How Did The Treaty Of Versailles Lead To Lasting Peace?

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General Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander during World War I, said "This is not a peace, it is an armistice for twenty years." General Foch was correct in predicting the Treaty of Versailles would not bring lasting peace. Reasons the Treaty of Versailles didn’t lead to lasting peace was because of the inability of the Allies to agree on how to deal with Germany, Germany’s refusal to accept the terms of reparations and the “war-guilt” clause, and the actions of the “big four” during the Paris Peace Conference. How the Allies dealt with the war reparations that Germany owed is a significant issue. France felt that Germany should cover the costs of the war. Britain was concerned about international trade and knew Germany would not buy goods from them if they were in heavy debt with the Allies. Because of this, the exact amount of money that was to be paid in reparations wasn’t included in the treaty. …show more content…

France, who pushed for harsher German punishment and reparation levels more than any other Allied Power, wanted the reparations to cripple the German state. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles laid the blame for World War I solely on Germany. The ‘war-guilt’ clause caused lasting resentment in Germany. The Treaty presented to the German delegates at Versailles was a harsh break from the promise of a treaty based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Because of this seemingly harsh treatment, Germany condemned the Versailles Treaty as unjust and unacceptable. The war-guilt clause led to growing German resentment and nationalism. Unable to effectively enforce this treaty, a harsher one would not have been able to lead Europe any closer to

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