WORLD WAR I DOCUMENTSDocument 1: “The Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand”

as Witnessed by Borijove JevticThe spark which ignited Europe’s “Powder Keg” (the Balkan Peninsula) took place in the streets of Sarajevo in Bosnia on a sunny June morning in 1914. The victims, Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire- and his wife, Sophie, were in Sarajevo overseeing troop exercises while visiting

City Hall. The nation of Bosnia, hostile to their occupation by the Austria-Hungarian Empire, longed to be free and join other Slavic peoples, including the newly independent nation of Serbia (which had just claimed independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878). Slavic people throughout Europe even hoped at achieving one nation made up of all Slavic peoples (Russians, Serbs, Bosnians,

Poles, etc) in a nationalist objective that became known as “Pan-Slavism.” A Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, wanted to help that cause by taking out the

future Austrian leader in an assassination that would lead to a regional conflict and then a “Great War,” later to be known as World War One.

A tiny clipping from a newspaper mailed without comment from a secret band of terrorists [known as the Black Hand]… was the torch which set the world afire with war in 1914. That bit of paper wrecked old proud empires. It gave birth to new, free nations. I was one of the members of the terrorist band [and] I and my companions were regarded as desperate criminals. A price was on our heads. Today my little band is seen in a different light, as pioneer patriots. It is recognized that our secret plans hatched in an obscure café in the capital of old Serbia, have led to the independence [which] set [us] free from Austrian domination. The little clipping was from the Srobobran, a Croatian journal of limited circulation, and consisted of a short telegram from Vienna, Austria. This telegram declared that the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand would visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, 28 June, to direct army maneuvers in the neighboring mountains. How dared Franz Ferdinand, not only the representative of the oppressor but in his own person an arrogant tyrant, enter Sarajevo on that day? Such an entry was a studied insult. 28 June is a date engraved deeply in the heart of every Serb... It is the day on which the old Serbian kingdom was conquered by the Turks at the battle of Amselfelde in 1389. It is also the day on which in the second Balkan War the Serbian arms took glorious revenge on the Turk for his old victory and for the years of enslavement. That was no day for Franz Ferdinand, the new oppressor, to venture to the very doors of Serbia for a display of the force of arms which kept us beneath his heel. Our decision was taken almost immediately. Death to the tyrant! Then came the matter of arranging it. To make his death certain, twenty-two members of the organization were selected to carry out the sentence…Princip is destined to go down in Serbian history as one of her greatest heroes. From the moment Ferdinand's death was decided upon he took an active leadership in its planning… The fateful morning dawned. Two hours before Franz Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo, all the twenty-two conspirators were in their allotted positions, armed and ready. They were distributed 500 yards apart over the whole route along which the Archduke must travel from the railroad station to the town hall. When

Franz Ferdinand and his retinue drove from the station they were allowed to pass the first two conspirators [because the] motor cars were driving too fast to make an attempt feasible, and in the crowd were our fellow Serbians: throwing a grenade would have killed many innocent people. When the car passed Gabrinovic [one of the conspirators], he threw his grenade. It hit the side of the car, but Franz Ferdinand with presence of mind threw himself back and was uninjured. Several officers riding in his attendance were injured. The cars sped to the Town Hall and the rest of the conspirators did not interfere with them. After the reception in the Town Hall General Potiorek, the Austrian Commander, pleaded with Franz Ferdinand to leave the city, as it was seething with rebellion. The Archduke was persuaded to drive the shortest way out of the city and to go quickly.The road…was shaped like the letter V, making a sharp turn at the bridge over the River Nilgacka. Franz Ferdinand's car could go fast enough until it reached this spot, but here it was forced to slow down for the turn. Here Princip had taken his stand. As the car came abreast he stepped forward from the curb, drew his automatic pistol from his coat and fired two shots. The first struck the wife of the Archduke, the Archduchess Sofia, in the abdomen. She was an expectant mother. She died instantly. The second bullet struck the Archduke close to the heart. He uttered only one word; 'Sofia' - a call to his stricken wife. Then his head fell back and he collapsed. He died almost instantly. The officers seized Princip. They beat him over the head with the flat of their swords. They knocked him down, they kicked him, scraped the skin from his neck with the edges of their swords, tortured him, all but killed him. Then he was taken to the Sarajevo [jail]. The next day he was transferred to the military prison and the round-up of his fellow conspirators proceeded, although he denied that he had worked with anyone. He was confronted with Gabrinovic, who had thrown the bomb. Princip denied he knew him. Others were brought in, but Princip denied the most obvious things. The next day they put chains on Princip's feet, which he wore till his death. His only sign of regret was [being sorry] he had killed the wife of the Archduke. He had aimed only at her husband and would have preferred that any other bullet should have struck General Potiorek. The Austrians arrested every known revolutionary in Sarajevo and among them, naturally, I was one. But they had no proof of my connection with the crime…

