By November 11, when the truce that marked the end of the war was signed, eight million soldiers lay dead; twenty million more were mutilated, or spitting blood from the gas attacks. At the end of World War I, twenty-two million civilians had been killed or wounded. By the end of the war, four mighty empires, the German, the Austro-Hungarian, the Turkish, and the Ottoman, had fallen.2 The leaders of the many nations led by the 'Big Three' labored for six months, from January to June of 1919.

spread. The French franc fell by 25 percent. With all of all these rising and falling currencies, Germany eventually paid 36 billion gold marks. However, in the same period, Germany borrowed from foreign sources about 33 billion marks that were, for the most part, never repaid. By 1925, France had signed treaties with both Poland and Czechoslovakia for mutual assistance in case of attack by Germany. Through all this, Hitler rose to power.14

Finally, these people signed the Peace Treaty at the Palace of Versailles.

Clemenceau aimed for the security of France. Clemenceau believed that creating a buffer state in between Germany and France was the only way to create security for France. He was considered by the English and the Americans as an individual filled with a sense of rage and vengeance, determined to crush Germany. He wanted to abolish Germany's army, make Germany economically bankrupt, and keep Germany from ever making war again. Clemenceau called for complete disarmament of Germany. Clemenceau also demanded the return of Alsace and Lorraine; this demand was met at once. Most importantly, Clemenceau wanted France to be the dominant country of Europe.5

4. Mee, Charles L. Jr. The End of Order, Versailles 1919. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980

n the death sentence of many millions of German men, women, and children." Germany was obliged to pay the cost of maintaining the French troops who occupied the Rhineland. The French would probably house and maintain their entire army there and force the Germans to pay most of the military budget. Germany would never be able to satisfy all the treaty obligations; the French would be entitled to occupy the Rhineland forever. The German military was reduced to such proportions that the Germans would not even be able to maintain internal order. At this time, Germany was in dreadful turmoil.10 From the Baltic to the Black Seas, almost all the frontiers were in dispute.11

The principal aim of the Peace Conference was to create conditions favorable to the progress of civilization on new lines such as economic policy and political structure.3 Almost immediately, the 'Big Three' began to quarrel. The Germans had thrown themselves on the mercy of the Allies: they depended upon the Allies' promise to base the final peace settlement applied impartially to all, including Germany. Clemenceau and Lloyd George were primarily concerned with punishing Germany. Lloyd promised, "We shall squeeze the orange (Germany) until the pips squeak." Wilson was obsessed with creating the League of Nations. Woodrow Wilson marked major points in the treaty. The first major point, "open covenants openly arrived at" will be final, meant the open covenants would not leave out confidential negotiations concerning those open covenants. The second major point, "

Some common words found in the essay are:
Duisburg Ruhrort, World War, Woodrow Wilson, Occupation L2000, Peace Conference, Lloyd George, Adolf Hitler, French Belgian, Rhineland French, English Americans, lloyd george, treaty versailles, world war, peace conference, marks dollar, war debts, versailles peace, peace treaty, clemenceau lloyd george, allied associated, gold marks, allied associated governments, peace conference create,
Approximate Word count = 1898
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)