Treaty+of+St+Germain

Following the end of World War 1, the Triple Entente was quick to place restrictions on Germany and her allies. One such ally, the Austrian Republic (To whom Germany, it was said gave a blank check) was charged with reparations and was forced to limit her army to 30,000 men. It is important to note that the treaty was signed by the newly formed Austrian Republic, not a monarchical regime headed by a member of the Habsburg family. Like Germany and the Hohenzollerns, the political strength of Austria's monarchy was effectively destroyed following defeat in World War 1. Additionally, the former Austrian Empire was dismembered based on the ideology of self-determination espoused by Woodrow Wilson in his 14 points. In the Treaty of St. Germain, Austria was forced to cede many of its territories. They was forced to relinquish control of Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia, Dalmatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Yugoslavia, and Galicia to Poland. Other terms of the Treaty of St.Germain included Bukovina being handed over to Romania and Trentino, the South Tyrol and Istria, including the port of Trieste to Italy. Overall, Austria had lost almost all its industrial area and lost 15 million of its population.

Also entailed in the Treaty of Saint Germain was an article that required that Austria refrain from compromising its independence, either directly or indirectly, to greater Germany. Of course, prior to World War 1, Germany and Austria were, in fact, united, being just another example of the perilously weak peace secured in the treaties following World War 1.