Was David Lloyd George's opinion decisive in the decision to help a plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921?

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Futurist
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Was David Lloyd George's opinion decisive in the decision to help a plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921?

#1

Post by Futurist » 29 Apr 2016, 01:37

Was David Lloyd George's opinion decisive in the decision to help a plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921? Or was someone else's opinion about this more important in causing the victorious Entente/Allies to hold a plebiscite in Upper Silesia?

Indeed, any thoughts on this?



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Steve
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Re: Was David Lloyd George's opinion decisive in the decision to help a plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921?

#3

Post by Steve » 17 Mar 2017, 05:45

In the draft version of the Versailles treaty Upper Silesia went to Poland and Germany was strongly protesting this. Lloyd George did not want to see Germany so weakened that France would be the dominant European power. He was also worried about Germany going Bolshevik if the treaty was too harsh and did not believe Poland would be a stable state.

Lloyd George could not get his allies to agree on Germany retaining the area. Plan B was it seems to push Clemenceau and Wilson into agreeing to a plebiscite which would hopefully go Germany’s way. There could have been an unspoken agreement that in return for this concession Germany would sign the Versailles treaty and Britain would do its best to see it kept Upper Silesia. He told Lord D’Abernon who was a member of the allied mission to Poland “We should have been favourable to giving it to Germany, but we compromised on a plebiscite”.

So yes his opinion was decisive. He was also against Poland having Danzig.

From Versailles to Locarno by Anna Cienciala and Titus Komarnicki

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