How Did The Treaty Of Vienna Compared To The Congress Of Versailles

Following the destruction of WWI, the powerful states of Europe arranged a meeting to discuss the future for Germany and all the affected territories of the war. This convention in paris formulated a list of agreements that came to be known as the treaty of Versailles. Another important peace treaty which occurred a century earlier was known as the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Versailles can be compared to the Congress of Vienna in that they both attempted to create peace after a big war by rearranging the borders of countries. However, they were also vastly different since the Congress of Vienna attempted to reestablish a balance of power for all the european countries, while the Treaty of Versailles mainly ended up punishing and humiliating

Napoleon’s conquest had greatly altered the borders of France and its neighboring states. Similarly Germany had been taking land from others during WWI and causing destruction all around. All of the European powers had seen a need for peace during these two events and thus two similar treaties were produced. The borders of countries were rearranged in both compromises in order to move into the future. An even more important similarity between the two treaties was the reactionary movement that they both attempted to make. The Congress of Vienna attempted to restore the land that France had taken over and surround it by powerful countries to prevent future expansion. The Treaty also restored the land that Germany had conquered and again surrounded it with strong countries and buffer states to prevent future expansion. Both of these treaties had a reactionary aspect to them as they attempted to return lands to what they were

Most importantly is the fact that the country under question would be punished a lot more during the Treaty of Versailles. During the Congress of Vienna France was called to participate along with the other powers of Europe in order to create the fairest restoration of balance of power. Having more say in their fate, France was able to minimize the punishments that would emerge from their quick expansion during the time. The Congress would eventually only achieve balance of power without really penalizing France. By Contrast Germany was allowed little to no say during the events of the Paris convention. With the deep hatred France had for Germany from past events and the great destruction they had caused, Germany would be severely oppressed by the agreements of the treaty. Germany was not able to argue these decisions due to their absence to the event, as France was able to in the past. Germany would be demilitarized, fined, and humiliated as a result of this treaty. Europe was not looking for balance of power now, but instead looked to correct what Germany had done.

The results of these two accords would also vary greatly. Having a more peaceful and well rounded agreement, the Congress of Vienna was able to achieve peace until the Crimean War and was able to provide the framework of borders till WWI. The Treaty of Versaille resulted in an angry Germany which would soon lead to the rise of Hitler and begin WWII and led to the