Ii Analysis of the Treaty

(b) Northern Frontier.—Toward the north Germany consented (Art. 5) to demolish the fortifications of Heligoland and to militarize it, but she retained its territorial sovereignty. She lost the northern part of Schleswig to Denmark. By Articles 109-14 it was provided that there should be a plebiscite in two zones. Of these, the northern voted for incorporation with Denmark and the southern, or Flensburg, zone elected for Germany. Denmark thus received that plebiscite which Bismarck had promised her but which he never gave (Art. III, Treaty of Nikolsburg, July 26, 1866).

(c) Eastern Frontier.—By Articles 87-93 it was provided that there should be a plebiscite in Upper Silesia. This resulted (192I ) in a decision in which the southern half of the area—including valuable mines—passed to Poland, the upper half returning to Germany. Two other such plebiscites were provided for in East Prussia in the Allenstein and Marienwerder districts respectively, both of which went in favour of Germany. By the boundaries as drawn, a large part of the Posen and Bromberg area went to the new Polish Republic. In addition, a Polish corridor was run to the sea between East Prussia and Brandenburg ending in the free city of Danzig, which was to be administered by the League but with its foreign relations controlled by Poland. Finally, the city and hinterland of Memel, ceded to the Principal Allies in the treaty, was handed over to Lithuania in 1924. About 3,500,000 former inhabitants of Germany were ceded to Poland or Lithuania in the east, of which rather less than one-third were German. Altogether, the total number of inhabitants ceded to the various Powers under the German Treaty fell not far short of 6,000,000. And this loss was probably a good deal less serious than the economic injury suffered by Germany in the loss of most of her iron and other minerals.

Part IV. German Rights and Interests Outside Germany. —By Articles 119-27, Germany ceded all her oversea colonies to the Principal Allied Powers. She thus lost in Africa the Cameroons (divided between France and the British empire as mandatories) ; Togoland (to Great Britain as mandatory) ; Southwest Africa (to the Union of South Africa as mandatory) ; East Africa (to Great Britain and to Belgium as mandatories). These territories in cluded some 18,000 Germans and between 12,000,000 and 13, 000,000 natives. In the Pacific she lost the Marshall isles (ceded to Japan as mandatory) ; Samoa (to New Zealand as manda tory) ; New Guinea (to Australia as mandatory) ; Nauru island (to the British empire as mandatory). She also renounced out right to Japan (Art. 156-8) the peninsula of Shantung, a province Japan returned to China in 1921. In addition to all these cessions

of territory, Germany lost all her State property, movable and immovable, in her colonies. She was further obliged to cancel all her valuable treaty rights, capitulations and concessions with coun tries like China, Liberia, Siam, Egypt and Morocco. An absolutely clean sweep was made of her transmarine possessions, properties, powers and rights. By Article 438 even the property and stations of German missionaries were to be handed over to trustees, and the individual missionaries controlled or expelled from the man dated territories, at the will of the mandatory.

The general disabilities inflicted on German oversea undertak ings crippled the transmarine State enterprise of Germany, and hampered her private traders and steamship lines, as well as her missionaries.

Part V. Military, Naval and Air Clauses.

The aim of these clauses was similar in all cases, to destroy the existing Ger man fortifications and the materiel of war, and to maintain Ger many permanently in an absolutely weak and crippled condition, so far as armaments went. The maximum of the German army in future was to be too,000 men, with stores of ammunition, guns, etc., in strict proportion. Beyond this figure all existing munitions, etc., were to be surrendered and destroyed and munition manu facture henceforth restricted. Germany consented to abolish con scription and to adopt a system of long-period voluntary enlist ment of at least 12 years for the men, and of 25 for the officers. Military training outside the army was forbidden and the existence of a large general staff prohibited.

The naval clauses were almost equally drastic, and the German fleet was henceforth restricted to six battleships of the "Deutsch land" type, six light cruisers, 12 destroyers, torpedo boats (Art. 180, in short, to a flotilla for coast defence, with the important proviso that submarines were absolutely forbidden. No new ships above I0,000 tons were to be built for replacement purposes. A voluntary long-period recruitment for the navy, on the lines of that of the army, was provided. A complete demolition of naval works and fortifications within 5okm. of the coast was insisted on. The air clauses (Art. 198-202) were the most drastic of all, for they absolutely prohibited naval or military air forces, and arranged for the total destruction of all military or naval air materiel. Inter-Allied commissions of control were provided for all these arms of the service, and their work was finally concluded in 1925. But the German armaments continued to be subject to supervision and inspection by the League.