The Paris Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference took place between 1919 and 1920. It was an international meeting at which the peace agreements which were placed upon those who had lost World War One were decided. The conference itself took place at the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Although it was supposed to be about secured peace at the end of World War One, none of those countries from defeated powers such as Germany or Austria-Hungary were invited to join in.

During the conference, there were several peace treaties drawn up for different countries who were involved in the war. The most significant treaty which came out of the Paris Peace Conference was the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles established peace with Germany. Other treaties such as the Treaty of Saint-Germain provided for peace with Austria Hungary.

Among the 32 countries who were involved in the Treaty of Versailles, the Big Three (Britain, France and the USA) were mostly involved in deciding what to do with Germany. The conference contained many civil servants and officials to attempt to make a peace agreement which was acceptable to all, however the leaders of the Big Three would more often than not ignore the advice of their advisors. To add to this, the Big Three did not get on with each other. This made decision making difficult,which lead to extended negotiations and relationships between the three powers get worse.