Case Study Week Two: Comments of the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference 1919 1. According to the authors of Germany’s complaint. The various provisions of the treaty hurt Germany’s economy by forcing Germany to accept full responsibility for the damages caused not only by the Germans but also by everyone associated with them and the damage that was caused. As stated in the article, Comments of the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 President Wilson recognized in his speech of 1916 “no single fact caused the war, but that in the last analysis the whole European system is in a deeper sense responsible for the war, with its combination of alliances and understandings, a complicated texture of intrigues …show more content…
Instead they were pretty much treated as if everything was their fault and they had sole responsibility for the war and they were going to pay the price. 3. The “fundamental Laws” the document appeal to in order to strengthen German assertions was the right to self- determination. They felt that by being deprived of that right, the feelings and wishes of all the people were being taken away and not being considered. They were forced to abide by other nations wishes without any input as to what they wished for themselves. 4. Personally I do agree that Germany was being mistreated. In my opinion, they were being unfairly treated because what applied to one nation did not apply to them. They were pretty much treated like they were the sole reason why the war started and they were being punished for the actions and choices of many nations. It was as if in order to live in peace they had to give up the very land and rights everyone was fighting for, especially the basic rights of the nations of self-determination. It is unreasonable and not right to force Germany to give up all power of their land, by having another nation determine everything for them, for Germany to have to rebuild their country and not benefit from it, rather the only benefit to rebuilding would be to other nations. I think defenders of the treaty would respond to Germany’s complaints by
The treaty humiliated the Germans. The war-guilt clause forced Germany to accept sole responsibility for World War I. And although the German military had played a major role in igniting the war, other countries in Europe had been guilty of provoking political crises before the war too.
The Weimar Republic would have continued to be a functional government far longer than achieved if not for the defeat of WWI, the economic burdens imposed by the Versailles Treaty, and the flawed Article 48 which all contributed to the down fall of Germany’s first attempt at a legitimate Democracy. This paper will argue that the societal, economical, and constitutional aspects all played a role in the hopeless Democracy Germany attempted which ultimately lead Germany into a totalitarian state that would further shake the world with the rise of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler.
One of the ways that the treaty lead to the the rise of Hitler and WWII was through the amount of reparations that Germany had to pay. The Germans suffered so much damage because of the huge price that they had to pay. This massive debt that Germany forced into to a huge economic depression. A lot more people were unemployed than employed and people were struggling to survive. During times of struggle people
The treaty of the Versailles was an agreement between France, England and the United states. Its intentions were to prevent a second world war however, it was a total fail. An obvious reason for not being effective could be because not everyone was included in the conference such as Russia, and Central Powers. Instead, Prime minister George Clemenceau had thought he would speak for all of europe and wanted to be the strongest of europe. Clemenceau seeked revenge towards Germany, in fact he desired most dismantle the best of Germany 's military and their nationalist pride. As for the United States, Wilson implemented the fourteen points which focused on self determination of people. Only few of his points were included in the treaty but these points had been the reason for conflicts happening in europe. Participation from everyone is important and not allowing everyone 's input could lead to negative outcomes such as, The league of nations which most likely failed because the United States wasn’t allowed to participate.
Case Study 2: A Review of Comments of the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference on the Conditions of Peace (October 1919)
In 1914, Germany and Austria-Hungary allied against France, Britain, USA and Italy in World War 1. The war resulted in resentment towards the Germans. Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, established a treaty that would bring everlasting peace. For the Germans however, the treaty served as a punishment, as they were required to accept the responsibility for causing all of the damage. Germany was angered by the treaty as they would have to pay for reparations and take responsibility for everything. Territorial losses, militarism, economic reparations and blame were all causes of World War II.
