamberlain #édouard daladier #benito mussolini

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autodidact-adventures · 7 years ago

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The Munich Crisis

The Sudetenland was the overall name for the majority-German regions of Czechoslovakia between the two world wars. It was named for the Sudeten Mountains, and was (mostly) on the north, west and south borders of Czechoslovakia, bordering Austria, Germany and Poland.

German Empire (1914).

1911 ethnic map of Western Austria-Hungary. Germans in pink, Czechs in blue.

Western Europe after WW2.

The Sudetenland.

In the 1300's, King Přemysl Otakar II invited Germans to settle in these regions, to farm, mine and guard the edges of his kingdom. Their descendants flourished there, and in the 1600's, the Hapsburgs took the Czech regions (not just the Sudetenland) and absorbed them into Austria.

German became the standard language, and Czech dwindled to a spoken rural argot, and for quite a while was in danger of becoming extinct. However, it was revived in the 1800's.

After WW1, Austria lost parts of its territory so that ethnic groups could create their own sovereign nations (self-determination). Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, and the Germans living there became an ethnic minority, and the Czechs the majority.

In the 1920's and early 1930's, there were several parties that tried to undermine the legitimacy of Czechoslovakia. One of these was the Sudeten German Party (an offshoot of the Nazi Party), formed in 1931 by Konrad Henlein.

Konrad Henlein.

The Sudetenland had about 3 million Germans living there, former citizens of Austria. Germany and Austria were displeased with this situation, and so were the Sudeten Germans, who felt as though they were being discriminated against. During the 1920's, the Sudeten Germans & their political leaders began to talk of seceding from Czechoslovakia and joining Germany & Austria.

The Sudeten German Party wanted to have German control over their region. In 1935, they actually became the 2nd-largest party in parliament, as over 2/3 of the Sudeten Germans had voted for them.

Of course, Czechoslovakia didn't want to lose the Sudetenland back to Austria, or to Germany. It was rich in natural resources, and many of the country's banks & heavy industries were there. Also, it might lead to other ethnic minorities pushing for independence.

In 1935, the government began building large fortifications. In 1936, they held a conference with the French, and increased these defences, using a similar design to the French Maginot Line (which was also being built at the time). Czechoslovakia also entered into military alliances with France and the USSR.

In late 1937, the German government under Hitler began moving towards an expansionist policy, including for the Sudetenland, and Czechoslovakia in general. Hitler ordered the generals to begin plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Konrad Henlein began working closely with Hitler in the spring [March-May] of 1938, after the Austrian Anschluss. The goals of the Sudeten German Party were for the Sudeten Germans to be recognized as an autonomous ethnic group; to be allowed self-government; and to be able to join Germany if they wanted. These were very extreme demands, and Hitler knew that the Czechoslovakian government was unlikely to accept them – which was what he wanted. Their refusal would cause unrest in the area, and then he could claim that the Czechoslovakians were unable to control the region, and Germany could invade. Henlein claimed that the government was persecuting Sudeten Germans, and incited riots with this as an excuse.

Pressure was building on the Czech government. Neither Britain nor France wanted war, but France was obliged by treaty to aid Czechoslovakia, and so was the USSR (so long as France did). Britain had no obligations, but Chamberlain was still trying to appease Hitler, and France went along with it.

Chamberlain believed that the Sudeten Germans had a point with their complaints. (He also believed, incorrectly, that Hitler's territorial ambitions were limited and could be contained.) In May, Britain and France told the Czech President Edvard Beneš that he should give in. Beneš disagreed, and ordered the army to partially mobilize.

During the May Crisis (21st-22nd), German troops moved to the German-Czechoslovakian border, and the Czech government mobilized their troops, afraid of war. [I'm not sure if this was the same thing as the partial mobilization ordered by Beneš.] On May 8th, Hitler ordered his commanders to plan for a short war against Czechoslovakia.

In early August, Lord Walter Runciman (a British politician) with both sides as a mediator. He and his team convinced Beneš that they should grant autonomy to the Sudeten Germans. This was one of the demands of the Sudeten German Party, but Hitler had ordered them to refuse an compromises. Unrest was continuing to grow.

By September 1938, the Czech government had placed the Sudetenland under martial law. It seemed likely that Hitler would begin a war.

Chamberlain telegraphed Hitler, asking to meet with him to work out a peaceful solution. On September 15th, he flew to Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia concede the Sudetenland to Germany, and spoke about the persecution of the German minority. Chamberlain couldn't agree to this on his own, so he told Hitler that he would have to consult with the Cabinet, and asked him to not take any military action yet.

Hitler agreed, but kept on with the military planning. He offered parts of Czechoslovakia to Hungary and Poland in return for allowing Germany to seize the Sudetenland.

Chamberlain flew home, and the Cabinet authorized him to concede the Sudetenland to Germany. France also supported this decision. On September 19th, the British & French ambassadors met with the Czech government, and advised them to concede the Sudeten areas with a German population of over 50%. Czechoslovakia had no choice but to agree to this.

So on September 22nd, Chamberlain flew to Bad Godesberg to meet with Hitler again. But it wasn't enough for Hitler – he demanded that Germany take the entire Sudetenland; that all non-Germans be expelled; and that Hungary & Poland be given parts of the country. Chamberlain told him that this was unacceptable; Hitler threatened to take military action. Chamberlain returned home, and both Britain & France began mobilizing to prepare for war.

On September 26th, Chamberlain sent Sir Horace Wilson to Hitler as his personal envoy. Wilson met with Hitler on the 27th, and made it clear that if Germany violated Czech sovereignty, Britain would go to war against them.

But the German public & party leaders didn't want a war, and it was this that forced Hitler to back off on September 28th. He wrote a letter to Chamberlain, saying that he'd leave Czechoslovakia alone if Germany was given the Sudetenland.

Chamberlain asked Benito Mussolini to help persuade Hitler. Mussolini suggested a summit conference between Britain, France, Italy and Germany, to be held at Munich. The USSR wasn't invited, and nor was Czechoslovakia.

The conference began on September 29th, with the Czech delegation forced to wait outside. It was between Chamberlain, the French PM Édouard Daladier, Mussolini and Hitler. The talks continued into the night. Mussolini presented a plan that had really been drawn up by the German government (and was actually similar to Hitler's latest demands). Chamberlain and Daladier agreed to it. The Sudetenland would be given to Germany, and in return, Germany's territorial expansion would cease.

The Munich Agreement was signed on September 30th, a short time after 1am. At 1:30am, Chamberlain & Daladier informed the Czechs of their decision. The Czechs disagreed at first, but they were told that if a war resulted, Czechoslovakia would be held responsible. They had no choice but to give in. The Munich Conference is often referred to by Czechs as the “Munich Betrayal”.

The Munich Agreement had 8 terms to it:

The evacuation would begin on October 1st.

It would end on the 10th. No existing installations were to be destroyed. The Czechoslovak government would be responsible for carrying out the evacuation without any damage to those installations.

There would be international commission, consisting of representatives from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Czechoslovakia. This commission would detail the conditions governing the evacuation.

There were 4 sections of majority-German territory. No.1 would be occupied by German troops on October 1st & 2nd; No.2 on the 2nd & 3rd; No.3 from the 3rd-5th; and No.4 on the 6th & 7th. The remaining majority-German territory would be examined by the international commission, and be occupied by October 10th.

Some territories would hold a plebiscite to determine whether or not they would become part of Germany, and the international commission would decide which ones would do this. They would detail the conditions under which the plebiscite was to be held (the earlier Saar plebiscite would be the basis for these conditions). They would decide on the date for the plebiscite (it had to be before the end of November).

The international commission would make the final decision of where the borders would be. It could also recommend minor modifications in the ethnological determination of the four marked sections to the four Powers (Britain, France, Italy & Germany) – i.e., those which would be transferred without a plebiscite according to the 4th paragraph.

