Rue Nitot facts for kids
The Rue Nitot meeting was an important event during the time of the First World War. It happened when leaders from the British Empire met in Paris. They wanted to discuss the very strict rules of the Treaty of Versailles and hoped to make them less harsh for Germany. This meeting took place at the home of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, at 23 Rue Nitot, in Paris, on June 1, 1919.
Contents
Why the Meeting Happened: The Background Story
When Germany asked for peace in late 1918, they hoped the peace terms would be based on President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. These points were ideas for a fair peace, shared by President Wilson in January 1918.
However, the other Allied countries, especially Britain, were not happy. They felt Wilson had made these points without asking them. Britain was particularly worried about a rule called "Freedom of the Seas." At the time, Britain had a strong naval blockade around Germany, stopping supplies. This rule would have made their blockade harder to keep.
Even though the Fourteen Points were a starting point for peace talks, Germany was also told they would need to pay for war damages. This was called "reparations."
At first, the French did not want Germany to be part of the peace talks at all. This surprised the American and British leaders. They believed in a "new world" kind of peace, which meant everyone should have a say. But French Prime Minister Clemenceau strongly felt that Germany was responsible for the war. He asked, "How can the losers sit equally with the winners?"
In the end, German representatives were allowed to see a draft of the treaty. They were given two weeks (later extended to three) to suggest changes. They sent their ideas by the end of May 1919. The Rue Nitot meeting was held to talk about these very suggestions.
What Happened at the Rue Nitot Meeting
One big concern for the British was France's demand for a permanent land barrier between France and Germany. France wanted a "neutral zone" about twenty miles wide. Allied nations would patrol this area. France wanted this to stop future German attacks, as they had been attacked twice in the past 50 years.
This idea was dropped when British Prime Minister Lloyd George and President Wilson promised France they would help defend them. But the issue came up again later, with France asking for a 15-year occupation of the area. Eventually, it was decided that the Rhineland area would be permanently neutral starting in 1925.
France also wanted to keep Germany out of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was a new international group meant to prevent future wars. France also wanted to deny Germany special trading rights with other countries.
The Difficult Issue of Reparations
Perhaps the hardest issue was the "reparations," or payments for war damages. France wanted Germany to pay for all the damage caused in France and Belgium during the war. Accountants calculated the cost of every death, every injury, every animal killed, and all destroyed property.
The total came to a huge amount: $13.75 billion (which would be about $233 billion today). If Germany couldn't pay with money, they would have to give raw materials like coal and chemicals.
Winston Churchill, who was a British leader, said that France's hatred for Germany was "something more than human." But South African Prime Minister Louis Botha reminded everyone about a peace treaty signed 17 years earlier. That treaty ended the Boer War, and it showed that being fair and moderate had helped Britain. He hoped moderation would help save the world this time too.
The British Empire leaders all agreed. They told Lloyd George to go back to the "Big Four" (the main leaders of the Allied powers) and ask for changes to the peace terms. They disagreed on reparations, the occupation of the Rhineland, Germany joining the League of Nations, and Germany's borders with Poland. There were also many smaller issues.
When Lloyd George met with French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, he gave him an important message. He said if these issues weren't fixed, and if Germany refused to sign the treaty, Britain would stop its naval blockade on Germany. This blockade was causing food shortages for German civilians. He also said the British Army would not take part in occupying Germany.
What Happened Next: The Consequences
When the Council of Four heard Britain's demands on June 2, they were upset. They had worked hard on the treaty and were tired. Lloyd George said he wasn't asking for big changes, just ones that matched Wilson's Fourteen Points. President Wilson simply said that reparations were not specifically excluded from the Fourteen Points, so they were allowed.
Even though the German representatives walked out of the talks, a new, more open-minded German government took over by the end of June. Two new representatives were sent to Paris, and the treaty was signed on June 28, 1919. Lloyd George made sure the German representatives signed first, before the other 66 leaders.
Later, in the 1920s, a new political party in Germany, the German Workers Party (DAP), strongly opposed the Treaty of Versailles. One of their main goals was to reject the treaty. As he became more powerful, Adolph Hitler always called the Treaty of Versailles "the Versailles diktat," meaning it was forced upon Germany.
After the strict French leaders Georges Clemenceau and Ferdinand Foch died in 1929, younger French politicians came into power. They agreed with the British that the treaty's terms were too harsh. This led to a series of agreements called the Locarno Treaties. As a result, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations and gained special trading rights. Its border with Poland also became open for discussion.
Reparation payments were partly forgiven in 1924 with the Dawes Plan, and completely forgiven in 1932 with the Lausanne Conference. However, when Adolph Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and then leader (Führer) in 1934, these efforts to be fair turned into giving in to his demands. When Hitler sent soldiers into the Rhineland in 1936, breaking the Locarno agreements, the Allied countries were unsure what to do. They remembered the terrible war and did not want another one. Until Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939, some leaders in England hoped he was just playing to national pride and that everything would be fine.
See also
- World War I reparations: Link
- Armistice Terms, pgs. 170-172: Link
- Australia's Position: Link
- Birth of the Nazi Party, pg.50: Link
