Figure 1.--The German people were shocked at the territorial changes imposed by the Allies. Germany lost 13 percent of its territory and millions of Germans were left outside the new German Republic. The changes in the West were fairly straight-forward. The changes in the East were much more complicated and not fully resolved until several years after the War. Here an unidentified youth groups, perhaps an auxilery of a Frei Korps, seems to be visiting an eastern border post during the early 1920s. There is some writing on the gabel of the building in the background, but it is diffcult to make out. We do see "Bier Brause". Bier is bear and Brause is shower. Perhaps this meanr "tap beer". We do see mugs of bear on the tabel to the right.

Territorial concessions by Germany were significant and accounted for about 13 percent of the German Empire's pre-World War I territory. German diplomats were shoocked when they wwre presented with the Allied plans. Most Germans had expected with the exception of Alsace-Loraine, a return to the 1914 borders. The provisions in the east were particularly shocking. It does not seem to have dawned ob the Germans the even more severe territorial concessions that they had enforced on Russia at Brest-Litovsk. There were important territorial concessions to new and existing countries. Restrictions were put on some areas that Germany retained. Some of these concessions were specified in the Versailles Treaty which with over 200 pages was very complicated. Other territorial change were to be decided by the wishes of the people or by the new League of Nations through plebecites.

Belgium

It was the German invasion of neuttral Belgium that sett of World War I (Sugust 1914). The German suceeded in occupying almost all of the country. And it was on Belgian territory that much of the war in the West was fought. Belgium at Versailles received the small districts of Eupen, Malmédy, and Moresnet. Americans will recognize Malmédy. It was here that the SS murdered unarmed American POWs during the World War II Battle of the Bulge (December 1944).

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakis was a new state created out of the wreckage of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Most of the Czech state came from Austrian Bohemia. This was formalized in the Treaty of St Germain (September 1919). Bohemniawas largely populated with Czecha. The Sudentenland with a largely German population which had been part of Austrian Bohemia was also ceeded to the Czechs. The Allies wanted to create ethnically destinct units. Here the Sudentenlnd was added to provide the new Czechoslovakia defensible borders. , Slovakis from the Hungarian potion of Austro-Hungarian Empire was also added. Germany ceded a small part of Upper Silesia to the new Czech state. Poland and Czechoslovakia had difficulty deciding their border. The two new countries reached an interim relation over Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego and Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko agreed to partition the old Duchy of Cieszyn on the basis of ethnicity. Establishing the border on ethnic terms proved no easy task and the arrangement was not approved by the Czechoslovak government. Poland conducted parlimentary elections throughout the disputed area. Czech troops invaded the area (January 23, 1919). lands of Cieszyn Silesia. The Czechs stopped on the Vistula River near Skoczów (January 30.). The planned plebiscite, as a result, was not held. The division of Cieszyn Silesia was decided at the Spa Confrence (July 28, 1920). The result is the present-day border between Poland and the Czech Republic. Hlučín (Hultschiner Ländchen) was a German town in the extreme south. The League of Nations granted it to Czechoslovakia (1920). Here there was no plebiscite. Hlučín had a German majority and would have voted to join Germany. After the Munich Conference, Hitler allowed the Poles to occupy the disputed area seized by the Czechs (October 1938). This was Zaolzie (part of Cieszyn Silesia, the disputed area west of the Olza River with about 258,000 inhabitants). The NAZIs incorporated Czech Silesia with Slezská Ostrava into the Reich Sudetenland Gau. Hultschin was incorporated into the Reich Upper Silesia province. After World War II, however, the border decided at the Spa Conference was recognized as the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia and is the modern Czech-Polish border.

Danzig

Danzig was ceded to the Allies which made it a Free City under the authority of the League, but subject to Polish jurisdiction concerning customs and foreign relations. Danzig was made a free state so Poland would have access to a non-German port. It was thought it would be a mistake to create a land-locked country. Thus what came to be callef the Polish corridor was created. This involved placing some German populated areas in Poland. This was probably unavoidable.

Denmark

Prussia as part of Bismarck's diplomacy had fought the Danish War (1864) which brought Danish populated areas wothin Pruss and eventually the German Empire. Denmark remained neutral in the War. Plebecites were held in February and March to determine the status of northern and central Schleswig. Denmark had not been involved in the War, but Bismarck had engineered a war with Denmark in 1864 over Schlewig-Holstein. Northern Schleswig went back to Denmark, but central Schleswig remained in Germany.

France

Alsace and Loraine which had been seized by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) creating a lasting emnity between France and Germany. The two provinces were returned to France.

Germany

A League of Nations Commission was given responsible for the Saar Basin for 15 years. The arrangemenrs concerning the Saar or Saarland, a thoroughly German area, were exccedingly complicated. After the 15-year period, a plebecite would determine the future disposition. The west bank of the Rhine, commonly referred tomas the Rhineland, had to be demilitarized as well as the west bank to a depth of 150 kilometers. the island of Heligoland was demilitarized. The Kiel Canal was opened to the ships of all nations. The almost entirely German city of Danzig was made a free city, but in effect virtually a Polish city. [Wells, p. 934.]

Lithuania

Lithuania and the other Baltic states had been part of the Russian Empire before the War. The port of Memel and surrounding territory which had been German was added to the Lithuania from the Russian Empire. Germany was required to cede Memel to the League of Nations. The League eventually awarded it to Lithuanua. Newly independent Lithuania at the samr time had to fend off both the new Polish state and the Bolshevicks.

Poland

Poland was an old European state that was reserected after the War. Areas of Eastern German were obtained through the Polish partitions (18th century). Most of Poland went to Russia, but areas of Western Poland were obtained by both Prussia and Austria. Subsequently there was a substantial mixing of the population. Large numbers of Poles had Germans somewear in their family tree and visa versa. And Germans moved into the Polish areas. Many poles move west, especially into the industrial Ruhr Basin where industrial labor was needed. After the border was settled, people had to declare their nationality. They did not have to move, but had to register and apply for passports if these chose to live as a foreign minority. No one at the time realized just how important a decesion that would become. Germany as part of the Versailles Treaty had to relinquish considerable territory to the new Polish sate. Large parts of Posen and central Prussia were ceded. Plebesites were held in July 1920 in southeastern Prussia and the Marienwerder district of West Prussia. The results were substantial majorities wanted to remain in Germany. Also at issue was Upper Silesia. When the Polish Army tried to seize the area without a plebecite, they were repulsed by a Freikorps unit. The plebecite was duly held (March 1921). The Council of the League of Nations still awarded part of the region to Poland. The Poles attempted to seize some areas by force. The German Government was afraid to use the Army to intervene. But the Frei Korps did resist the Poles.

Sources

Wells, H.G. The Outline of History: The Whole Story of Man (Doubleday & Co.: New York, 1971), 1103p.

Created: 3:08 PM 2/5/2009
Last updated: 2:39 PM 2/17/2009