There was to be a “right of option into and out of the transferred territories”, and this option was to be exercised within 6 months of the signing of the Munich Agreement (September 29th). The details of this option would be decided by a German-Czechoslovak commission; they would figure out how to transfer people, and “settle questions of principle arising out of the said transfer”.

Within 4wks of the signing of the Munich Agreement, the Czechoslovakian government was to release any Sudeten Germans from the military & police who wanted to be released. They were also to release any Sudeten German political prisoners.

On October 1st, German troops crossed the German-Sudeten border. They were welcomed by the Sudeten Germans, but many Czechoslovakians fled. Chamberlain returned home, proclaiming “peace for our time”. But not everyone was pleased with his decision. Churchill said it was “a total, unmitigated defeat”.

Hitler was surprised that he'd been given the Sudetenland so easily. He encouraged Hungary & Poland to take parts of Czechoslovakia – Poland demanded the Teschen region on October 30th, and Hungary took territory in southern Slovakia on November 2nd.

In March 1939, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia as a “protectorate”. Britain & France couldn't do anything about it – after all, Czechoslovakia had “agreed” to it all. Chamberlain gave a speech on March 17th condemning Hitler's actions, but that was all.

A few days later, military intelligence warned that Poland was next. Britain & France promised to support Polish independence, and Chamberlain gave a speech promising this on March 31st, in the House of Commons. Later, Britain created an Anglo-Polish military alliance, and it was finalized on August 25th. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, this alliance was activated. But they sent no military aid – France and Britain decided to restore Poland's borders at the end of the war, and focus on the western front.

After the War

Czechoslovakia was liberated in 1945, by Allied forces from the west, and the Soviets from the east. The Potsdam Conference was held from July 17th to August 2nd. At this conference, it was decided that Czechoslovakia's German population would be transferred to Germany or Austria. This population transfer/expulsion (the Czech word Odsun could be translated either way) is still controversial today.

The Sudeten regions ended up very underpopulated – many towns & villages were deserted. Czechoslovak citizens of different ethnic minorities resettled the regions – Czechs, Slovaks, Moravians, Roma, Ruthenians (from the eastern tip of Czechoslovakia which was given to the USSR).

However, many villages/areas were never properly resettled. This was especially the case along the southern & western borders, because that was where the “Iron Curtain” was beginning to descend. Even today, the former Sudetenland has a low population (apart from popular tourist destinations such as Český Krumlov and Karlovy Vary).

Czech President Edvard Beneš went into exile in October 1938 (he returned in 1945 to be president again). In 1942, he wrote that “the words Sudeten, Sudetenland and Sudete will forever in our Czech lands be connected with Nazi brutality toward we Czechs and toward democratic Germans before and after the fateful crisis of 1938”. The term is still best avoided today, unless saying the “former Sudetenland”, etc.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

#history #military history #ww1 #ww2 #munich crisis #munich conference #munich agreement #german occupation of czechoslovakia #czechoslovakia #sudetenland #přemysl otakar #konrad henlein #neville chamberlain #edvard beneš #édouard daladier

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anygoodmoneyinfo-blog · 8 years ago

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플레비사이트

New Post has been published on http://anygoodmoney.info/%ed%94%8c%eb%a0%88%eb%b9%84%ec%82%ac%ec%9d%b4%ed%8a%b8/

플레비사이트

레퍼렌덤은 중요정책이나 법안에 대하여 국민들이 직접 찬성 또는 반대의사를 표현하는 것이고

플레비사이트는 국가기관의 신임을 묻는 국민투표.

새민련 문재인 대표는 플레비사이트를 제안했다. 안철수 의원은 이를 지적했고 취소를 요청했다.

같이 시작 한 당인데, 화합하지 못하고 대화하지 못하는 모습이 상당히 안타깝고 거슬리게 보여진다.

이유가 있어서 같이 시작 했을 텐데 이렇게 빨리? 분열적인 모습을?? 소통이 안되니까 공개서한 날렷겟지? 존재감 확인? 정치적인 의도?

공천혁신안이 통과되길 바라는건 문재인 대표. 혁신안 보다 그의 재신임에 대한 문제로 본질을 가리고 현상을 띄우는 느낌이 상당하긴 하다. 안의원이 이를 지적하고 있다.

한편으로 당내의 목소리(안의원) 처럼 당 내에서 해결할 문제를 왜 국민에게 묻는 지? 당내에서 지지를 얻기가 힘든 상황인가? 법을 아는 사람들은 플레비사이트가 독재자들의 18번 무기라는 것을 잘 알 텐데? 왜 굳이? 나는 독재자요 하는 모냥새?

디지틀조선에 투자할 때 여당의 대선 후보가 누구인지 살짝 살펴보았는데 김무성이라는 의원이었다. 최근 불거진 사위의 ��약 건. 둘째 딸을 믿고 준 사위가 마약범이라니.. 게다가 영화 베테랑이랑도 뭔가 겹쳐 보인다는 말.말.말.들이 존재.

후아. 캐내고 캐내는 것도 무섭긴 한데. 잘 산다고 마약을. 서민으로서 이해하기가 쉽지는 않네. 뒤숭숭하냐 뭔가 흐름이.

팟캐스트를 들어보니 독립투사들이 어쩔수 없이 북으로 많이 넘어갔다고 하던데.. 우리네 남은 건 무엇이오.

모르면 마음 편한 것을 알려고 굳이 노력하는 것인가 싶기도 하고, 복잡 구리 하 오.

참조

플레비사이트

직접민주제의 한 형태로서 레퍼렌덤(referendum:國民投票)과 유사하지만, 레퍼렌덤이 법안에 대한 승인 혹은 거부를 국민의 투표로써 결정하는 데 대하여, 플레비사이트는 특정의 정치적 중요사건(영토의 변경 ·병합, 또는 새로운 지배자가 그 권력의 정통성을 획득하기 위하여 실시하는 경우)을 국민의 투표에 의해서 결정하는 제도로서, 주로 항구적인 일종의 정치상태를 창출하는 데 쓰이는 용어이다.

고대에는 로마 공화정의 민회(民會)에서 시행하였고, 근세에는 나폴레옹 1세 및 나폴레옹 3세가 정권을 잡기 위하여 몇 차례 시행하였으며, 1933년 독일의 국제연맹 탈퇴, 1934년 히틀러의 총통 취임, 1955년 자르(Saar) 문제 등이 플레비사이트에 의하여 결정되었다.

[네이버 지식백과] 플레비사이트 [plebiscite] (두산백과)

독재자의 자질

이종걸이 유신 운운했다가 깨시스트들의 집중포화에 당하고 있네요. 플레비사이트(도이치어로 플레비지트)라는 게 있습니다. 선거 외에 특정 사안…

oceanrose.tistory.com

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philatelicdatabase · 8 years ago

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Stamps of Saar: Marian Year (1954)

This attractive set of three stamps was issued in August, 1954 to mark the Marian Year.

Many stamps issued by the Saar in both plebiscite periods had a strong religious theme.

This large-sized series reproduced famous works: the Sistine ‘Madonna’ by Raphael (5f.) Holbein’s ‘Madonna and Child’ (10f.) and Dürer’s ‘Madonna and Child’ (15f.)

Stamps of Saar: Marian Year (1954) was originally published on Philatelic Database

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whencyclopedia · 2 months ago

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Anschluss

The Anschluss ('fusion') of 12 March 1938 was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader of Germany, dreamed of an empire which enclosed all German speakers, his 'Greater Germany'. Hitler's military invasion met no resistance or meaningful response from foreign powers, and so Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich.

Many in Austria were sympathetic to the idea of joining Germany, but there were also those who knew their sovereignty would be lost for as long as Hitler was in power. Hitler was additionally attracted to occupying Austria since the Anschluss would give him access to new resources such as manpower for the military, raw materials, and a large quantity of cash and gold. The Austrian government was dissolved, and the very name Österreich (Austria's name in German) was banished from public use. The Nazis were not slow to begin imposing their ideology on Austrians and imprisoning those they identified as enemies. The union very swiftly became an occupation by a totalitarian regime.