[Source: The English translation, “The Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo, 28 June 1914” appeared in the New York World, 29 June 1924. Reprinted in John Carey, ed., Eyewitness to History (New

York: Avon, 1987), 441–443.]

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Document 2a: Telegram from Alexander, Prince Regent of Serbia to Tsar Nicolas II of Russia ~ July 24th, 1914

After nearly a month of debate on what to do with Serbia about a Serbian nationalist murdering a member of the Austrian royal family, Austro-Hungarian

diplomats issued an ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914 that was actually designed to be rejected by Serbia. (Austria-Hungary actually wanted war. They hoped to quickly invade Serbia, who they felt would quickly surrender, and then

include Serbia in their Empire). In the ultimatum, the Serbian government was asked to renounce all anti-Austrian propaganda, to arrest and punish any Serbian officials involved in the assassination, and even to allow Austro-Hungarian officials

to enter Serbia to oversee the investigation within Serbia. In their reply to the ultimatum, sent on July 25, 1914, the Serbs promised to aid in any criminal

investigation; but they would not agree to let Austro-Hungarian officials enter Serbia, because they suspected that Austria-Hungary would use the opportunity as

an excuse to send an occupying army. The Austro-Hungarians, who insisted that the Serbs accept the entire ultimatum in full, took the Serb response as a complete

rejection of the ultimatum and decided to go to war. Having strong cultural/religious ties with another Slavic nation – Russia – Prince Alexander of

Serbia wrote to Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II in search of help. However, against the urgings of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on

July 28, 1914 (see their war declaration in the next document).

The Austro-Hungarian Government yesterday evening handed to the Serbian Government a note concerning [the Austrian Archduke’s assassination at] Sarajevo. Conscious of its international duties, Serbia from the first days of the horrible crime declared that she condemned it, and that she was ready to open an inquiry on her territory if the complicity of certain of her subjects were proved in the investigation begun by the Austro-Hungarian authorities. However, the demands contained in the Austro-Hungarian note are unnecessarily humiliating for Serbia and incompatible with her dignity as an independent State. Thus we are called upon in peremptory tones for a declaration of the Government in the "Official Journal," and an order… [to] repress the spirit of hostility against Austria by admonishing ourselves for criminal weakness in regard to our deceitful actions. Then we have to admit Austro-Hungarian officials into Serbia to participate with our own in the investigation and to oversee the execution of the other conditions indicated in the note. We have received a time-limit of forty-eight hours to accept everything, in default of which the legation of Austria-Hungary will leave Belgrade.  We are ready to accept the Austro-Hungarian conditions which are compatible with the position of an independent State as well as those whose acceptance shall be advised us by your Majesty. All persons whose participation in the assassination plot shall be proved will be severely punished by us.  Certain of these demands cannot be carried out without changes in our legislation, which require time.  We have been given too short a limit.  We can be attacked after the expiration of the time-limit by the Austro-Hungarian Army which is concentrating on our frontier. It is impossible for us to defend ourselves, and we supplicate your Majesty to give us your aid as soon as possible.  The highly prized good will of your Majesty, which has so often shown itself toward us, makes us hope firmly that this time again our appeal will be heard by his generous Slavic heart. In these difficult moments I voice the sentiments of the Serbian people, who appeal your Majesty to interest himself in the lot of the Kingdom of Serbia.

