The Versailles Settlement The Versailles Settlement dealt with those countries that were defeated by the allies in the First World War. The country most affected was Germany, but Austria Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey were also included in the settlement. A question regarding Germany is whether or not the treaty was too harsh - unfair and only based on revenge. Three powers were involved in deciding the settlement- Britain, France and the USA. Lloyd George had the aim of disarming the defeated powers-especially weakening Germany and their navy, but he did feel that Britain should gain something for their war effort. Clemenceau had three things in mind at the settlement; Revenge for the loss of life, Compensation for the money spent during the war, and disarmament. Wilson had wanted the general disarmament of countries and felt the punishment for Germany should not be too harsh. The Treaty of Versailles - regarding only Germany resulted in territory being taken from Germany, most importantly the Polish Corridor, as there was a great German speaking mass of land, which was sorely missed. Alsace-Lorraine, Malmedy, Eupen, German South West Africa and other territories were also taken from Germany. Military terms of the treaty were that the German army be limited to no more than 100,000 men. The navy was also greatly weakened, whilst u-boat and air force were banned. Economic terms were that £6.6billion be given from Germany, as a reparation to France. Politically, Germany was humiliated and greatly weakened in their say. To decide whether the treaty was unfair and simply based on revenge, one must consider whether or not Germany was souly to blame for the war. If the answer is 'Yes', then it is made far easier to justify a harsh treaty. Germany had been responsible for a great loss of allied life, and also a huge loss in resources. Germany had settled two harsh treaties against France, including one after the Franco-Prussian war; this may make a harsh treaty more justifiable. Also, Germany had rejected Wilson's fourteen points, which justifies that the treaty be harsher
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
The Treaty of Versailles is a cause of World War II because of the restrictions it placed on Germany as the alleged sole aggressor of the war. The war reparation totaled $98 billion, and under Clause 231 Germany was forced to take the entire load onto her ruined economy and attempt to repay the debt starting with an initial $5 billion payment. In terms of military, Germany was limited to a 100,000 man army, with her navy stripped to the level of a coast guard, she was allowed no heavy artillery, no weapons of mass destruction and the border with France became a demilitarized zone for 15 years following the signing of the treaty on June 28 1919. Germany also lost all her territories in Africa and became a mandate of the Allied Forces, those living in mandated zones could participate in “self-determination” after the Allies taught them how to be a democracy (...
“Given these results, the Versailles treaty must be judged one of history’s greatest catastrophes”. The treaty of Versailles was one of the worst treaties or even agreement that the United States and their allies ever agreed to. The treaty of Versailles was the end result of WW1 between the Allies (England, France, Russia, United States) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire). WW1 was the first time in history that multiple nations all over the world fought against each other through alliances and because that caused major blood shed on a scale that was never seen before and is therefore called “The War to End All Wars”. The Allies eventually won the war on 11 November 1918 that was than preceded by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June
The stipulations of the Versailles Treaty were aimed to bring down Germany and make it as weak as possible. One of the solutions the the victors came up was to take territory away from Germany, resulting in the country losing more than forty percent of their coal producing areas. They took away the Polish Corridor, parts of East Prussia, parts of Denmark, as well as Lorraine-Alsace (Doc A). Taking away the Polish Corridor put Germany in a difficult position, as it geographically split Germany into two pieces. In addition, the city Danzig was also a very...
Many people in other lands thought that the treaty was a way of making legal the punishment on the Germans and this was in violation of Wilsonian idealism. The peacemakers should have been able to set aside hatred that was built up from the past in order to come up with a more proper and fair settlement. Instead of doing this, they placed the blame on the Germans by forcing them to pay for reparations they couldn't afford, insulting them with the accusation of guilt from the war and taking away their territory. The treaty would only intensify the hatred felt by all the parties involved in the treaty and heighten German nationalism. This was a poor beginning for democracy in Germany and for Wilson's New World.
...eaknesses to win their loyalty. Finally, the written agreement of Versailles was purported to represent the peaceful ending to warfare I, however, it became the prelude to a different war. it had been originally an attempt to revive order and supply a peaceful conclusion to warfare I. The sick feelings and economic upheaval that resulted provided the proper climate for Hitler's dominance, in post-war FRG. The contributor’s participants of Versailles had alternative motives behind the peace agreement apart from a peace settlement. Their stingy actions resulted in not solely the economic hardship of FRG, however inflation and state altogether of Europe. The severity of the reparations contained during this document set the stage for history to repeat itself. Therefore the terribly method within which the written agreement of Versailles was forced on the German people.
... the actual Fourteen Points as proposed. Prior to reading the points, he made mention of that there were “no confusion between the Allied powers, no uncertainty of principle and no vagueness of detail”. He further stated that “only failure to make definite statement of the objects of the war lies with Germany and her allies”. Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” yielded minimal success as it regards to post World War peace and many of the points failed because they were severely deficient in detail and succinct. The last point that spoke about the “League of Nations” was accepted. In addition the points were based exclusively on US ideals without any input from the other countries that were affected.