A Weak League of Nations

Hitler had harboured ambitions to build a German empire or 'Greater Germany' ever since his book Mein Kampf (published in 1925), in which he described the need for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. The Nazi party rose in popularity through the early 1930s, and Hitler was eventually invited to become chancellor in 1933. Quickly establishing a dictatorship through such measures as the Enabling Act, Hitler soon turned to an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to recover Germany's territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles that had formally concluded the First World War (1914-18). Hitler had noted the lack of power of the League of Nations in the early 1930s. The League, formed after WWI with the goal of keeping world peace, had failed to act meaningfully to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931.

Hitler gave world leaders mixed messages, insisting Germany should be allowed to rearm and break the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles on its military capabilities but, at the same time, promising his commitment to world peace. The treaty specifically forbade the union of Germany and Austria. Hitler stated in 1934 that he had no intention of merging Austria into the Third Reich as his new German state was now called. Domestically, Hitler's policies were clearer. He had consistently promised the German people that he would reverse the points of the Treaty of Versailles – points which he felt were holding Germany back from achieving its full potential. The first practical step came with a plebiscite in the coal-rich Saar region, once part of western Germany but governed by the League of Nations since the end of WWI. In March 1935, the voters decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler announced conscription in Germany in 1935 and began rearmament in earnest. The League of Nations was again shown to be impotent to acts of aggression when Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935. No doubt, Hitler once again took note.

Europe after The Treaty of Versailles

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

In March 1936, German armed forces occupied the Rhineland, an industrialised area between Germany and France which the Treaty of Versailles had stipulated should not have any military presence. The League offered no response to the reoccupation, which was, after all, only Germany 'taking control of its own back garden', a phrase coined by the British Times newspaper. Hitler had been prepared to withdraw his troops at the first sign of resistance, but the bluff had worked. In October 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, with both Italy and Germany directly involved and glad to test out their new military hardware. From July 1937, China was at war with Japan. In this background of international turmoil, Hitler felt the time was right to further expand the Third Reich by absorbing Austria, the country of his birth, into the growing state of Greater Germany.

#History #AdolfHitler #Austria #Germany

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whencyclopedia · 2 months ago

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Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement, signed on 30 September 1938 at the Munich Conference attended by the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, handed over the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany in the hope that this act of appeasement would prevent a world war and end the territorial expansion pursued by the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).

Greater Germany

To understand why world leaders acted as they did at Munich, it is necessary to go back to 1935 and follow the trail of Hitler's land grabs. Hitler, ever since gaining power in 1933, had promised the German people that he would retake those territories the country had lost after the First World War (1914-18) and the humiliating Treaty of Versailles (1919). Further, Hitler wanted Lebensraum ('living space') for the German people, that is, new lands where they could prosper. Hitler's aggressive foreign policy saw a run of territorial 'recoveries'. First, Germany took back the coal-rich Saar region on Germany's western border, an area that had been governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters in the Saar decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler, encouraged by the lack of an effective international response to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, next occupied the Rhineland, an area between Germany and France which the Versailles Treaty had stipulated must remain demilitarised. German troops entered the Rhineland in March 1936.

Hitler formally repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and embarked on a programme of rearmament. In 1936, he made alliances with Italy: the Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact. In 1938, Hitler turned to neighbouring Austria, the country of his birth. Anschluss ('fusion') with Austria would tie in another 6.7 million German speakers into what Hitler called his 'Greater Germany'. Austria had significant natural resources and foreign currency reserves. Possession of Austria would also give Hitler an excellent strategic platform for further expansion. Hitler mobilised his army, which crossed the border on 12 March. Crucially, Hitler had three factors in his favour: the support of half of the Austrian population, the Austrian army was incapable of effective resistance, and the fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) had promised he would not interfere. The Austrian government capitulated, radio messages urged people not to resist, and Austria became a province of the Third Reich.

Britain and France, now whole-heartedly pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Hitler in the hope he would settle for the gains he had made already, did not feel this expansion could justify a world war. After all, the lands taken so far contained primarily German speakers, and the majority (as a plebiscite in Austria showed) were happy enough with the move. The problem was Hitler was not satisfied. Now the dictator turned to Czechoslovakia, in particular the Sudetenland region, although in May 1938, Hitler told his generals he intended to occupy the whole of Czechoslovakia.

Europe on the Eve of WWII, 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

#History #MunichAgreement #AdolfHitler #Appeasement

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whencyclopedia · 2 months ago

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The Invasion of Poland in 1939

The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Hitler's refusal to withdraw brought a declaration of war from Britain and France on 3 September, and so began the Second World War (1939-45). The USSR invaded eastern Poland on 17 September, and the country was divided and occupied by two totalitarian regimes.

Warsaw after the German Invasion, 1939

Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

Hitler's Aggressive Foreign Policy

To understand why Poland became the country Britain and France decided to go to war over, it is necessary to trace the path of Germany's expansion from 1935. Adolf Hitler gained power in 1933, and two years later, he began a series of land grabs, each time using a combination of military manoeuvres, diplomacy, and bluff to convince world leaders that each new step into neighbouring territory would be his last. Hitler had promised the German people he would regain the territories lost after the First World War (1914-18) in the humiliating Treaty of Versailles (1919). Hitler said Germany needed Lebensraum ('living space') for its people, that is, new lands where they could prosper.

In March 1935, Hitler took back the coal-rich Saar region on Germany's western border, an area that had been governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters in the Saar decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler, encouraged by the lack of an effective international response to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, next occupied the Rhineland, an area between Germany and France which the Versailles Treaty had stipulated must remain demilitarised. German troops entered the Rhineland in March 1936. Hitler then formally repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and embarked on a programme of rearmament. In 1936, he made an alliance with Italy, the Rome-Berlin Axis. In March 1938, Hitler occupied Austria, the country of his birth. The Anschluss ('fusion') with Austria was later endorsed by a plebiscite.

Next, Hitler wanted the Sudetenland, a neighbouring region of Czechoslovakia that had a German-speaking majority. Even though France and the USSR had signed a treaty in 1935 promising to protect Czechoslovakia from outside aggression, neither was willing to go to war when it came to the crunch. The majority of the population of Britain, like in France, was against the idea of a war and even against the policy of rearmament. At the Munich Conference of September 1938, Britain, France, Italy, and Germany met. In the Munich Agreement, the four powers agreed the Sudetenland would be handed over to Germany. The governments of Czechoslovakia and the USSR had no say in the matter. Hitler had promised to respect what remained of Czechoslovakia, but this he did not do, instead, he promoted the separation of Slovakia and invaded Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. In the same month, Germany seized Memelland in Lithuania. In April, the fascist dictator in Italy, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), occupied Albania. It was now clear to even the most naive of diplomats that nothing Hitler or Mussolini signed could ever be trusted.

Europe on the Eve of WWII, 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

#History #AdolfHitler #NaziGermany #Poland

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whencyclopedia · 2 months ago

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Hitler's Occupation of Czechoslovakia

Throughout 1938, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of Nazi Germany, threatened to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The excuse presented was that Sudeten Germans were being repressed but Hitler was intent on creating a 'Greater Germany', which included all German speakers in Europe. In the Munich Agreement of September 1938, Britain, France, and Italy agreed to recognize Germany's claim over the Sudetenland. This act of appeasement was meant to avoid a world war.

In March 1939, Hitler occupied the Bohemian and Moravian regions of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia became a German client state, and Hungary and Poland grabbed what was left of the old Czechoslovakia. When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France finally declared war. Czechoslovakia had been betrayed and bargained away for nothing.