~ALEXANDER

[Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. I, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923]

Document 2b: Telegram sent by Count Leopold von Berchtold (Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister) at 11.10 am to M. N. Pashitch (Serbian Prime

Minister and Foreign Minister)

Vienna, [Austria]28 July 1914

The Royal Serbian Government not having answered in a satisfactory manner the note of July 23, 1914, presented by the Austro-Hungarian Minister at Belgrade, the Imperial and Royal Government are themselves compelled to see to the safeguarding of their rights and interests, and, with this object, to have recourse to force of arms. Austria-Hungary consequently considers herself henceforward in state of war with Serbia.

~ Count Berchtold

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Document 3: The “Willy-Nicky Telegrams” - Telegrams exchanged between Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany & Czar Nicholas II of Russia

~ July 29th, 1914 – August 1st, 1914In the closing days of July 1914, all of Europe shuddered at what appeared to be the unavoidable coming of war. Austria-Hungary seemed determined to attack

Serbia, Russia seemed determined to defend Serbia, and everyone knew that once Austria-Hungary and Russia entered into war both Germany and France would

follow. Military leaders in each of the European countries enacted plans to prepare for war: Soldiers were called for duty, ammunition was stockpiled, and trains were

made ready. The newspapers brimmed with the latest war preparations. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, most people assumed

that widespread war would soon follow. But at the centers of power, two men waged a last-ditch effort to prevent the larger war. Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941)

of Germany and Czar Nicholas II (1868–1918) of Russia were the undisputed leaders of their countries. They each had nearly unlimited political power, and they

each controlled the military forces of their respective countries. They also happened to be distant relatives; both were related to the former Russian empress Catherine the Great. Both men were willing to defend the honor of their countries

if war was required, but neither man believed that the fight between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was important enough to merit a larger war. So in the days leading up to the war, they opened a hurried personal correspondence aimed at

putting a stop to the coming war. A few of their letters/telegrams, excerpted

below, are known as the Willy-Nicky telegrams, after the nicknames that the distant cousins had for one another.

[Tsar Nicholas to Kaiser Wilhelm, July 29, 1:00 A.M.] Am glad you are back. In this serious moment, I appeal to you to help me. An ignoble war has been declared to a weak country. The indignation in Russia shared fully by me is enormous. I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a European war I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far. ~Nicky

[Kaiser to Tsar, July 29, 1:45 A.M.] It is with the gravest concern that I hear of the impression which the action of Austria against Serbia is creating in your country. The unscrupulous agitation that has been going on in Serbia for years has resulted in the outrageous crime, to which Archduke Francis Ferdinand fell a victim. The spirit that led Serbians to murder their own king and his wife still dominates the country. You will doubtless agree with me that we both, you and me, have a common interest as well as all Sovereigns to insist that all the persons morally responsible for the dastardly murder should receive their deserved punishment. In this case politics plays no part at all. On the other hand, I fully understand how difficult it is for you and your Government to face the drift of your public opinion. Therefore, with regard to the hearty and tender friendship which binds us both from long ago with firm ties, I am exerting my utmost influence to induce the Austrians to deal straightly to arrive to a satisfactory understanding with you. I confidently hope that you will help me in my efforts to smooth over difficulties that may still arise. Your very sincere and devoted friend and cousin. ~Willy.

[Kaiser to Tsar, July 30, 1:20 A.M.] Best thanks for telegram. It is quite out of the question that my ambassadors [sic] language could have been in contradiction with the tenor of my telegram. Count Pourtalès was instructed to draw the attention of your government to the danger & grave consequences involved by a mobilization; I said the same in my telegram to you. Austria has only mobilized against Serbia & only a part of her army. If, as it is now the case, according to the communication by you & your Government, Russia mobilizes against Austria, my role as mediator you kindly intrusted [sic] me with, & which I accepted at you[r] express prayer, will be endangered if not ruined. The whole weight of the decision lies solely on you[r] shoulders now, who have to bear the responsibility for Peace or War. ~Willy

