What were the aims of the Leaders at the Paris Peace Conference?

On 18 January 1919 the heads of state from the victorious nations met in Paris to decide about the future of Germany. The choice of the opening date was a deliberate humiliation of Germany, since it was the birthday of the German Empire in 1871. Negotiations were conducted mainly between the heads of state of the United States, France, Britain - they had widely differing goals.  The main leaders were:

Georges Clemenceau

The French Prime Minister, had witnessed two German attacks on France in the past and was determined that it would not happen again.  His main aim during the Paris Peace Conference was to gain revenge on Germany and make them pay as France had before, this would also help protect France as he wished to weaken Germany so much that they would never invade France again.

France wanted to change the balance of power by weakening Germany's economic potential to a point that would make it impossible for Germany to overpower France.  Germany was a much larger country both with population and industry which had been much more intensive than Frances. In order to reduce German superiority, to reconstruct the destroyed areas, and to cover their own war debt, the French wanted high reparations.

However, the French felt that the reparations were not enough, as they could only temporarily hold the German economy. The French hoped to control Germany's western industrial heartlands and even to dissolve the Reich altogether.  Without its densely populated and highly industrialized West, Germany would find it impossible to threaten France again.

David Lloyd George

The Prime Minister of Great Britain, he said he would ‘make Germany pay’ because he knew that was what the British people wanted to hear - he wanted justice but not revenge.

The British wanted above all to demilitarize Germany and to get hold of its battle fleet and merchant navy and they claimed their share in German reparations and demanded rule over most of Germany's African colonies. In addition to that, their interests concentrated on the Middle East as well. In general, the British aims were compatible with the American aims; they believed that Germany should after a while recover as a major trade partner without posing as a military threat.

Woodrow Wilson

The first American President to have visited Europe whilst in office - Wilson’s diplomacy and his Fourteen Points had essentially established the conditions for the armistices that had brought an end to World War I. 

For Wilson, the most important goal was the establishment of a League of Nations that would deal with disagreements without violence, he wanted to weaken Germany's military potential for all times, but he had nothing against a democratic Germany becoming a major economic power again and felt strongly about leaving it unified. He feared that an all too weak Germany might inspire France to strive for domination on the European continent.