German Troops Enter the Sudetenland

Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

Hitler's Greater Germany

Hitler had harboured ambitions to build a German empire or 'Greater Germany' ever since his book Mein Kampf (published in 1925), in which he described the need for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. Once in power from 1933, Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to recover Germany's territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles that had formally concluded the First World War (1914-18).

The first practical step towards a Greater Germany came with a plebiscite in the coal-rich Saar region, once part of western Germany but governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. One year later, in March 1936, German armed forces occupied the Rhineland, an industrialised area between Germany and France, which the Versailles treaty had stipulated should not have any military presence. As was the case with Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, the League of Nations offered no meaningful response. Encouraged, Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and set about solidifying his alliances. In October 1936, Germany and Italy became allies with the Rome-Berlin Axis. In November 1936, Italy and Germany (and later Japan) signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, a treaty of mutual cooperation in empire-building and a united front against communism. Hitler could now concentrate on his next victim: Austria.

Hitler not only wanted more German speakers under his power but also Austria's raw materials and currency reserves; both were badly needed for the costly rearmament programme Germany was undertaking. In 1938, Hitler pressured the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg (1897-1977) to appoint Nazi ministers in his government, but when Schuschnigg planned a plebiscite on independence for 13 March, Hitler mobilised his army, which crossed the border on 12 March. Crucially, Hitler had three factors in his favour: the support of half of the Austrian population, the Austrian army was incapable of effective resistance, and the fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) had promised he would not interfere. The Austrian government duly capitulated, and radio messages urged people not to resist. The Anschluss was accomplished.

The Rise of Nazi Germany, 1919 - 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

The major powers, all eager to avoid another world war, reacted tamely to the Anschluss and took solace from the popularity of the takeover indicated by the plebiscites in Germany and Austria, which showed (an improbable) 99% approval for the Anschluss. Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich and became a German province. Possession of Austria gave Hitler a strong strategic position in Central Europe, a base from which he could launch further invasions, particularly in the Balkans and to his next target, Czechoslovakia. In May 1938, Hitler declared to his generals: “it is my unalterable will to smash Czechoslovakia by military action in the near future" (Dear, 597). What Hitler wanted first, though, was an excuse to take Czechoslovakia. As it turned out, he did not need it since the Western powers conspired to give Hitler the country on a plate.

#History #AdolfHitler #Appeasement #Czechoslovakia

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today-in-wwi · 6 years ago

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Allies Issue Final Peace Terms, Ultimatum

June 16 1919, Paris--The last-minute British doubts about the treaty ultimately led to few changes--mainly a plebiscite in Silesia and a promise of an eventual plebiscite in the Saar. On June 16, the final text (though at some points corrected in red ink) was delivered to the German delegation, which was informed that they had five days to accept the terms in full: “They must sign or the armistice is at an end,” in Bonar Law’s words. It was by no means clear that the Germans would sign the treaty; German popular opinion was staunchly against it, though there was no appetite for a resumption of the war, either. Regardless, the Allies were ready to drive east from their Rhine bridgeheads, if necessary.

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919; Gregor Dallas, 1918: War and Peace; The New York Times.

#wwi #ww1 #ww1 history #ww1 centenary #world war 1 #world war i #The First World War #peace terms #paris peace conference #june 1919 #Treaty of Versailles

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today-in-wwi · 6 years ago

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Saar Basin to be Made League of Nations Mandate

The Saar basin. Another French claim to the area was from the founding of Saarlouis by Louis XIV in the 17th century.

April 13 1919, Paris--The French, who had seen much of their country occupied by the Germans for four years, wanted compensation for their losses and assurance that Germany could not threaten them again. One of their demands was for the coal-rich Saar basin, just north of Alsace-Lorraine. The area had been French before Napoleon’s Hundred Days, but was now entirely populated by Germans. Wilson told Clemenceau: “You base your claim on what took place 104 years ago. We cannot readjust Europe on the basis of conditions that existed in such a remote period.” He was, however, more receptive to the argument that France needed compensation for the German destruction of its coalfields in Flanders.

Ultimately, Lloyd George suggested a compromise: the French would get ownership of the coal mines, and the League of Nations would technically administer the area. France would get their coal without annexing any German-populated land. Eventually, after Wilson threatened to returned to America, the French agreed and the details were finalized on April 13. In fifteen years, a plebiscite would be held to determine the area’s future; ultimately, over 90% voted to join Nazi Germany in 1935.

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919. Image Credit: By Original uploader was User:Splee at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0

#wwi #ww1 #ww1 history #ww1 centenary #occupation of the rhineland #saar #april 1919 #world war 1 #world war i #The First World War #The Great War #first world war

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autodidact-adventures · 7 years ago

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German Territorial Losses After WW1 (in Europe)

Belgium

Eupen was a German-speaking region with historical ties to the Austrian Habsburgs and the German Empire. Malmedy was a French- and Walloon-speaking region with historic ties to the Duchy of Luxembourg. They were the “East Cantons”. Back in 1815, the Congress of Vienna had awarded both these regions first to Prussia, and then to the German Empire.

When WW1 broke out, most people living in these regions considered themselves to be German, and fought for Germany. As the war began to end, the Allies began negotiations regarding territorial re-allocation & the break-up of the German Empire. France wanted expansion for Belgium, and supported their claim to the “lost cantons” of Eupen, Malmedy and Sankt Vith.

In 1918, Britain occupied Eupen & Malmedy.

On June 28th, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles ceded Eupen & Malmedy to Belgium. This was ratified in 1920. The two regions were to be given to Belgium on a provisional basis, in a 5-year transition. There was to be a plebiscite on whether or not the residents wanted to remain part of Belgium.

This plebiscite was held between January 26th – July 23rd, 1920. It wasn't done by secret ballot – anyone who wanted to vote against remaining a part of Belgium had to register by name at the village hall. People were led to believe that anyone who did this wouldn't receive Belgian nationality but be deported by Germany; or at least their food ration cards would be taken away. Because of this, only 271 people (out of 33,726) voted to return to Germany.

In 1925, Eupen, Malmedy & Sankt Vith were fully incorporated into Belgium.

In 1926, Belgium and Germany held secret talks in which they discussed possibly returning the East Cantons to Germany, in exchange for 200 million gold marks. But France found about it and was furious, and so it came to nothing.

In 1940, Germany occupied the East Cantons and annexed them. At first, this was welcomed by many of the German-speaking inhabitants. But the German army conscripted most of the men, and sent most of them to the Eastern Front, so opinion changed. After the war, Belgium took back the regions.

France

Germany had taken the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. The Treaty of Versailles returned them to France.

The Saar Basin was a region of Germany, roughly corresponding to the modern-day province Saarland, but slightly smaller. It was a highly industrialized area, and included the Saar Coal District. It was made up of the Rhenish Trier Region (from the Prussian Rhineland), and the Palatinate (a district in Bavaria). The Palatinate had a lot of Saar coal miners among its population.

The Treaty of Versailles stated that the Saar Basin was to be occupied & governed by Britain & France as a League of Nations mandate for 15 years. Its coalfields were given to France, and run by it. When the 15 years were up, a plebiscite would be held to decide whether the Saar would remain under League control, return to Germany, or become a part of France.

While it was a mandate, the Saar Territory was governed by the Governing Commission, made up of 5 people. According to the Treaty, it had to have at least one French person, and at least one German resident of the Saar. The Saar Territory had its own postage stamps and currency (the Saar franc).

The plebiscite was held in 1935, and 9/10 of the Saar's population voted to return to Germany.

Denmark

Germany & Denmark had been fighting over the duchy of Schleswig since the mid-1800's. The First Schleswig War was 1848-51, and in the end the Prussians were forced to withdraw their troops because of international pressure, so Denmark kept the duchy.

In the Second Schleswig War (1864), Prussia & Austria conquered Schleswig (and the provinces of Holstein & Lauenberg), and from 1864-66 they ruled them as a condominium (a political territory over which multiple sovereign powers rule jointly & equally, without dividing it into national zones). This situation was formalized in the 1865 Gaston Convention.