[Tsar to Kaiser, July 30, 1:20 A.M.] Thank you heartily for your quick answer. Am sending Tatischev [a diplomat] this evening with instructions. The military measures which have now come into force were decided five days ago for reasons of defense on account of Austria’s preparations. I hope from all my heart that these measures won’t in any way interfere with your part as mediator which I greatly value. We need your strong pressure on Austria to come to an understanding with us. ~Nicky

[Kaiser to Tsar, July 31] On your appeal to my friendship and your call for assistance [I] began to mediate between your and the [A]ustro-[H]ungarian Government. While this action was proceeding your troops were mobilized against Austro-Hungary, my ally. Thereby, as I have already pointed out to you, my mediation has been made almost illusory. I have nevertheless continued my action. I now receive authentic news of serious preparations for war on my Eastern frontier. Responsibility for the safety of my empire forces preventive measures of defense upon me. In my endeavors to maintain the peace of the world I have gone to the utmost limit possible. The responsibility for the disaster which is now threatening the whole civilized world will not be laid at my door. In this moment it still lies in your power to avert it. Nobody is threatening the honor or power of Russia who can well afford to await the result of my mediation. My friendship for you and your empire, transmitted to me by my grandfather on his deathbed has always been sacred to me and I have honestly often backed up Russia when she was in serious trouble especially in her last war. The peace of Europe may still be maintained by you, if Russia will agree to stop the milit[ary] measures which must threaten Germany and Austro-Hungary. ~Willy

[Tsar to Kaiser, July 31. This telegram crossed with the previous telegram.] I thank you heartily for your mediation which begins to give one hope that all may yet end peacefully. It is technically impossible to stop our military preparations which were obligatory owing to Austria’s mobilization. We are far from wishing war. As long as the negotiations [sic] with Austria on Serbia’s account are taking place my troops shall not make any provocative action. I give you my solemn word for this. I put all my trust in God’s mercy and hope in your successful mediation in Vienna for the welfare of our countries and for the peace of Europe. Your affectionate Nicky

[Kaiser to Tsar, August 1] Thanks for your telegram. I yesterday pointed out to your government the way by which alone war may be avoided. Although I requested an answer for noon today, no telegram from my ambassador conveying an answer from your Government has reached me as yet. I therefore have been obliged to mobilize my army. Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediatly [sic] order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers. Willy

[Tsar to Kaiser, August 1] I received your telegram. Understand you are obliged to mobilize but wish to have the same guarantee from you as I gave you, that these measures do not mean war and that we shall continue negociating [sic] for the benefit of our countries and universal peace deal to all our hearts. Our long proved friendship must succeed, with God’s help, in avoiding bloodshed. Anxiously, full of confidence await your answer. Nicky

[Source: Reprinted from the World War I Document Archive, available online at http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914/willynilly.html]

What happened next? Despite this flurry of telegrams, the two leaders were unable to stop the march to war. Germany felt compelled to honor its commitment to defend Austro-Hungary; Russia felt compelled to defend Serbia. On August 1,

1914, the day of Kaiser Wilhelm’s final telegram to Czar Nicholas, Germany declared war on Russia. Other declarations of war followed like a line of dominoes

once the first has been tipped: Germany declared war on France on August 3; England declared war on Germany on August 4; and Austria-Hungary declared war

on Russia on August 6. Within a matter of days, battles were raging in Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Serbia. The disaster that Willy and Nicky had tried to avoid became a reality. For the next four years Europe and much of the world was plunged into the bloodiest and costliest conflict humans had ever witnessed.