World War I was one of the most brutal and bloodiest war ever fought in the early twentieth century. The war left ten million soldiers dead, seven million civilians dead, and another ten million people to be wounded (Background Essay). It was the Triple Alliance, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey, against the Triple Entente, France, Britain, Russia, and Italy (Background Essay). The war ended with the Paris Peace Conference where world leaders meet up to discuss about a creation of a treaty to settle the peace terms. President Woodrow Wilson of the U.S. simply wanted to create a League of Nations to settle future conflicts and to avoid war (Background Essay). However, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France and Prime Minister David Lloyd George of England wanted even more; revenge and humiliation on Germany. They are forcing Germany to pay hundreds of billions of dollars for
The Treaty of Versailles was unfair because Germany did not attend the Paris Peace Conference. In the conference, representatives from the Allied Powers were present and some from other countries (Doc 1) However, no representative of Germany was there. Therefore, they did not even have a say to what their consequences may be or anything in general. They could not defend themselves. This caused them to feel bitter and angry since in the end they were blamed about everything. This later caused World War 2. The treaty was supposed to conclude to peace but peace did not last.
There can never be an excuse for Nazi atrocities. World War I resulted in the death of 17 million people. The victorious Allies met at Versailles in 1919 to establish the terms of peace. The hope was that the treaty would make World War I the “war to end all wars.” The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany too harshly in four key ways: Loss of land, military reduction, reparations, and war guilt.
In this essay, I will discuss about the importance of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany. Personally I believe that it was of crucial importance for Germany and I will show why this is the case and why I believe this. I will also expand the points which I have taken into consideration before coming to my conclusion.
The final product of the Versailles Treaty’s terms was the humiliation of Germany and more importantly, its individuals. Supportingly, Document D reports that, “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.” (Document D) As the Treaty enforces blame, it singles out Germany. This attempt to prevent war only fueled the fire, creating bitterness that would be a massive contribution to World War II. In agreement, Document D continues the theme, relaying that, “What they knew of the treaty was etched
How significant was the Treaty of Versailles to Germany? This is the question that has been posed to us for our first analytical history essay. I will go into depth about my opinions on both the long-term and short-term effects of the Treaty of Versailles. I believe that the Treaty had a powerful impact on Germany- it practically ruined their economy, and gave the Germans all the more reason to hate the Allies, eventually contributing to the beginning of World War 2. Although the Allies had a right to demand certain things from Germany (as they were the instigators of the war), they should have been more lenient and taken Germany’s poor economic situation into account. The war was a mistake on the part of the German government, but it was the people who payed the price. I have taken into account Germany’s loss of territory, the war guilt, the economical effects of the Treaty, and the armaments and discussed them in this essay.
The Treaty of Versailles was a very unfair document towards Germany. According to Mike Dowling, the treaty had taken away Germany's overseas colonies and their coal source. Germany could not build large ships and their army was a joke.
At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the Allied victors had to decide the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers. The questions, which had been challenging the peacemakers, were the position of Germany in the current international system, whether it had to pay both in land and in reparations, and how could security could be provided without hindering the post-war stability. Another question, which soon was arisen, was how the French interests for security and diminishing
The mandate of Article(s) 231 and 232 , (respectively titled “The War Guilt Clause” and “Reparations”) of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919 served as unintentional catalysts for the arise of revisionism in post-war Germany, and its fall out of the international order following the Paris Peace Conference. These two articles politically, socially, and economically ravaged Germany, and created societal circumstances in which a totalitarian dictatorship (the National Socialist German Workers Party or “Nazi” party) gained popularity and was viewed as necessary in order for Germany to be restored to its former status as an economic and political world power. The national humiliation and economic burden that Articles 231 and 232 created injured German pride, strained its economy and triggered a resentful and hostile outlook to the “new peace” that the Allied leaders believed they had formulated. The German people viewed this as a “dictated peace” (Diktat) that had been enforced on them. It was seen by Germany as an unfair, un-justified and un-realistic punishment for losing the war, and instead of creating a long-term and prosperous peace on the European continent, the guilt and reparations of Articles 231 and 232 ignited a flame of vengeance in Germany that would evolve into an ultra-nationalist inferno and consume the world into a second and even more devastating and savage war.