6/5/1919 The Paris Conference agrees the German peace terms

Negotiations between the leading Allies have been difficult but now at last they have agreed the German peace terms. Today a plenary session of the conference is summoned to hear and agree them. The terms are a compromise between the French desire to crush Germany and the British and American desire to avoid a harshness that will awaken in the Germans a desire for vengeance. Some of the French still fear that the terms are too generous, with President Poincaré and Marshal Foch both concerned that they leave France vulnerable to a resurgent Germany. But Clemenceau has convinced his cabinet that Germany has been sufficiently weakened that, with the security guarantees offered by the British and Americans, it will no longer pose a threat.

There is still some dissatisfaction with the peace terms. The Chinese delegation complains again about Shantung (awarded to Japan in return for its dropping the…