|
World War 2:
Postwar World
Italian Peace Treaty
Bulgarian Peace Treaty
Rumanian Peace Treaty
Hungarian Peace Treaty
Finnish Peace Treaty
Japanese Peace Treaty
Austrian State Treaty
The last wartime Big Three conference, held at Potsdam
on July 17-Aug. 2, 1945, determined how peace treaties would be drawn
up. Instead of an immediate conference like that following World War
I, there were to be preliminary meetings of a Council of Foreign Ministers,
representing Great Britain, France, the United States, the Soviet Union,
and China. Debate could proceed in relative leisure; hasty and ill-considered
compromises could be avoided; and when a peace conference finally assembled,
it could devote itself to really important issues. Such, at any rate,
were the hopes of the Potsdam conferees.
The initial foreign ministers' meetings were, however,
disappointing. That in London (Sept. 11-Oct. 2, 1945) dissolved into
a wrangle over procedure. Those in Moscow (Dec. 16-26, 1945) and Paris
(April 25-May 16, 1946) broke up because of substantive disagreements,
particularly concerning the amounts and kinds of reparations to be paid
the USSR by Italy, the disposition of the region around Trieste, and
the question of whether one of the former Italian colonies in Africa
should be assigned to the Soviet Union as a United Nations trusteeship.
SATELLITE TREATIES
When the Council reconvened in Paris ( June 15-July
12, 1946), however, the members were able to reach substantial accord
on treaties not only for Italy but also for Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary,
and Finland. Although differences of opinion remained, they agreed to
submit these treaties to a general peace conference. Delegates from
the 5 nations and the 16 others that had been allied with them assembled
in Paris on July 29-Oct. 15, 1946. The Council of Foreign Ministers,
meeting in New York on Nov. 4-Dec. 12, 1946, compromised remaining points
of disagreement. Final texts of the five treaties were signed in Paris
on Feb. 10, 1947. As a result of their ratification by the requisite
number of states, all came into force on Sept. 15, 1947.
Italian Peace Treaty
The preamble to the Italian treaty contained a war guilt
clause somewhat like that which had been included in postWorld War I
peace treaties. It asserted that Italy had undertaken "a war of
aggression and thereby provoked a state of war with all the Allied and
Associated Powers and with other United Nations," and that it bore
a "share of responsibility for the war." But it also asserted
that the principal Allies expected, by the treaty, to settle questions
still outstanding, and that they would support Italy's application to
become a member of the United Nations.
The treaty's territorial clauses' provided for minor
rectifications of the Franco-Italian frontier, with France to receive
the Little St. Bernard Pass, the Mont Cenis (Moncenisio) plateau, and
small portions of the Mont Thabor (Monte Tabor) and Chaberton regions,
and the upper valleys of the Tinee, Vesubie, and Roya (Roia) rivers.
Yugoslavia was to get a small border area south of the boundary between
the Italian provinces of Udine (Friuli) and Gorizia, the Province of
Zara (Zadar), and the adjacent Dalmatian islands. Greece was to obtain
the islands of the Dodecanese, while the Trieste area was to become
a free territory guaranteed by the United Nations.
The political clauses of the treaty stipulated that
Italy should "take all measures necessary to secure to all persons
under Italian jurisdiction, without distinction as to race, sex, language
or religion, the enjoyment of human rights and of the fundamental freedoms,
including freedom of expression, of press and publication, of religious
worship, of political opinion and of public meeting." No penalties
were to be visited on Italian nationals because of wartime partisanship
for the Allies. The Italian government undertook to prevent the resurgence
of Fascist organizations or any others, "whether political, military
or semimilitary, whose purpose it is to deprive the people of their
democratic rights."
