Implementing Article 227

Abstract

In late June 1919, as preparations were underway for the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Versailles, rumours reached Paris that the German Crown Prince, who had also found asylum in the Netherlands, was returning home, where he would lead a monarchist revival. The Council of Four sent a message to the Dutch warning them of their concerns and insisting that the Kaiser be safely interned. The Allies were embarrassed when the rumour proved to be false. At the same time, the Council of Four received a strange letter from the former German Chancellor, Theobald van Bethmann-Hollweg, offering to stand in for the Kaiser and take the blame for acts attributed to him. The Council of Four also drafted a letter addressed to the Dutch demanding the Kaiser’s surrender, but agreed to wait before sending it until the Treaty of Versailles entered into force.