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Documents 4a and 4b: Boston Evening Globe Headline on the Sinking of the Lusitania ~ May 7th, 1915

The Lusitania was a British ocean passenger liner that, according to German officials, was also secretly carrying munitions en route to Allied Powers during World War One. When the Lusitania left New York for Britain on May 1st, 1915,

German “unrestricted submarine warfare” was intensifying in the Atlantic. What resulted was the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew including 128 Americans. In

fact, the Lusitania (which again, was officially a passenger liner) was secretly carrying among its cargo 750 tons of rifle and machine-gun ammunition, 1250 cases of shrapnel artillery shells with the explosive charges, artillery fuses for

those shells, and bullets of a type known to be used by the British military. Below is (a) the Boston Evening Globe headline the day of the attack and (b) both the

warning posted by the German Embassy in the U.S. as well as the sales advertisement for the Lusitania departure and arrival times a few days before the

disaster.

Below: The New York Times on May 1, 1915 showing the Cunard Cruises ad as well as the notice from the Imperial German Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Document 5a: The Zimmerman Telegram

~January 19th, 1917Between 1914 and

the spring of 1917, the European nations

engaged in a conflict that became known as

the Great War, later known as World War I. While armies moved across the face of Europe, the United States

remained neutral…sort of. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was elected President

for a second term, largely because of the slogan "He kept us out of war", but events in early 1917 would change that hope.  In frustration over the effective

British naval blockade, in February of 1916 Germany broke its pledge (known as the “Sussex Pledge”) to limit submarine warfare.  In response to the breaking of the Sussex Pledge, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany. In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a top secret telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, proposing an enticing offer to Mexico. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1.  On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies. Provided below are both the original encrypted message (right) and its translated English version

(left). Also included is the Japanese reaction to this telegram since it was referenced, supposedly without Japan’s knowledge.

Document 5b: Japanese Prime Minister Count Terauchi on the Zimmermann Telegram ~March 1917

The revelation of Germany's latest plot, looking to a combination between Japan and Mexico against the United States, is interesting in many ways.

We are surprised not so much by the persistent efforts of the Germans to cause an estrangement between Japan and the United States as by their complete failure of appreciating the aims and ideals of other nations.Nothing is more repugnant to our sense of honor and to the lasting welfare of this country than to betray our allies and friends in time of trial and to become a party to a combination directed against the United States, to whom we are bound not only by the sentiments of true friendship, but also by the material interests of vast and far-reaching importance. The proposal which is now reported to have been planned by the German Foreign Office has not been communicated to the Japanese Government up to this moment, either directly or indirectly, officially or unofficially, but should it ever come to hand I can conceive no other form of reply than that of indignant and categorical refusal.

[Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923]

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Document 6: Life in the Trenches

The following excerpts below are testimonials from German, British and American soldiers fighting on the Western Front (border of Germany and northern France) during World War One in a fighting style that became known as “trench warfare.” The reason for so many deaths was that the area between the trenches was much too dangerous to cross. Why? You would have to give up your cover below ground and expose yourself to a hail of machine gun fire, grenades, and other catastrophic weapons. As a result, some battles saw opposing sides make hardly any territorial

gains. Thus, the nickname given to the area between enemy trenches that was both too dangerous to cross and not yet taken over by either side was known as “no-man’s land.” In addition to the actual fighting, keep note of other pressing

issues opposing soldiers faced besides enemy bullets as you read about their first-hand experiences dealing with trench warfare.

It was dark, and it rained and rained. From all directions one heard in the darkness the wounded calling, crying, and moaning. The wounded we had with us were likewise moaning and crying. All wanted to have their wounds dressed, but we had no more bandages. We tore off pieces of our dirty shirts and placed the rags on those sickening wounds. Men were dying one after the other. There were no doctors, no bandages; we had nothing whatever. You had to help the wounded and keep the French off at the same time. It was an unbearable, impossible state of things. It rained harder and harder. We were wet to our skins. We fired blindly into the darkness. The rolling fire of rifles increased, then died away, then increased again. ~ Testimony from an unknown German Deserter

The trench, when we reached it, was half full of mud and water. We set to work to try and drain it. Our efforts were hampered by the fact that the French, who

had first occupied it, had buried their dead in the bottom and sides. Every stroke of the pick encountered a body. The smell was awful. ~ Private Pollard, U.S.A.

No washing or shaving here, and the demands of nature answered as quickly as possible in the handiest and deepest shell-hole. ~ Guy Chapman, U.S.A.