Italy renounced sovereignty over her former colonies,
Libya, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland, agreeing that their final disposal
should be determined by the USSR, Britain, the United States, and France
or, failing an agreement among those powers, by the United Nations General
Assembly. She relinquished all special rights in China and surrendered
to the Chinese government the Italian concession at Tientsin and Italian
rights in the international settlements of Shanghai and Amoy. Recognizing
the sovereignty and independence of Albania and Albanian possession
of the island of Saseno (Sazan ), she abandoned all special rights in
that country and surrendered to the Albanian government all Italian
state property there. Similarly recognizing the sovereignty and independence
of Ethiopia, she gave up all special claims and rights there and undertook
to return all works of art, religious objects, archives, and objects
of historical value taken after Oct. 3, 1935. Italy also promised to
apprehend and surrender for trial all persons accused of war crimes.
The military clauses required the destruction of fortifications
on the Franco-Italian and Yugoslav-Italian frontiers and the demilitarization
of zones 20 kilometers deep on the Italian side. Pantelleria, the Pelagie
Islands, Pianosa, and northern Sardinia were to be completely demilitarized;
southern Sardinia and Sicily, partially so. Italy was not to possess,
construct, or even experiment with atomic weapons, self-propelled or
guided missiles, long-range guns, noncontact mines and torpedoes, manned
torpedoes, aircraft carriers, or submarines, and she was forbidden to
acquire or manufacture war material beyond relatively limited amounts
specified in an annex to the treaty. The warships that she could retain
were similarly specified in an annex. Naval personnel were not to exceed
25,000. The army and carabinieri together were not to exceed 250,000.
The air force was not to have more than 25,000 men and 350 planes.
Reparations clauses provided that Italy should pay the
equivalent of $360,000,000. $125,000,000 to Yugoslavia, $105,000,000
to Greece, $100,000,000 to the USSR, $25,000,000 to Ethiopia, and $5,000,000
to Albania. These payments were not to be in money but in goods; surplus
war material, capital goods, or, after a period of grace of two years,
goods from current industrial production. Quantities and types were
to be determined by bilateral negotiation, but it was stipulated that
goods should be selected and deliveries scheduled "in such a way
as to avoid interference with the economic reconstruction of Italy and
the imposition of additional liabilities on other Allied and Associated
Powers." While waiving all claims against these powers, Italy also
promised to restore to them at her own expense all property that had
been taken from their nationals.
In the upshot the Allies were unable to agree on the Italian colonies,
and the issue went to the United Nations General Assembly. As a result
of votes there, Libya, which had been under British and French administration,
became an independent kingdom on Dec. 24, 1951; Eritrea, at first under
British administration, federated with Ethiopia on Sept. 15, 1952 (in
1962, Eritrea decided to unite with Ethiopia); and Somaliland, also
at first under British administration, became an Italian trusteeship
on April 1, 1950, and joined with the Somaliland Protectorate (British
Somaliland) to form an independent republic, Somalia, on July 1, 1960.
Trieste never became a selfgoverning territory, for the city and its
environs and the Gorizia region to the northwest (Zone A ) remained
under Anglo-American occupation, while the southern portion ( Zone B)
continued to be garrisoned by Yugoslav troops, and these arrangements
ended only when, on Oct. 5, 1954, Italy and Yugoslavia agreed to a partition.
Zone A returned to Italy; Zone B became part of Yugoslavia. Moreover,
in December 1951-January 1952, Italy won from 14 of the 21 signers of
the treaty consent in principle to a modification of the military clauses,
and thereafter the Italian government did not heed them.
Bulgarian Peace Treaty
The Bulgarian treaty had a preamble similar to that
of the Italian treaty. Its territorial clause provided simply that Bulgaria's
frontiers should be those of Jan. 1, 1941. This meant that the southern
Dobruja, which had been transferred to Bulgaria in 1940, would remain
Bulgarian. The political clauses referring to civil liberties, the suppression
of fascist activities, and the surrender of war criminals were identical
with those in the Italian treaty, as were the military clauses relating
to new weapons. The Bulgarian' Army was not to consist of more than
55,000 men, the antiaircraft artillery force of more than 1,800, the
navy of more than 3,500, or the air force of more than 5,200. The navy
was to be limited to 7,250 tons; the air force, to 90 planes. Installations
for offensive warfare were not to be maintained along the Greek frontier.
