Congress of Amsterdam

From Roses, Tulips, & Liberty
Congress of Amsterdam
Host country Netherlands
Dates11 September 1938 – 20 April 1939
(7 months, 9 days)
Venue(s)Sloterplas Palace (to 18 November 1938)
Rondpunt Hotel (from 18 November 1938)
CitiesAmsterdam
Participants
States represented by private individuals

The Congress of Amsterdam (Dutch: Congres van Amsterdam) was an international political conference that was held in the aftermath of the Cordial League's victory in the Great War. It sought to plan the geopolitical future of the defeated Tripartite Coalition and their allies. It was held from 11 September 1938 to 20 April 1939. The main agreement of the Congress, known as the Treaty of Amsterdam, was signed by all relevant parties in the presence of William II of the Netherlands on 18 April 1939.

The Congress consisted of twenty-one consecutive sessions, spanning a total seven months and nine days including recesses in between. On 18 November, an arson attack carried out by Austrian Faramundists resulted in an unusually lengthy thirteen-day break from 19 November to 2 December 1938. Participants eventually decided on a set of terms that dramatically altered the territorial composition of Europe, the Near East, northern Africa, and eastern Asia. The Congress also foreshadowed the establishment of various international organizations such as the Organization of Democratic Nations, the International Republican Coalition, and others.

Background

Prime Minister Kaylock reached out to the Supreme Commander of the All-Russian Forces, Mikhail Orlov, on 3 April 1938, shortly after the Russians firmly established their occupation of the Ottoman city of Constantinople. Confident of a full Cordial League victory, he proposed the arrangement of a political meeting in Venice. This request was transmitted to Chairman Murmsky who proposed a new location, the Netherlands, on the twenty-eighth of the same month. Both parties reached an agreement in early June; soon, dates were sent out to prospective invitees.

On 2 September 1938, Chancellor Emmerich Stefanov declared the surrender of the Austrian Empire. Despite France's Camille Laframboise still refusing to capitulate to Cordial forces, Chairman Murmsky and Prime Minister Kaylock decided to proceed.

Deliberations

The first guests, the Illyrian delegation of Prince Raditsch, Duke of Carniola, arrived Sloterplas Palace at 7:50 on 11 September 1938. They were greeted by King William II. At 12:00, the King opened the first session of the Congress of Amsterdam. According to political correspondents, there was a stark contrast in moods between the Tripartite and Cordial sides, with the Austrian and French attendees seemingly visibly irritated. However, the Ottomans were reportedly optimistic and several of them brought platters of food to share with the rest of the attendees. Members of the Dutch, British, and Norwegian armed forces were stationed both inside and outside the Palace in accordance with the Congress' strict security measures.

18 November attack

Picture of smoke billowing from Sloterplas Palace in the early hours of 19 November 1938.

Around 22:10 on 18 November 1938, explosive devices attached to Sloterplas Palace were detonated by a group of Faramundist militants. Two of these men were later identified as George Zuckerberg and Gunter Possiejpal, both veteran soldiers originally from Pressburg, a Danubian city with a combined German-Hungarian majority that was to become part of postwar Slovakia. Nine people were killed in the minutes following the explosion, including Russian ambassador M. A. Humarian and Ottoman envoy Hadschi Schewket Efendi. The remaining 116 individuals inside the palace were evacuated, with around ten sustaining minor injuries. Firemen arrived to the scene shortly after 23:00. It was only at 8:15 on 19 November that the fire was completely extinguished.

The incident was first reported by the regional Dutch newspaper Openbaring in their morning edition. It included testimonies from witnesses including Paulina Brink, who said: "I watched from the shore as boats glided across [Sloterplas Lake], filled with confused Dutchmen. We thought the French had finally found the one grenade left in their country. These politicians should have been pillars of strength, instead [they] fled like startled mice. It was too quiet!"

Treaty of Amsterdam

On 18 April 1939, the leaders and ambassadors plenipotentiary of the Cordial League states signed the Treaty of Amsterdam in the presence of King William II of the Netherlands and presented it to the delegations of the Tripartite Coalition. After two days of closing debates and discussions, the chief representatives of the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian Empire, and France followed at 15:05 on 20 April, officially concluding the Congress.

The Treaty does not directly address the fate of Turkestan, Corea, Ottoman Constantinople, and Sicily as separate agreements had been established prior to its creation. However, the Treaty does specifically recognize and reaffirm the validity of the Treaty of Akmolinsk of 21 March 1937, the Treaty of Hansjang of 9 April 1938, the Russo-Ottoman Compromise of 1 June 1938, and the Messina Straits Treaty of 30 January 1939.

Key points

The key points agreed upon in the Treaty are as follows:


   Pertaining to the Ottoman State Ottoman State

  • The Ottoman State will abandon its claims to its former territories in Mespotamia, Arabia, northern Africa, and Europe.
  • Egypt, Tunisia, and Tripolitania will come under temporary British administration.
  • The Mesopotamian emirates of Deir Azzor, Kirkuk, Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul and the Arabian kingdoms of Ha'il and the Hejaz are to be granted sovereignty.
  • The island of Cyprus and surrounding waters will be ceded to the United Kingdom.
  • Greece and Albania are to be established as independent kingdoms under British supervision.
  • The sandschaks of Jerusalem and Gaza will be placed under a British mandate.
  • The seat of the Ottoman Caliphate will be relocated to the city of Konja.


   Pertaining to the France Third Republic of France

  • France will unconditionally surrender and withdraw its forces and claims in Piedmont, Arpitania, Lombardy, the Netherlands, the Rhineland, and British East Africa.
  • The government of the Third Republic is to be abolished. A Fourth Republic is to be created under the supervision of the Cordial League.
  • The territory of metropolitan France will be divided into five occupation zones: the Dutch zone, the Rhenish zone, the British zone, the Portuguese zone, and the jointly-administered capital of Paris. The final disposition of these territories shall be decided through peaceful means by the administering powers at a future date.
  • A comprehensive program of disarmament will be imposed on all postwar French territories. France will be contractually obligated to abide by several military restrictions as outlined in the Le Havre Agreement until 1 June 1959.
  • French Borneo will be ceded to the Netherlands as part of the Dutch East Indies.
  • Niger will be placed under an Anglo-Portuguese protectorate.
  • Campuchia will be re-established as an independent kingdom.
  • Kirignaga-Loloue will be established as an independent republic.
  • Australie will be established as an independent republic.


   Pertaining to the Austria Austrian Empire

  • The government of the Austrian Empire will be abolished.
  • The government of the Austrian Republic and successive administrations will abandon its claims to former territories outside of its borders as demarcated by British occupation forces.
  • Galicia, Slovakia, and Magyaria are to be established as national republics under Russian supervision.
  • Bohemia is to be established as an independent kingdom under British supervision.
  • Transylvania is to be ceded to Romania.
  • Lower Silesia is to be ceded to Saxony.
  • Territories south of the Drava River is to be ceded to Illyria.
  • Lesser Poland is to be ceded to Poland.

Aftermath

See also