The stench of the dead bodies now is awful as they have been exposed to the sun for several days, many have swollen and burst. The trench is full of other occupants, things with lots of legs, also swarms of rats. ~ Sergeant Vine, U.S.A.

The other one said to me "Chas, I am going home to my wife and kids. I'll be some use to them as a cripple, but none at all dead! I am starving here, and so are they at home, we may as well starve together." With that he fired a shot through his boot. When the medics got his boot off, two of his toes and a lot of his foot had gone. But the injuring oneself to get out of it was quite common. ~ Charles Young, U.S.A.

The other soldiers in the hut took their shirts off after tea. They were catching lice. We had never seen [lice] before, but they were here in droves. The men were killing them between their nails. ~ Henry Gregory, U.S.A.

All we lived on was tea and dog biscuits. If we got meat once a week we were lucky, but imagine trying to eat standing in a trench full of water with the smell of dead bodies nearby. ~ Richard Beasley, U.K.

If you have never had trench feet described to you. I will tell you. Your feet swell to two or three times their normal size and go completely dead. You could stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are fortunate enough not to lose your feet and the swelling begins to go down. It is then that the intolerable, indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and even scream with the pain and many had to have their feet and legs amputated. ~ Sergeant Harry Roberts, U.S.A.

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Document 7: World War I Propaganda PostersWorld War I was the first war in which mass media and propaganda played a

significant role in keeping the people at home informed about what was occurring on the battlefields, including what was needed. This was also the first war in which the government systematically produced propaganda as a way to

both target the public and also alter their opinion. As you analyze these posters, ask yourself what kinds of different themes are used? (For example, is

the theme patriotism, guilt, etc?)

(A) Left : “Lord Kitchener Wants You!” ~ Alfred Leete, U.K., 1914

(B) Center : “Uncle Sam Recruitment Poster” ~ James Montgomery Flagg, U.S.A. , 1917

(C) Right : “The Conscientious Objector at the Front” ~ Creator Unknown, U.K

(D) Left : “Destroy This Mad Brute! Enlist” ~ Harry R. Hopps, U.S.A., 1917(E) Bottom Left : “Irishmen Avenge the Lusitania” ~ John Schuley & Co., Ireland, 1915(F) Top Right: “Ammunition! Bonds Buy

Bullets” ~ Vincent Lynel, U.S.A., 1918

U.S.A, 1917

(H) Top Left:

German War Bonds Propaganda Poster.(Transl.): (I) Top Right: “American Red Cross”

"This is how your money helps you fight! Turned into submarines, ~ Lawrence Wilbur, U.S.A., circa 1917 it keeps enemy shells away! That's why you should subscribe to war bonds!” ~ Lucian Bernhard, Germany, 1917

( J ) Bottom Left: “Buy Fresh Fish” ~ Canada Food (K) Bottom Right: “Our Boys Need Sox- Board, Created by E. Hendersen, Canada, 1916 Knit Your Bit” ~

American Lithograph Company, U.S.A., circa

1917

Document 8: President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (Excerpts)~ January 8th, 1918

In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in World War I and outlines his famous

“Fourteen Points” speech, a statement of principles for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The peace proposal

called for the victorious Allies to set unselfish peace terms. Like the man himself, Wilson’s Fourteen Points were liberal, democratic and idealistic - he spoke in grand and inspiring terms but was less certain of the specifics of how his aims

would actually be achieved. At Versailles, Wilson had to contend with the leaders of the other victorious nations, who disagreed with many of the Fourteen Points and demanded stiff penalties (and revenge) for Germany’s actions. The terms of

the final peace treaty fell far short of his lofty visions presented below.

It will be our wish and purpose that the processes of peace, when they are begun, shall be absolutely open and that they shall involve and permit henceforth no secret understandings of any kind. The day of conquest and aggrandizement is gone by; so is also the day of secret covenants entered into in the interest of particular governments and likely at some unlooked-for moment to upset the peace of the world. It is this happy fact, now clear to the view of every public man whose thoughts do not still linger in an age that is dead and gone, which makes it possible for every nation whose purposes are consistent with justice and the peace of the world to avow nor or at any other time the objects it has in view. We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us to the quick and made the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secure once for all against their recurrence. What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us. The program of the world's peace, therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this:

I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.