As for reparations, the Bulgarians were to turn over manufactures, raw
materials, and agricultural products to the value of $70,000,000$45,000,000
to Greece and $25,000,000 to Yugoslavia. In addition, the Soviet Union
was to be accorded title to most German assets in the country. Aside
from a special clause providing for free navigation of the Danube River,
the rest of the treaty was also similar to the Italian.
Rumanian Peace Treaty
The Rumanian treaty was much like the Bulgarian. Rumania's
frontiers were to be those of Jan. 1, 1941, thus confirming the cession
that had been made to the USSR on June 28, 1940, of Bessarabia and northern
Bucovina, and to Bulgaria on Sept. 7, 1940, of southern Dobruja. The
only exception was the Rumanian-Hungarian frontier, which was to be
restored to the status of Jan. 1, 1938. Northern Transylvania was thus
to be returned to Rumania. Among the political clauses was one which
had been omitted from the Bulgarian treaty because of that country's
relatively good record in regard to racial minorities. This pledged
the Rumanian government not to enact laws that should "either in
their content or in their application, discriminate or entail any discrimination
between persons of Rumanian nationality on the ground of their race,
sex, language or religion." Under the military clauses the army
was to be limited to 120,000 men, the antiaircraft artillery force to
5,000, the navy to 5,000, and the air force to 8,000, with 15,000 tons
set as the limit on the fleet and 150 planes as the limit on the air
force. Reparations consisting of $300,000,000 worth of commodities were
to be made over to the USSR within eight years from Sept. 12, 1944,
and the Rumanian government joined in promising free navigation on the
Danube. Like the Italian and Bulgarian treaties, that for Rumania pledged
the withdrawal of Allied forces within 90 days. It made an exception,
however, for the Soviet Union, entitling it to keep on Rumanian territory
"such armed forces as it may need for the maintenance of the lines
of communication of the Soviet Army with the Soviet zone of occupation
in Austria."
Hungarian Peace Treaty
The Hungarian treaty was like the Rumanian, including
the political clause forbidding discrimination. It restored the frontiers
with Czechoslovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary to the status
of Jan. 1, 1938, except for the cession to Czechoslovakia of an area
across the Danube from Bratislava. It fixed limits of 65,000 men on
the Hungarian Army and 5,000 men and 90 aircraft on the Hungarian Air
Force. Reparations goods to the value of $200,000,000 were to be paid
to the USSR. Another $100,000,000 worth was to be divided by Czechoslovakia
and Yugoslavia in proportions to be agreed on by those states. In Hungary
as in Rumania, Soviet troops were to retain lines of communication to
Austria.
Finnish Peace Treaty
Although the United States was not a party to the Finnish
treaty, never having declared war on Finland, the document did not differ
materially from the others. It included a political clause forbidding
discriminatory legislation. Finland's frontiers were to be those of
Jan. 1, 1941, thus confirming the accessions of territory made by the
Soviet Union as a result of the Winter War of 1939-1940. In addition,
Finland was to cede to the USSR the Province of Petsamo (now Pechenga)
; and, in return for Soviet renunciation of the right to lease the Hango
(Hanko) Peninsula, to confirm a 50-year Russian lease on a naval base
on the Porkkala Peninsula, with appropriate rights of access. The Finnish
Army was to be limited to 34,400 men, the navy to 4,500 men and 10,000
tons, and the air force to 3,000 men and 60 planes. In addition, $300,000,000
worth of commodities were to be transferred to the USSR as reparations.
LATER DEVELOPMENTS
Although subsequent foreign ministers' conferences devoted
much time to discussion of treaties for Austria, Germany, and Japan,
little progress resulted. Even at the time of the signing of the satellite
treaties, the United States and the USSR had been drawing apart. Clashes
between them in 1947 and 1948 created increasing tension, and by the
end of the latter year their relationship was accurately characterized
as one of cold war. In 1950 came armed conflict in Korea between Soviet-backed
Communist forces on one side and United Nations forces led by the United
States on the other.