The Austro-Prussian War (1866) ended this arrangement. The Peace of Prague (the peace treaty that ended the war) stated that a plebiscite should be held within 6yrs for Northern Schleswig to decide whether or not they would rejoin Denmark.

In fact, this wasn't the first time a plebiscite had been suggested. Back in the First Schleswig War, Schleswig-Holstein's seccessionist government had suggested holding one in parts of Schleswig, but the Danish government refused. In 1863, the London Conference was held to try and defuse the Second Schleswig War. Otto von Bismarck (the Prussian PM) suggested holding a plebiscite in Northern Schleswig, but it didn't happen.

The 1866 plebiscite never happened, and in the 1877 Ganstein Convention between Germany & Austria, the reference to it was dropped. The 1864 border was confirmed in the 1907 German-Danish Optant Treaty. But Danish residents of Northern Schleswig kept pushing for a plebiscite to be held, as the 1866 treaty had promised. They often compared the situation with France's demands for Alsace-Lorraine. French public opinion was sympathetic to this comparison, and there was quite a bit of support for Denmark's claims as part of the post-WW1 settlement, even though Denmark hadn't fought in the war.

In October 1918, Schleswig representatives in the German parliament who had Danish sympathies brought up the demand that Schleswig be returned to Denmark. After WW1, the Danish government asked the Allies to include a North Schleswig plebiscite as part of the peace settlement, and this was agreed to.

Back in 1880's-90's, the Danish historian Hans Victor Clausen had travelled on both sides of a possible Denmark-German border, and in the 1890's he published two possible border suggestions. The first line was drawn south of a region in Northern Schleswig that he believed would vote to rejoin Denmark in a future plebiscite. The second line was about 10-20km south of that: it included a thinly-populated rural region of Central Schleswig. This region was pro-German, but Danish-speaking, and Clausen believed it could potentially be assimilated into Denmark.

He published a pamphlet called Før Afgørelsen (“Before the Decision”) in 1918. In it, he argued that Denmark should annex the territory north of his first line. He dropped the idea of the second line, because that territory was still pro-German, and he believed that the new border should be decided based on self-determination of the residents.

The first line was based on his estimates of the residents' self-identification. He tended to rely on what the rural population wanted, because the towns were smaller and more influenced by external factors (for example, Sønderborg had a large German naval base).

Clausen's lines were used to determine two zones for the Versailles Treaty's plebiscites – Zone 1 was north of his first line, and Zone 2 was the territory between the two lines. However, Zone 2 was extended slightly to include the city of Flensburg and the town of Glücksberg, which Clausen had not included in either border suggestion. But there were problems & disagreements over how the zones should be drawn, and how the plebiscites should work.

In 1918 and early 1919, the main Danish political parties argued for the Northern Schleswig plebiscite, and also argued that the whole region should vote as one unit. This request became the basis for Zone 1.

During 1919, Denmark's Liberal and Conservative parties began to call for the plebiscite zone to be extended. But the Social Liberal government (and the Social Democrats, who supported them) opposed this. So a compromise was worked out, in which Clausen's second line was used to create Zone 2, and extended slightly for Flensburg and Glücksberg. In Zone 2, each town (or each parish, in rural areas) was to vote individually, unlike in Zone 1.

Denmark also made two other requests, and the Allies partially granted them. The first request was for the German civil administration in both zones to be replaced by an international administration. The Allies replaced the German garrisons with a small international force, but only partially replaced Zone 1's civil administration, and not at all in Zone 2.

The second request was that previous residents of the plebiscite area who had been expelled should still be allowed to vote. This was to include those who had opted to keep their Danish citizenship and therefore been expelled by the Prussian authorities. The Allies allowed this, but also made it so that anyone who had lived in the plebiscite area could vote. Because of this, German officials (especially railway officials) who had been temporarily stationed there could now vote in the plebiscite, and so could their wives & children of legal age. Many of the expelled Danish had emigrated to America, and it was difficult for them to return to vote. Therefore, this second request resulted in a slight increase in the German vote, relative to the Danish vote.

The Zone 1 plebiscite was held on February 10th, 1920. 74.9% voted to rejoin Denmark, and 25.1% to stay with Germany. However, in three of the four major towns (especially in the southern region close to the Zone 1-2 border), there were large German majorities. Tønder had a 76.5% vote for Germany, and Hoyer had a 72.6% vote. This area caused a lot of controversy after the plebiscite. The reason Clausen had included Tønder & its uplands in his first border suggestion was that although the town was pro-German, he believed it to be economically dependent on its pro-Danish rural uplands.

The Zone 2 plebiscite was held on March 14th, 1920. 80.2% voted for Germany, and 19.8% for Denmark. There was a Denmark majority only in three small villages on the island of Föhr, and none of them were near the Zone 1-2 border. The Commission Internationale de Surveillance du Plébiscite au Slesvig drew the new Denmark-German border as nearly identical to the Zone 1-2 border.

Zone 3 was south of Zone 2, and reached to Danevirke, Schlei, and the city of Schleswig. However, it was nearly entirely pro-German, and the Allies had offered to include it in the plebiscite, but the Danish government had asked that it be excluded.

There was also a small part of the Schleswig duchy south of Zone 3, but this was ignored for the plebiscite, as it was considered to be entirely pro-German.

There were many Danish nationalists who wanted Zone 2 to become part of Denmark as well, and King Christian X also wanted this. He ordered PM Carl Theodor Zahle to annex Central Schleswig along with Northern Schleswig, but Zahle refused – Denmark had been a parliamentary democracy since 1901, and it was the cabinet who were to decide things like that, not the king. A few days later, Zahle resigned.

Christian X then replaced all the cabinet members, replacing them with a conservative “caretaker cabinet”, under Otto Liebe. He [the king] claimed that he was the highest legislative & judicial power in the land, rather than the elected officials.

But this led to riots, and for a few days it seemed as if the monarchy would fall The king negotiated with Social Democrat party leaders, and dismissed his government. The SD leaders installed a temporary government under Michael Pedersen Friis (elections would be held later that year).

This was the Easter Crisis, and it was the last time a Danish monarch intervened in politics in this way. After the crisis, Christian X had a much reduced role as a symbolic head of state.

On June 15th, 1920, it became clear where the new border would be, and this date was chosen for the re-unification anniversary. On this day, all government buildings fly the Danish flag.

However, the re-unification was actually carried out on July 9th. Northern Schleswig was officially made a part of Denmark, and was called Southern Jutland. In 1920, the celebration of the re-unification began on this day.

On the 10th, the king crossed the border [I think the old Denmark-German border] on horseback for the first time, on a white horse. He crossed it at Frederikshøj, between the towns of Kolding and Haderslev. There is a monument dedicated to this horse at the Visborggård estate (in Northern Jutland).

The main celebration was at the town of Dybbøl (about 6km west of Sønderborg), where battles had been fought in both Schleswig Wars. The Battle of Dybbøl, in which the Danish were beaten by the Prussians, was the most important battle of the Second Schleswig War, and took place on April 18th, 1864.

On July 11th, about 100,000 people gathered at Dybbøl, singing patriotic songs. The royal family, government, and both chambers of parliament were there. Speeches were made emphasizing national unity.

There are 5 regions in Denmark, and Southern Jutland is part of Syddanmark (Southern Denmark).

Rhineland & Ruhr

The Armistice (November 11th) gave conditions for the Allied occupation of the Rhine's left bank (for strategic as well as symbolic reasons). Foch was the supreme commander of the Allied occupation troops in the Rhine territories, so he was in charge of troop advancement & stationing. Between 1st-7th December, the Allies occupied the left bank – British, American, French and Belgian forces. They occupied 6.5% of Germany (about 7 million people lived there).

