Treaty of Brühl (Our Place in the Sun)

The Treaty of Brühl was one of the major peace treaties signed following the end of World War I. The treaty officially ended the state of war between the German Empire and Italy, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. It was signed on 28 June 1918, exactly four years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which started the war. The other Central Powers were excluded from this treaty, as they had signed separate treaties with the Entente Powers throughout 1918. The treaty remains controversial to this day due to the harsh terms imposed on France and Italy by the Germans, and is considered one of the main factors in leading Europe toward another major war a few decades later.

One of the most important parts of the treaty was the so-called “war guilt clause” which required France to take responsibility for the war in its entirety. Among the other provisions in the treaty were the disarmament of France, large territorial concessions in northeastern France, and massive war reparations of 132 billion marks, which totals over $400 billion today. The harsh terms imposed on France, particularly the war reparations, are now considered excessive and at the time were impossible to fully enforce. As a result, although Germany was largely satisfied with the peace terms, relations between the French and Germans continued to deteriorate.

End of World War I
World War I, the conflict that had engulfed all the major powers of Europe for over three years finally came to a complete end on 1 January 1918, with the Central Powers and Entente Powers signing an armistice. The Central Powers had emerged victorious after the German Summer Offensive of 1917 successfully broke French defensive lines and led to the siege of Paris and capture of the French northeastern coast. When the French realized the situation was no longer salvageable, they surrendered and signed an armistice. This armistice was followed up a few months later by one with Italy, then Russia, then finally the rest of the entente. The strategic situation following the war left Germany in an overwhelmingly strong position to make large demands.

Occupation of France
The armistice signed between France and Germany in July 1917 specified a vast area of northern and eastern France which was to be placed under German occupation until the Germans saw fit to leave. This occupation zone included much of the northern French coast and most of the area between Paris and the German and Belgian borders. Paris, though not under direct occupation, was forced to give military access to German soldiers for any reason. In the weeks following the armistice, German troops moved in to occupy the specified areas. During the negotiations, Germany used the occupation as leverage, arguing that they could easily resume hostilities and quickly crush France entirely should the need arise.

German Goals
The German leadership had been drawing up plans to carve up Europe for themselves since 1914. The most famous and most popular proposal was the Septemberprogramm, written by Kurt Riezler. In the west, the plan called for long term German control over Belgium and northeastern France and the eventual annexation of these territories. These areas were strategically important due to their proximity to Britain and the French coal mines in the region. German coal had been depleted during the war and the acquisition of these coal mines could help alleviate the shortage. Additionally, Germany had long wanted to create a large colony in central Africa, known as Mittelafrika. They also wanted to permanently neutralize France as a threat to German hegemony by setting it up as a puppet state, although these plans were ultimately deemed unfeasible due to the political instability already plaguing the nation and the immediate threat of socialist revolution. As a result, the Germans were content to settle for massive de-armament rather than outright bringing France into their sphere of influence.

German ambitions with respect to the British were much more tame in comparison. For the most part they were satisfied with a return to pre-war colonial borders with whatever colonial and monetary concessions they could realistically get. Some more optimistic members of the leadership advocated de-arming the British navy to prevent a repeat of the blockade which nearly starved Germany and crippled its production during the war. Regardless, the intent of the German leadership was to make moderate gains without making a permanent major enemy of the British. In stark contrast to these goals, Germany wanted to brutalize the Italians for daring to betray their alliance and turn against them. They wanted to place military restrictions on them and force them to pay reparations, as well as make them suffer forced national humiliation.

The Treaty
Peace negotiations for all treaties following World War I were held at Augustusburg Palace in the German city of Brühl. The negotiations for this treaty took place between the Germans and the French, British, and Belgians. The Italians were not invited as they had no leverage to negotiate with since the entire country had been occupied and the army essentially destroyed. The French delegation was outraged by the German demands and resisted fiercely, but realistically not much could be done to oppose them and the British refused to fight for better treatment for the French. When the treaty was presented to the French, Clemenceau resigned rather than be complicit in the humiliation of France, prompting new elections in which the far left SFIO candidate Ludovic-Oscar Frossard became prime minister.

Frossard apologized for the conduct of the previous government and issued a statement assuring the Germans the French would seek friendlier relations with them in the future, but denounced the treaty and refused to sign it at first, requesting new, more cooperative negotiations. In response, the Germans issued an ultimatum on 27 June, saying that the French must accept the treaty within 24 hours or the Germans would enter Paris and begin another invasion of non-occupied France. After a tense period of anticipation during which German forces were mobilized along the French-Italian border, Frossard finally assured the Germans that he would have his delegation sign the treaty. Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando signed the treaty and immediately resigned.

Territory & Politics
The treaty required the British to acknowledge the terms of the previous treaties signed following the end of the war, including the Treaty of Königsberg. The provisions of the treaty confiscated large amounts of land from the French and forced the French to demilitarize even larger amounts of land. Belgium also made related concessions to the Germans. Among the territorial provisions of the treaty were:
 * Belgium ceded most of eastern Wallonia to Germany and what remained was set up as a German puppet kingdom, while Luxembourg was incorporated into the German Empire
 * France ceded eastern Lorraine and Champagne to Germany
 * France ceded much the area around Calais to the new Belgian Kingdom
 * French Indochina, Madagascar and many French possessions in central Africa were ceded to Germany
 * British southern and central Africa were ceded to Germany
 * French colonial possessions in the Pacific were transferred to Britain and Germany gained French Guiana
 * Italian Somalia and Eritrea were ceded to Germany
 * The French army was barred from entering the German occupation zone, which stretched from Normandy to the German western border, in effect making it a demilitarized zone
 * Hundreds of French and Italian aircraft and naval vessels were to be seized

Restrictions & Reparations
Massive, identical restrictions were placed on the French and Italian militaries. These restrictions were intended to eliminate France and Italy as military powers capable of offensive operations and therefore also as threats to German interests. France and Italy were given until 1 January 1920 to reduce the size of their armies to absolutely no more than 100,000 men and further conscription was severely limited to the point that it was nearly impossible to maintain an army of even that size. All fortifications in both countries within 50 miles of the German border, French occupied zone, or Italian demilitarized zone designated in the Treaty of Ljubljana were to be destroyed (by the German army, if necessary) and both countries were forbidden from undertaking new fortification projects anywhere within their respective borders. On top of this, the size of the Italian and French navies and air forces were limited to the point of being unusable as a significant fighting force.

All of the entente powers were forced to pay reparations to the Germans. In the case of both France and Italy, this amount was 132 billion marks, or about $440 billion today. In the case of Britain, this amount was 20 billion marks. France was additionally expected to give 10% of its annual coal production to Germany for 10 years to make up for the German coal shortage in the aftermath of the war. Germany created the Weltkrieg Reparations Commission to oversee the process and adjust the reparation payment process according to inflation and the ability of the defeated nations to pay.