Japanese Peace Treaty
Meanwhile, the United States government had grown increasingly
impatient about maintaining an expensive and, in its judgment, no longer
necessary occupation of Japan. Consequently, in 1950 President Harry
S. Truman circularized the various governments that had been wartime
allies, proposing the drafting of a Japanese Peace Treaty. A special
presidential mission then visited many capitals, including Tokyo, and
formulated terms that the majority would accept. A conference was called
to meet in San Francisco on Sept. 4-8, 1951, and 51 nations, including
the USSR, agreed to send representatives. Although the Soviet, Czechoslovak,
and Polish delegates refused to sign the treaty, the other 48 delegates
did so. An adequate number of governments then ratified the document,
and it came into force on April 28, 1952.
Making no reference to war guilt, the preamble merely
asserted that the Allied powers and Japan were "resolved that henceforth
their relations shall be those of nations which, as sovereign equals,
cooperate in friendly association to promote their common welfare and
to maintain international peace and security." It stated that Japan
would apply for membership in the United Nations and conform to the
principles of the United Nations Charter. By the territorial clauses
of the treaty, Japan recognized the independence of Korea and renounced
all claims to Taiwan (Formosa), the Penghu Islands (Pescadores), the
Kuril Islands, the southern part of Sakhalin, and the mandates which
she had held from the League of Nations. She stated that she would concur
in any United States proposal to make the Ryukyu Islands, the Bonin
Islands, the Volcano Islands, Parece Vela, and Marcus Island into United
Nations trusteeships under the exclusive control of the United States.
A special set of clauses labeled "security"
provided that Japan should "refrain . . from the threat or use
of force against the territorial integrity or political independence
of any State" but also recognized that as a sovereign nation she
possessed "the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense"
and might therefore enter into collective security agreements with other
governments. There were no clauses limiting the Japanese armed forces.
While fixing no sums for reparations payments, the treaty
stipulated that any of the former Allies might seize and retain certain
assets of Japanese nationals, that similar assets held in neutral countries
should be turned over to the International Committee of the Red Cross
to be used for former prisoners of war and their families, and that
the Japanese government would negotiate with each of her former enemies
about making compensation for wartime damage by lending the services
of Japanese technicians and workmen.
Austrian State Treaty
In March-April 1955, the Soviet Union unexpectedly indicated
that it was prepared to negotiate a treaty for Austria. A conference
promptly convened in Vienna; a treaty was signed on May 15; and it came
into force on July 27, 1955. Although its preamble treated Austria as
a liberated nation rather than as a former enemy, many of the specffic
provisions were similar to or identical with those in the satellite
treaties of 1947. The Austrian government was obliged to prevent the
revival of Nazi or fascist organizations and not to enact any discriminatory
legislation. The use of Croat and Slovene in schools and official documents
was guaranteed for regions where members of these nationalities formed
substantial minorities. Although numbers were not fixed for the Austrian
armed forces, atomic weapons, guided missiles, and the like were forbidden,
and specified limits were placed on the amounts of war material that
Austria could possess. While reparations as such were not to be exacted,
the treaty gave the USSR a 30-year concession on approximately 60 percent
of the country's oil-bearing land and control over most of its refineries.
In return for the surrender of certain former German assets, the Soviet
Union was also to receive $150,000,000 in currency. Special clauses
forbade any political or economic union of Austria and Germany or even
agitation in such a cause; stipulated that the nation should have a
democratic government, the secret ballot, and free, equal, and universal
suffrage; and directed that a ban be maintained against the return of
the house of Habsburg.
After the Austrian State Treaty, progress toward a peace
settlement halted again. The Soviet Union and the United States disagreed
completely about Germany, and the provisional regimes in the eastern
and western zones of that country hardened into permanent governments.
While World War II appeared to have brought a final end to the conflict
that had begun in 1914, the era after it had some of the characteristics
of another long armistice-an armed truce between West and East.
|
|