The first step in identifying whether or not the peace settlement after World War I (WWI), would be the effectiveness of communication to the Germans. In order to properly communicate, one must simply tell the people involved what the conditions are and the consequences for not following them. In addition, the demands must be moderate and the opponent needs to be made clear that it will not favor them in the long run if they do not comply to the terms. While Germany was effectively given the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, one could argue that it was done in an unfair manner. Germany was not even present at the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles and the Germans expected something along the lines of Wilson’s 14 point plan. At the end of the discussions,
World War I was ultimately ended in 1918 after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Peace settlements were signed on June 28, 1918 at the Hall of Mirror in Versailles, Paris. The Treaty was an agreement among the United States, Great Britain, and France. Woodrow Wilson, George Clemenceau, and David Lloyd, who represented the "Big Three" countries, collaborated in negotiating the Treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was designed to weaken Germany and give Germany full blame for causing the war. The Treaty implemented massive reparations to Germany which would obliterate Germany's economy, notwithstanding the millions of dead allied soldiers. The settlement strictly limited the German's military. Germans were additionally forced to depart from their homes in Russia, Poland, and Alsace-Lorraine and return to Germany or Austria. Furthermore Germany had to give back any land belonging to other countries. With no alternative, Germany signed the peace settlements. The Treaty of Versailles was undoubtedly justified, Germany was positively the main instigator of the war and its excessive brutality of fighting provoked the war more particularly. Thus, making the amends to Germany was rational because of all the destruction Germany had triggered.
Imperialism is what drives a country, a nation,.Imperialism is borned from strong nationalism, and no one has more nationalism then Britain, France, and the U.S. These nationalist countries will take any opportunity to change the continental lines, to better suit themselves. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the greatest opportunities for these countries to adjust the borders of Europe, Middle East, and Asia. But the Treaty of Versailles wasn't the only way they carved up continents, they also used secret agreements amongst themselves, support with ultiermotives, and just forcing themselves onto lesser nations.
Wilson's fourth point in his plan was the reduction of national armaments. He stated that there should be "adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments [would] be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety." In the Treaty of Versailles, it was stated that the German army was to be limited to 100,000 and that Germany was not allowed to draft its citizens or to have an air force. Also, Germany was no longer allowed to operate submarines because of the unrestricted submarine warfare that they had displayed during the war, and their naval ships were limited in size and in the amount that they were permitted to own. Furthermore, the Rhineland was to be permanently disarmed and occupied by the Allies for fifteen years to ensure that there would be no attacks against France that might start another war. In addition to this, it was stated that Germany would never be allowed to unite with Austria because they would form an incredibly strong fighting force. This resulted in much complaining by the Germans on the account that they believed they were being left without a military force significant enough to protect themselves. Also, the treaty did not require any of the other countries to perform even the slightest demilitarization.
The Treaty of Kadesh was a peace treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites. The treaty was created in 1258 BCE by Ramesses II and the king of the Hittites, Hattusilis. Archaeologists have found some parts of the tablet, but not the whole thing. The tablet was written in The Akkadian language which was spoken in Ancient Mesopotamia. It was found in the capital of Hittite in Turkey in 1906. Today the tablet is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in Turkey. The main idea of why they created this treaty was because they had fought over Kadesh, which was a city in Syria, that the Hittites had taken over and the fight had started around 1274 BCE . While both, Egyptians and Hittites had a very strong army and wanted to dominate the other, but
The Treaty of Versailles, one of the most controversial international agreements(“D.1. The Treaty of Versailles."), had been negotiated between January and June of 1919 (History. Staff). Although it was negotiated between January and June, the Treaty of Versailles was officially signed on June 28, 1919 (Hashall) at Versailles, a suburb of Paris (Benson). This treaty involved Germany and all allies of World War I (Benson). The peace agreement was established to aid in the termination of World War I.
It can be argued that the treaty settlements at the end of World War I were largely short-sighted but only partially harsh. The Treaty of St Germain which dealt with Austria was harsh as it led to severe economic problems in Austria. Not only the treaty of St Germain, but the Treaty of Versailles, dealing with Germany, also imposed harsh military restrictions on Germany. The treaty settlements were short-sighted as it led to the rise of Nazi Germany and resulted in the power vacuum in central Europe. However, it cannot be said that the treaty settlements were completely harsh as the economical and territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles were reasonable and not impossible for Germany to abide by.
Lenin’s decree states good points on how to achieve a brief period of peace and opens it up to negotiations on how to alter the decree to better serve the purpose of peace. The Fourteen Points directly say exactly what Wilson believes is needed and is included in his declaration of entering the war. The Fourteen Points possibly would have been the best plan for the world and did help with the good aspects of the conclusion of the war; however, every country in Europe had it’s own agenda that did not adhere to the wants of the foreign United States of America. In the course of human history, what is best for the people of the world is not what transpires and this is evidently seen in the ambitious ideals put forth by Vladimir Lenin and Woodrow