The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles ended the First World War; it was supposed to stop all of the fighting and suffering for good. It did the opposite. The question of whether it was too harsh has been argued relentlessly since it was first drawn up too this very day.
Britain and France both wanted to gain the same out of the treaty, revenge. Both countries had lost many men, but France had also lost a lot a land and it was nearly all fought in France, all that was left of the French fields was trenches and dead bodies, and lots and lots of mud. Because they had no fields left the French lost their source of income, farming was the only thing that brought wealth into the country, a lot of business was lost, so a lot of money was also lost. Both Britain and France wanted reparations from Germany totalling £6600. Clemenceau, the French leader thought that this was not enough!
Woodrow Wilson, the President of America at the time was the only leader that actually thought before making demands. He thought about what would happen in the future, to stop any more fighting and keep Europe happy was the only thing that he wanted from the treaty. He drew up a list of fourteen points to show this, included in these points was agreements that the countries would have to make to ensure that the fighting would not start again. He wanted all of the countries to be equally strong and was not trying to ruin any particular country. He could foresee the trouble that could happen.
In the Treaty of Versailles Germany was made to abolish compulsory military service. They also had to reduce their army to 100,000. They had to get rid of all the military on the left bank of the Rhine River and they also had to make the right side of the river 50 km deeper, this was to stop all importation, exportation, and production of war material. Germany had to limit its navy to 24 ships, with no submarines, and not more than 15,000 people in the navy were allowed.
For damage to the Allied countries during the war, Germany was made to make extensive reparations this was totaling £6600. In addition to money, payment was made in the form of ships, trains and livestock.
On the 28th of June 1919, a peace treaty, also known as the treaty of Versailles, was signed, ending the First World War. The treaty had a humiliating effect causing great resentment. Germany had no choice but to accept the terms of the treaty, which later had a considerable impact on the countries running. The negotiations for this treaty took six months, at the Paris peace conference. Germany was forced to accept all responsibility for causing the war, making substantial territorial concessions along with disarming, which reduced their army to 100,000 men, no tanks or U-boats and the Rhineland, which previously belonged to Germany, was to be demilitarised. They also had reperations of £6.6 billion to pay back.Germany then lost all conections with it’s overseas colonies and could never again unite with Austria. They lost a large area of teritory to Belgium, France and Poland, this was a significant loss to Germany as these areas were rich in mineral wealth. This would put a strain on Germany’s ability to re pay the allies.
Article 232 of the treaty states “the (Allies)...require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all the damage done to civilian population of the Allied and Associated Power and to their property during the period of the belligerency...”(Document C). The payments were to begin May 1, 1921 and they should be finished by May 1, 1951. The reduced amount Germany was required to pay was 112 billion gold marks which is equivalent to 341 billion U.S. dollars. The original reparation was 132 billion gold marks. In the 1920’s, the Germans were angry and didn’t pay any. in 1929, they paid only 2 billion marks, Then finally in 1933 the payments stopped when Hitler took power (Document
France's premier, Georges Clemenceau, stands to invite the German delegates into the room. President Wilson is seated just to the left, while Britain's David Lloyd George is two seats to the right; [IMAGE] The treaty of versatiles included the following: * The German army was cut to 100,000 men. Only volenteers could join the army * The navy could only have six battleships * Germany was not allowed to build any submarines, planes and tanks * Germany was not allowed to keep any troops in the Rhineland, allied troops were to be stationed there for fifteen years Concequences: * German soldiers and sailors bitterly resented this.
What started with an assassination of an Austrian prince unpopular in with royalty in Vienna and plotters in Belgrade ended in war. Four years of artillery, machine guns, and poison gas had ruined the countryside of Europe. Woodrow Wilson put the blame for dead millions at the feet of secret diplomacy, excessive armament, imperialism, and the lack of international cooperation. His plan for a lasting peace was presented to the world in the form of the Fourteen Points, some of which were present in the final plan for peace, the Treaty of Versailles, which faced internal opposition at home. It was the strength of this opposition, from self or fawning-historian labeled "progressives" to conservatives and isolationists, in conjunction with the intractability and incompetence of President Wilson that encouraged the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.
Hall, Allan. "Germany Ends World War One Reparations after 92 Years with £59m Final Payment." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
“The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, recognized the feelings of the British people when he said ‘the Germans are going to pay every penny: they are going to be squeezed … until the pips squeak” (. This was the general conscious the British and the French people had because they felt they were owed for all of the wartime damages that occurred, the civilian and Soldiers lives that were lost, and because of the recourses the allies used to fight central powers. Ultimately the British and the French wanted revenge on Germany and for the first time they were in the power to do it. “Germany was not invited; as the defeated party, it was only required to sign the treaty once the cost of defeat had been established”2. The German s had no say at the negotiating table at the treaty of Versailles and because of this the “Big Four” ultimately and the power to punish Germany however they sought fit. This was a long shot from “Wilson’s proposed, “peace among equals,”2 and created much resentment from the German people. “Acceptance of blame appeared in Clause 231 of the treaty, later known as the ‘War Guilt clause’. Once Germany was made to acknowledge that it was responsible for the
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
middle of paper ... ... The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power.
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
The Treaty of Versailles was also responsible for the destabilization of the German economy. “The burdensome reparations, coupled with a general inflationary period in Europe in the 1920s, caused spiraling hyperinflation of the German Reichsmark by 1923”. Combined with the effects of the Great Depression, this period of hyperinflation undermined the stability of the German economy and caused massive unemployment. So, when political parties made promises to restore German territory and power after such a
Wilson’s absence of negotiation was the most essential reason why the treaty was never signed off. Bailey writes, “A good deal of compromise had already gone into the treaty, and a little more might have saved it” (Bailey 1957,
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after World War I, was supposed to ensure peace by imposing harsh conditions on Germany in the form of reparations. Canadian, American, and other delegates warned that the reparations were too severe. In the end, the Treaty ended up crippling Germany and Austria with war debts that guaranteed another war: World War II. Although the Treaty of Versailles, in itself, did not impact Canadian economy that much, World War II
The Treaty of Versailles did not just end World War I, but it also changed the world. From it changing every countries view on Germany, to changing Germany itself. It contained many conditions, which led to the countless numbers of results. This treaty created a completely different outlook on the world.
The war reparation resolution was proposed by both Australia and the United Kingdom, and eventually became Article 231 of Treaty of Versailles. The article assigned complete blame for the war to Germany, required Germany to accept full responsibilities for causing the war, and must pay a set of reparation appointed by the Great Powers. The reparation impositions were considered to be retaliation to the reparation forced upon France by Germany in the Treaty of Frankfurt after the Franco-Prussian War. The recompense form of the war varies among different forms, from coal, steel, and gold, to intellectual property. According to the treaty, Germany will finish paying off the reparation in year 2020. The reparation, no doubt, is only another indirect way of limiting Germany's growth in any field possible and has added another pair of shackle on the already weakened Germany economy, some historians beli...