AHC: Germany allowed to keep (some) colonies after Versailles

[Opunium]

Your challenge, with a POD of 11 November 1918, is to have Germany keep some of its colonies after a peace treaty with the Entente. Preferably one or more of its African colonies.

 

[Wendell]

Your challenge, with a POD of 11 November 1918, is to have Germany keep some of its colonies after a peace treaty with the Entente. Preferably one or more of its African colonies.

This is not doable with those constraints. All of the German colonies had been occupied, sans parts of German East Africa, and that is not realistic for Germny to keep due to British Cape-to-Cairo goals.

 

[Analytical Engine]

This is not doable with those constraints. All of the German colonies had been occupied, sans parts of German East Africa, and that is not realistic for Germny to keep due to British Cape-to-Cairo goals.

Britain may be amenable to letting the Germans keep eastern Tanganyka(sic), but keeping the west. But, yeah, that is a rather too early PoD.

 

[Ariosto]

Togoland is about the most I can see, and even that is a stretch given the coastline was occupied by the French, who would not be amenable to the idea at all.
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[Ryan]

the only way I can see Germany keeping some colonies is if the entente win very early, thus removing most of the deaths and animosity and the desire for vengeance.

 

[Monty Burns]

Your challenge, with a POD of 11 November 1918, is to have Germany keep some of its colonies after a peace treaty with the Entente. Preferably one or more of its African colonies.

To keep some colonies, Germany must have some other things at hand for the negotiation table. Only if there are true negotiations between the entente and Germany the Germans might keep some colonies. Therefore, the Germans need to do much, much better in the war, and 1918 is way too late for that.

Therefore, I'd propose a natural catastrophe that strikes the Entente powers extremely hard but doesn't effect Germany very much. Say a meteorite falls apart and eradicates everything on a line London-Paris, or it falls into the Atlantic and destroys the American and European Atlantic coasts, but less so the North Sea coast and...

 

[anotherlurker]

maybe they give them the colonies as a money sink to punish the germans.

hitler will write a rant about that criminal act designed to impoverish the german people!

 

[TRH]

Maybe some breakdown in negotiations has the Allies attempt to resume hostilities, only for an army mutiny and general strike to grind their countries to a halt, and Germany keeps (some?) of Tanganyika in the haphazard negotiations that follow.

This is really, really hard here.

 

[zert]

With that POD I do not see Germany getting squat. They had been beaten and were lucky not to have more taken away.

 

[Alternate History Geek]

For Germany to keep any of its colonies, you need them on the winning (or at least "not losing") side.

For that you need a POD in early 1917 at the very latest, and preferably earlier - your best bet is probably in the late 1890s or early 1900s, (though it's doable with a later POD), which would likely result in a WWI with quite a few differences than OTL. Your best bet for having Germany keep all its colonies is to have Britain, Japan, and Portugal on board with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and maybe the Ottomans and Bulgaria, fighting against France, Russia, Serbia, and maybe Spain. Italy and Romania could go either way. Either keep the USA neutral or have them join in with Germany and co.

But it's definitely hopeless by 11\11\1918.

 

[psychic]

If the US doesn't join then there would likely be milder peace. If Germany is allowed to keep colonies then it is likely they would hold onto their European territory as well. Except maybe give up Metz to France or something. And obviously there would be no reparations and military restrictions.

 

[freivolk]

Some time ago I had an idea how the Weimar Republic could get a colony. The POD is that some times before 1914 Germany and the USA signs a neutrality aggrement about Samoa. In the case that one of the signatory get involved in a war, the other partner shall garanty the Neutrality of Samoa as a whole. After the beginning of the war, the USA keep the Allies away from Samoa. But after the Luisitania, the USA demand to send an observing-unit to german Samoa. After that Samoa is de-facto occupyed by the US. This becomes a dejure-occupation after the US DOW. The treaty of Versailles makes Samoa an US-mandat. But the USA don´t ratify Versailles, so Samoa is stuck for some time in a juristical limbo. The US-german peace treaty declares, that Samoa should stay provisorial in US-custody. After Germany joins the League of Nations in 1926, there is a final aggrement. The USA gives the island to the league of Nations and the League gives Germany Samoa as a mandat.

 

[zert]

Some time ago I had an idea how the Weimar Republic could get a colony. The POD is that some times before 1914 Germany and the USA signs a neutrality aggrement about Samoa. In the case that one of the signatory get involved in a war, the other partner shall garanty the Neutrality of Samoa as a whole. After the beginning of the war, the USA keep the Allies away from Samoa. But after the Luisitania, the USA demand to send an observing-unit to german Samoa. After that Samoa is de-facto occupyed by the US. This becomes a dejure-occupation after the US DOW. The treaty of Versailles makes Samoa an US-mandat. But the USA don´t ratify Versailles, so Samoa is stuck for some time in a juristical limbo. The US-german peace treaty declares, that Samoa should stay provisorial in US-custody. After Germany joins the League of Nations in 1926, there is a final aggrement. The USA gives the island to the league of Nations and the League gives Germany Samoa as a mandat.

Possible but I think with the delay of time the US would let Somoa go easily. They might hold onto it for basing rights or possibly might allow a joint rule.