France took control of the southern area (the Saarland, Palatinate & Mainz), about 75% of the occupied territory. Belgium took control of the northern area (the lower Rhine valley, which was the Aachen sector), about 10% of the occupied territory.

The occupation was carried out in a very symbolic fashion, with planned marches, important areas being decked in the Allies' colours, speeches that gave moral reasons for the occupation.

A state of siege was declared, in order to protect public order & the troops' safety. The victors put limits on the inhabitants' freedom of movement, association and expression; they even threatened potential offenders & hostages with execution. Sometimes, these measures were strictly enacted; at other times, with discretion. They were eventually relaxed to some degree.

France wanted the Rhineland, although there was disagreement whether it should be annexed outright, occupied for a long period of time, or become a “protectorate”. But they wanted to make sure they got support from America & Britain, so when they brought forth their demands in February 1919, they officially asked only for a temporary military presence, of various Allied countries (not just France).

They wanted to change the balance of power on the continent, weakening Germany's economy and “demographic weight”, so that Germany wouldn't be able to defeat France again. They called for high reparations, to repay their own war debts and repair destroyed areas, but these would only damage Germany's economy temporarily.

So France wanted to separate the Rhineland & the Ruhr basin from Germany entirely, creating a semi-autonomous state that would lean towards France. This region was Germany's industrial heartland, and would weaken them greatly.

Belgium wanted to move away from “guaranteed neutrality” and expand its borders, but there was also disagreement about this, and the government took a cautious position on it. They definitely wanted territory from the Netherlands & Luxembourg, but received only the cantons of Eupen and Malmedy from Germany.

They agreed to take part in the military occupation of the Rhine's left (western) bank, but they didn't want to be drawn into the military, political & economic influence of France, who was the main occupier of the Rhine. France's military occupation was a foot in the door for possibly drawing the Rhineland into its sphere of influence.

[Not sure whether this happened before February 1919, or after it] – The other Allies were concerned about France's dominance in the Rhineland. The French “apparatus” was replaced with an inter-Allied administration (this would be the precursor to the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission).

There were over 220,000 French troops in the Rhineland, and 20,000 Belgians. Hostilities were suspended during the peace talks, but this was only temporary – the occupation generated a lot of tension. The Allies worked out a defence plan, and prepared to implement it.

But in the spring [March-May] of 1919, the general public began learning of the conditions of the treaty, and they protested & rallied against it. The German delegation didn't want to sign. The Allied troops in the Rhineland began to move, and gathered around the points of entry to the right bank – a clear threat.

The tension reached a peak in mid-June. Activists for Rhenish independence tried to use the situation to help their cause, and this made it worse. Some French officers actually supported them, as they believed it would anticipate France's goals. The occupying forces disagreed on the subject. Eventually, the separatist movement was crushed. Peace was restored, but it was really only surface-deep. The treaty was signed.

The treaty transferred power from the military to the civilian authorities. The Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission began its duties on January 10th, 1920, with its headquarters at Koblenz. It had power over every aspect of the occupation.

Paul Tirard was the president of the Commission, and Edouard Rolin-Jaequemyns was Belgium's representative. By February, there were only 94,000 French & 16,000 Belgian troops, and their job was to maintain order & security for the Commission.

Some disagreed with the Commission having the power, rather than the military. This was a problem especially among the Belgians – to the point where Brussels actually had to intervene. Tirard pushed for a policy of “cultural infiltration”, and Rolin-Jaequemyns tried to follow this policy, but had little support & limited means for it. He also tried to follow the principles of “pacific penetration” in a discreet manner, but the army (both officers & ordinary soldiers) opposed this.

Unlike France, he couldn't count on support from “command [of the army] which does not appear to have the political spirit necessary to accomplish its task”. In the French region, a Centre for Germanic Studies was set up to avoid such issues. It trained French field officers & Commission agents in France's Rhineland policy.

Allied soldiers stayed in abandoned Reichswehr camps and barracks; this wasn't enough, so public buildings were requisitioned and outfitted for that purpose as well, and local authorities had to pay for more facilities. Many (particularly officers & their families) were billeted in private homes, and this increased. Cities became almost taken over by troops, and some (such as Aachen) became very crowded. All of this made the tension worse, and there was a lot of violence as well.

With regards to mixed marriages, Belgium fired any soldier who planned one; after 1925, this rule was somewhat relaxed, with the soldiers having to submit requests for a detailed examination, which were done on a case-by-case basis. France was fine with it, so long as the bride & her family passed a moral investigation.

However, not all mixed couples got married – some just lived together, and sometimes faced serious retaliation for this. Germans were stigmatized within their community, and could even be physically attacked (such as having their hair cut off, or face smeared with wax).

Germany was particularly paranoid about mixed-race marriages (i.e. with colonial French troops from North Africa, Madagascar & Senegal), and the schwarze Schmach “black shame”. There were protests against this, and they gradually spread & increased. Rumours were spread of black men raping German women, and these rumours were turned into a propaganda campaign that was picked up by foreign media in April 1920. An international outcry (lasting until 1923) condemned the black troops (even though they were usually better-behaved than their white counterparts). France denied the accusations, but withdrew their black troops, thus encouraging these beliefs. The outcry eventually died down when France occupied the Ruhr.

The Conference of London (1922) attempted to help with the issues, but failed. Germany was failing to pay its reparations – shipments of telephone poles and coal were delayed – and France threatened to occupy the Ruhr basin.

Back in 1921, the Allies had “conducted a blitz operation on Düsseldorf and Duisberg-Ruhrort” (France occupied some cities & bridgeheads on the Rhine's right bank, and this was probably part of it), and Germany was forced to concede. This was acceptable according to the Treaty of Versailles (it allowed the Allies to occupy more territory for sanctions), but opinion for the Ruhr basin was divided between the Allied powers.

France took charge. Belgium distrusted the French “penchant for encircling”, but felt it had no choice and followed along. Nearly 6,000 Belgians, and about 60,000 French, entered the Ruhr on January 11th, 1923.

Officially, their actions were to protect the members of MICUM (Inter-Allied mission for the control of factories & mines). But their real purpose was to control the heavy industry & coal mines, and get reparations directly from the source.

They occupied Essen, Bochum and Dortmund within the first 5 days. The population was relatively calm as the troops occupied the area, but there was passive resistance, which began spontaneously. Within a few days, it became organized under orders from Berlin, who had reacted with outrage, and called for a general strike.

By late February, the railroad & water networks were completely paralyzed, and industrial activity was reduced in all occupied territories. The French were surprised by this, and didn't want to react too drastically, because they were afraid of compromising their Rhineland policy. The Belgians, however, pressurized them to be “firm and rigorous”, and they didn't want to get bogged down in politics.

Of course the inhabitants retaliated, and a state of siege was declared. Measures were enacted to control the situation; violence increased dramatically. On March 31st, a routine intervention at Essen's Krupp factories ended with 13 dead and several dozen workers injured. Germany changed its propaganda to condemn the Schreckensherrschaft (“reign of terror”), trying to gain sympathy overseas (especially from neutral countries). There were newspaper articles, posters, pamphlets and brochures, which often exaggerated the Allied troops' violence. The Allies denied it, and pointed out when the Germans attacked or sabotaged them.

There were several hundred attacks from the Germans, mostly against railways and communication networks. The worst was against a train of Belgian soldiers on leave, as it left the Hochfeld station on the night of June 29th. 12 men were killed, and dozens injured.

That was the worst of the violence. Sanctions (individual and collective) were imposed, but were criticized because they were similar to those used by the “occupier” [Germany?] during the war, such as using human shields on convoys. Eventually, by summer [June-Aug], things began to calm down.

The passive resistance had failed to achieve what it wanted, and lost momentum. The terrorist acts were committed mostly by paramilitary & nationalist groups from non-occupied Germany, and the others gradually distanced themselves from them. In late August, Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor, and called off the passive resistance; the active resistance movement was also being criticized by the Berlin authorities by late September.

