World War I

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Which countries did not attend the Paris Peace conference?

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The Paris Peace Conference excluded the Central Powers, including Germany, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary, as they were not invited to participate. Bolshevik Russia was also excluded due to its separate peace treaty with Germany and the Allies' fear of communism. Additionally, Japan dropped out before the final treaty decisions were made. Thus, these countries did not attend the conference, which was dominated by the Allied powers.

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The Treaty of Versailles was essentially an example of victors' justice. The Allied powers were primarily concerned with punishing their enemies for starting World War I and the enormous human and economic cost which had resulted. Once an agreement was reached it would then be presented to the defeated Central Powers as a fait accompli which they would have no choice but to accept.

As the Allies were not really negotiating with the Central Powers there was no reason for them to be at Versailles. They would simply have to wait until deliberations were over and then take whatever was coming to them. Bolshevik Russia was also excluded from the conference as they had unilaterally concluded the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans, ceding them large tracts of territory from the Russian Empire. Although the Russians hadn't joined with the Germans in fighting against the Allies, Brest-Litovsk had given the...

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Germans vast swathes of land and other resources. Because of that, and a deep fear of Communism among the Allies, Bolshevik Russia played no part at Versailles.

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The Paris Peace Conference was held in Versailles, France in January of 1919. The major players at the conference were the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United States, which was represented by President Woodrow Wilson. There were over thirty countries that were represented at the conference. At the end of the proceedings, the Treaty of Versailles was signed which came at a heavy cost to Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Germany was racked with heavy reparations and loss of territory and Austria-Hungary was broken up into smaller states.

The losing side of World War I, the Central Powers, were not invited to the conference as participants. This snub included the countries of Germany, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary. This meant they did not have a voice in the future of Europe, which would cause many problems in the near future. The new Bolshevik government in Russia was also excluded as the Allies refused to recognize the new government.  Japan also dropped out of the conference and was not a part of the final treaty decision.

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