II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.

IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such

questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.

VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired.

VIII. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.

IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.

X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development.

XI. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into.

XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.

XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike…

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Document 9: The Treaty of Versailles, 1919 (Excerpts)World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28,

1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Treaty was drafted during the Paris Peace Conference in the

spring of 1919, which was dominated by the national leaders known as the “Big Four:” David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow

Wilson of the United States, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy. It was then signed in the Hall of Mirrors at France’s Versailles Palace on June 28th, 1919. None of the

defeated nations- including Germany- had any say in shaping the treaty. (The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I were dealt with in separate

treaties.)

Also worth noting is that one major Allied nation- Russia- withdrew earlier from the war in 1917 shortly after Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks (later renamed

“Communists”) seized power during the Russian Revolution. Lenin wanted out of this disastrous conflict from the start, and his popular anti-capitalist and anti-

Tsarist themes resonated with the majority of the population which felt oppressed by both the Tsar and by wealthy farmers/factory owners; most of the Russian army

was particularly angry that they were thrust into this war unprepared and were slaughtered by the millions. With Tsar Nicolas II murdered and out of the picture, Lenin negotiated and signed a separate treaty with Germany in 1918 known as The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which they agreed to cede parts of Eastern Russia (which

today would be the Baltic States, Poland, and the Ukraine) to Germany which occupied those areas at the time. Lenin agreed to give those areas to Germany

because (1) the Germans threatened to keep going into Russia if Lenin didn’t agree and (2) Lenin believed those areas would eventually want to come back to Russia’s Communist government anyway. When Germany lost the war months later, those nations were granted independence at the Versailles Peace conference. (Would

Russia still try to reclaim those areas later? Hmmm…)

Although the WW1 armistice signed on November 11th at 11:00 a.m. in 1918 ended the actual fighting (for which America honors Veterans Day), it took six months of

negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. Negotiated among the four Allied powers mentioned above, The Treaty of

Versailles’s 15 parts and 440 articles placed punitive measures including financial penalties, restrictions, and even territorial losses with which Germany was

required to comply. The German government signed the treaty under protest. Right-wing German parties attacked it as a betrayal (including a former WWI

veteran from Austria, Adolf Hitler), and right-wing terrorists assassinated several German politicians whom they considered responsible for agreeing to it. In an

interesting twist, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and the U.S. government took no responsibility for most of its provisions. Below are portions of

the Treaty.

ARTICLE 119. Germany renounces in favor of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all her rights and titles over her overseas possessions.

ARTICLE 159. The German military forces shall be demobilized and reduced as prescribed hereinafter.

ARTICLE 160.

…After [March 31st, 1920]…the total number of people in the Army of the States constituting Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including officers and establishments of depots. The Army shall be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of order within the territory and to the control of the frontiers.

ARTICLE 168. The manufacture of arms, munitions, or any war material, shall only be carried out in factories…approved by the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and the number of which they retain the right to restrict. Within three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, all other establishments for the manufacture, preparation, storage or design of arms, munitions, or any war material whatever shall be closed down….

ARTICLE 169. Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty German arms, munitions and war material, including anti-aircraft material, existing in Germany in excess of the quantities allowed, must be surrendered to the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers to be destroyed or rendered useless….

ARTICLE 181.…the German naval forces in commission must not exceed six battleships of the Deutschland or Lothringen type, six light cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, or an equal number of ships constructed to replace them as provided in Article l90. No submarines are to be included. All other warships, except where there is provision to the contrary in the present Treaty, must be placed in reserve or devoted to commercial purposes.

ARTICLE 231. The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.

ARTICLE 232. The Allied and Associated Governments,…require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated Powers and to their property during the period of the belligerency of each as an Allied or Associated Power against Germany by such aggression by land, by sea and from the air, and in general all damage …