Gradually, the discipline relaxed. About 140,000 people had been deported (from both banks) over a span of 9 months; now they were gradually allowed to return, and new deportations were suspended.

France's actions had caused Belgium to distrust them even more. France's territorial ambitions in the Rhine came back in the spring [of 1923?], and projects during the summer included trying to give the Rhineland its own currency and an independent railroad network. The Rhenish Republic was declared on October 21st, 1923 (a German separatist movement), but was disestablished in November 1924, and this ended France's ambitions in the region.

The 1924 Dawes Plan attempted to mitigate the severity of the Treaty on Germany, including a rescheduling of reparation payments, and it had been approved in London in August. The Locarno Treaties 1925) continued this easing-off on Germany, and the Allies agreed not to change its western borders by force. A policy of appeasement came to the fore.

The last French & Belgian soldiers left the Rhine's right bank on August 1st, 1925. Preparation began for the evacuation of the area around Cologne, and the number of troops on the left bank was reduced greatly. However, there was still resistance from the Germans – the 1925 rheinische Jahrtausendfeier (the “millennium celebrations”) along the Rhine reaffirmed the German character of the region, and also worked to lessen the boundary the occupation had created between the two banks.

In 1930, the French & Belgians left completely. Liberation celebrations were held in the former garrison towns.

Poland – The Polish Corridor

The country of Poland hadn't existed for just over a century, but part of the post-war settlement was restoring it. Also part of the settlement was giving Poland access to sea, as per the 13th of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points:

An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.

Because of the sea issue, the Polish Corridor was created. It was made up of parts of Western Prussia and Posen.There were two main reasons for creating the Polish Corridor – ethnicity and economics. The majority of the population in the region was Polish. On March 12th, 1919, the Polish commission report to the Allied Supreme Council stated that, “Finally the fact must be recognized that 600,000 Poles in West Prussia would under any alternative plan remain under German rule.” The 1910 Prussian census showed 528,000 Poles living there (this included West Slavic Kashubians, who were closely related), as compared to 385,000 Germans (this included troops stationed in the region). Up until now, Germany had oppressed the Poles and tried to force Germanization upon them.

Poland believed that they couldn't have real economic independence without access to the sea; the Polish commission's report stated that, “1,600,000 Germans in East Prussia can be adequately protected by securing for them freedom of trade across the corridor, whereas it would be impossible to give an adequate outlet to the inhabitants of the new Polish state (numbering 25,000,000) if this outlet had to be guaranteed across the territory of an alien and probably hostile Power.” The Vistula, which ran into the sea in the Polish Corridor, was Poland's main waterway, and was necessary for both transport and trade.

The Treaty of Versailles was drafted on June 28th, 1919. It came into force on January 21st, 1920, and established the Polish Corridor.

Most of West Prussia was given to Poland. The seaport of Danzig was mostly German-speaking, and controlled the estuary of the Vistula, which was the main waterway. Danzig became the Free City of Danzig and was put under the protection of the League of Nations, without a plebiscite. Germany retained some small parts of West Prussia, on both the western & eastern sides – the western parts became part of the former Province of Posen (what was left of it) to form the new Posen-West Prussia province. The eastern parts became part of the Province of East Prussia (which was now cut off from the rest of Germany by the Corridor) as Regierungsbezirk West Prussia.

Posen had been part of Poland, but Prussia annexed it during the late 1700's and it became part of the Prussian Partition. After the 1815 Congress of Vienna, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Posen; after the 1848 Greater Poland Uprising, it was administered as a Prussian province. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany give most of it back to Poland, as part of the Corridor.

During the Polish-Soviet War (1919-21), the dock workers at Danzig's harbour went on strike at a key moment in the war, refusing to unload ammunition. After this, Poland built a new seaport at Gdynia (also in the Corridor). They connected it to the Upper Silesian industrial centres with the new Polish Coal Trunk Line railways.

Poland – Upper Silesia

Silesia is a Central European region that today is mostly part of Poland (some of it is part of Germany & the Czech Republic). It has two regions – Upper and Lower Silesia. In the 900's, it became part of Poland; in the 1300's, it became part of Bohemia; in 1526, it became a possession of the Habsburgs. In 1742, Prussia conquered most of Silesia.

Prussian province of Silesia in 1905. Green is Lower Silesia; yellow is Middle Silesia; red is Lower Silesia.

Upper Silesia is the south-eastern part of Silesia. Most of it was taken by Prussia in 1742, and in 1871, it became part of the German Empire. Today, most of it belongs to Poland, and a small part to the Czech Republic.

After WW1, the Treaty of Versailles awarded about 54,000km2 of German territory to the newly-restored Poland. Many of the regions given to Poland were ethnically mixed, and the Allies decided to hold plebiscites in three of them on the new border. These areas were to be occupied by Allied forces, and partially governed by an Inter-Allied Commission until the decisions were made.

The most important plebiscite region was Upper Silesia. This was because it was an important industrial area – there was a huge coal-mining industry and associated businesses; also mineral resources of iron, lead and zinc. In the eastern part, there was the “Industrial Triangle”, which was the heart of the industrial region – between Beuthen (Bytom), Kattowitz (Katowice) and Gleiwitz (Gliwice). So there were economic as well as ethnic reasons for the plebiscite.

Industrial Triangle (today).

British, French and Italian forces occupied the area. The Inter-Allied Committee was headed by Henri le Rond (a French general). The plebiscite would be held on March 20th, 1921. Poland & Germany were allowed to organized campaigns, and they both also developed secret paramilitary forces, financed by their respective capitals. Wojciech Korfanty was a pro-Polish politician who was the major figure of these campaigns.

There was also a strong Polish-German autonomist movement for the region – the most well-known branch of this movement was the Bund der Oberschlesier, or the Związek Górnoślązaków (in Polish). They wanted to get promises of autonomy from both Poland and Germany, and possibly future independence for Upper Silesia.

Article 88 of the Treaty stated that all inhabitants over 20yrs could vote, and also people who'd been expelled by the Germans and hadn't “retained their domicile there”. This may have increased the German vote, as this allowed thousands of Upper Silesian migrant workers from western Germany to vote, and the German authorities organized their transport to Silesia for that purpose. Also, the median age of German speakers was higher than that of Polish speakers (according to the 1900-10 census), so the minimum age helped them, too.

In August 1919, and again in August 1920, there were two Polish uprisings, in which they clashed with the German Freikorps (“volunteers”). The Allies put them down quickly and restored order each time.

2,073,663 people lived in the area, and 1,186,758 votes were cast (i.e. 57% people voted). 717,122 people voted for Germany, and 483,514 – i.e. 59.4% for Germany, and 40.6% for Poland. The towns & most of the villages had German majorities. A lot of inhabitants with Polish heritage had voted for Germany. But the situation wasn't quite so simple.

There were some districts with quite large Polish majorities – Pless (Pszczyna) & Rybnik in the south-east; Tarnowitz (Tarnowskie Góry) in the east; Tost-Gleiwitz (Gliwice) in the interior. In Lublinitz (Lubliniec) and Groß Strehlitz (Strzelce Opolskie), the votes were practically equal.

The industrial zone's districts had a slight German majority – Beuthen (Bytom), Hindenburg (Zabrze), Kattowicz (Katowice) and Königshütte (Chorzów). But in Beuthen and Kattowitz, this slight majority was because of the town vote – in Kattowitz, the town vote was 80%, but the overall vote only 60%.

And many of Upper Silesia's county communes had Polish majority votes.

The Inter-Allied Commission debated what to do. The British wanted a more easterly border than the French – i.e., one that gave Poland much less of the Industrial Triangle.

Pro-Polish forces worried that the British border would be used, and in April 1921 there was the Third Silesian Uprising. Korfanty was the leading figure of this uprising, and he had support from the Warsaw government as well as in Upper Silesia. He called for a popular armed uprising, in order to get the most possible territory from the partition. German volunteers responded, and in mid-1921 there was large-scale fighting. German officials & German-language spokesmen complained that the French troops weren't putting down the Polish violence or restoring order, and thus favouring Poland. This uprising was the biggest and longest of all the Silesian uprisings.

Twelve days later, Korfanty offered to take his forces behind the demarcation line, so long as the territory they'd withdrawn from would be occupied by Allied troops, not German troops. On July 1st, British troops returned to Upper Silesia, to help the French occupy the area. The Inter-Allied Commission proposed a general amnesty for illegal actions during the uprising, except for acts of revenge or cruelty. The German defence force was withdrawn.

The Allies still couldn't agree on where the border should be drawn, so they asked the League of Nations to decide. Agreements were made between the Poles & Germans in Upper Silesia; appeals were issued by both sides; 6 battalions of Allied troops were dispatched; and the local guards were disbanded – these things helped pacify the region.

Reports were made by a League commission and League experts, and the Allied Council made their decision based on them. Poland received “the greater part of” Upper Silesia’s industrial district – just under 1/3 of the territory, but over 80% of the region's heavy industry, and nearly ½ its inhabitants.

Light green is territory given to Poland; orange is territory retained by Germany. The blue-ish part (the southern part of Ratibor) is the Hlučín Region, which had a Czech-speaking majority and was given to Czechoslovakia without a plebiscite.

The League recommended that both governments enforce protections for minority interests, and they did so; these protections were to last 15yrs. Special measures were threatened if either country refused to participate in drawing up these regulations, or to accept them. However, the new German minority in the Polish region would be discriminated against to a considerable degree during the next decade.

Poland gave their part of Upper Silesia a fair amount of autonomy, because of the plebiscite's autonomist movement, and the economic/political power of the region. It had a Silesian Parliament as a constituency, and the Silesian Voivodeship was the executive body.

Germany did the same – the new Prussian province of Oberschlesien was created, and a regional government in Oppeln was formed, with special autonomy.

Czechoslovakia

The Hlučín Region (Hlučínsko in Czech) is nowadays part of the Czech Republic's Moravian-Silesian Region. It is about 316km2., and is named after Hlučín, its largest town.

The region has been inhabited since about 4500 – 2500 BC.

In medieval times, the bishoprics of Olomouc and Wrocław tried to control the area (it was not a specific region yet), and Olomouc won out, so it became part of the March of Moravia.

Before 1269, the Bohemian King Ottokar II took land from the Margraviate of Moravia to form the Duchy of Troppau, which was ruled by his illegimate son Duke Nicholas I from 1269. Because of the eastward migration of German-speaking people from the Holy Roman Empire (the Ostsiedlung), Hlučínsko was Germanized, and it developed differently from the rest of Moravia in terms of culture and economics.

In 1526, the Bohemian lands (including Hlučínsko) became part of the Habsburg lands.

On January 11th, 1742, the Treaty of Breslau was signed between King Frederick II of Prussia & the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. With this treaty, Hlučínsko became an entity of its own.

Prussia conquered most of Silesia in the First Silesian War (1740-42), and the treaty that ended it divided the Duchy of Troppau into two parts along the Opava River. The southern region stayed part of Austrian Silesia, and the northern region was given to Prussia. In 1815, it became part of the Province of Silesia. Hlučínsko became part of the German Empire when it was established in 1871.

Hlučínsko had a Czech majority, and therefore was given to the new Czechoslovakia on February 4th, 1920, without a plebiscite.

The 1938 Munich Agreement gave Hlučínsko to Germany, who occupied it on October 1st. Unlike the other Czech territory annexed at this time, it didn't become part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland – it was returned to the Province of Silesia (called Upper Silesia from 1941). After WW2, it was given back to Czechoslovakia, and the German inhabitants were expelled.

Lithuania

The border between Lithuania and Prussia was drawn up in 1422, as part of the Treaty of Melno.

After WW1, the country of Lithuania was created, and Poland was restored. On November 30th, 1918, 24 members of the National Council of Lithuania Minor signed the Act of Tilsit, demanding that Lithuania Minor be unified with Lithuania Proper. Lithuania Minor included the Memel Territory (or Klaipėda Region), which was the northern part of East Prussia. These politicians wanted this region because it had a large Lithuanian-speaking Prussian Lithuanian minority, and because of the major port of Klaipėda, which was Lithuania's only viable access to the sea (it was ice-free, so could be used all year round).

Józef Piłsudski wanted to absorb most of the new Lithuanian territory into Poland. At Versailles, Roman Dmowski called for East Prussia to be divided – for the lower part of the Neman River & its delta (or the Memel River) to Lithuania, which would give the country access to the Baltic Sea; and for the predominantly Polish parts of Lithuania to be given to Poland (i.e. most of it). The French PM Georges Clemenceau supported this idea.

In 1920, the Treaty of Versailles separated the German territory north of the Memel River, calling it Territoire de Memel and placing it under the administration of the Council of Administration. French troops were sent in for protection.

From 1920-23, many inhabitants began to support the idea of an independent State of Memelland. The Deutsch-Litauischer Heimatbund (German-Lithuanian Homeland Federation) promoted this idea, calling for a Freistaat Memelland to be created, and later be returned to Germany. This organization had about 30,000 members, including both ethnic Germans & Lithuanians, which was about 21% of the population.

On January 9th, 1923, Lithuania staged the Klaipėda Revolt and occupied the region. It was presented as an uprising of the local population, and the region was annexed on the 19th. The French administration took no significant action, and a pro-Lithuanian administration was established & petitioned to unite with Lithuania under the ideals of self-determination.

The League of Nations accepted this, and on February 17th, the Klaipėda Region was transferred to Lithuania as an autonomous territory. Length negotiations followed, and in May 1924, the Klaipėda Convention was signed, making it official.

In fact, if a plebiscite had been held, it is unlikely that the inhabitants would have voted to unite with Lithuania. Many Lithuanian-speakers regarded themselves as East Prussians; around 41-45% of the population declared themselves to be Germans in the 1925 census (compared to 24-27% Memellandish & 26% Lithuanian); and the pro-German political parties took about 80% of the vote in all local elections. According to Lithuania, though, the Memellanders were Germanized Lithuanians who needed to be re-Lithuanized.

Lithuania adapted & modernized the Klaipėda port, and used it mostly for agricultural exports. On January 29th, 1928, the Lithuanian-German Border Treaty was signed.

Gradually over the years, the inhabitants of the region began to call louder for re-integration with Germany. Lithuania began a policy of Lithuanization, but the differences were too great to ignore, and more opposition resulted.

On March 20th, 1939 (five days after occupying Czechoslovakia), Joachim von Ribbentrop presented an ultimatum to Lithuania's Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys, threatening that unless Lithuania cede the Klaipėda Region, the Wehrmacht would invade. A Lithuanian delegation travelled to Berlin, and early in the morning of the 23rd, Ribbentrop and Urbšys signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany. In return, the port of Memel was designated a Lithuanian Free Zone for the next 99 years, using the facilities that had already been built.

Hitler had expected the agreement, and he was waiting onboard a Kriegsmarine ship. At dawn, he sailed into the Klaipėda Region to celebrate its return, and German forces seized the region even before the official Lithuanian verification. This was the last German bloodless annexation of territory. Britain and France did nothing. Most of the population (both Germans & Memellanders) welcomed the return to Germany.

The treaty allowed the inhabitants to choose their citizenship. 585 opted for Lithuanian citizenship, but only 20 requests were granted. The treaty also stated that those who had moved to the Memel Territory while Lithuania was occupying it should emigrate, and about 8,900 Lithuanians did so. Germany expelled about 1,300 Memel & Lithuanian Jews, and about 40 Prussian-Lithuanians.

#history #military history #ww1 #treaty of versailles

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