How Did Germany Respond To The Treaty Of Versailles

World War I ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919. After strict enforcement for five years, the French assented to the modification of important provisions. Since the Germans lost the war, their consequences were very harsh. They were forced to accept the responsibility of the war damages suffered by the Allies, which led to them having to accept the reparations (Causes of WW2, n/d). The negotiations revealed a split between the French, who wanted to dismember Germany to make it impossible for it to renew war in France, and the British and Americans, who did not want to create pretexts for a new war. Later on, the German government signed the treaty under protest, which led to German parties attacking it as a betrayal and assassinating several politicians whom they considered responsible (Treaty of Versailles, n/d). Germany was unable to pay off the enormous debt and left them in economic ruins; as a result, there was political instability and this allowed the Nazi Party to rise because the socialist party seemed to have had the solution to hunger and economic problems. After having to face their humiliating loss, the Nazi Party gained more support from the proud Germans. The Treaty ended up helping the Nazi party gain more support. By allowing the Nazi Party to rise, the Treaty had planted the roots of the Second World War (Causes of WWII— Treaty of Versailles, Failure of the League of Nations, and Policy of Appeasement,

World War 1, fought from 1914 to 1918, ended with Germany on the losing side, and Britain, France, the U.S., and Russia on the winning side. Many countries were unhappy due to the fact they had lost so much money and resources from the war, and vowed never to go through the terribleness of a world war again. Little did they know around 20 years later the second world war would begin. So France, England, and the U.S. Presidents met in Versailles, France to figure out how to gain peace. France was angry they had suffered so much from the war, and proposed Germany pay big sums of gold, land, resources, and reduce their military. This was agreed upon, and became known as the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was a factor that helped cause WW2 due to crestfallen Germany’s loss of money, land and military.

The Treaty of Versailles was a major event in the 1920’s that was largely responsible for the events to follow, including the rise of Hitler and World War 2. Woodrow Wilson came up with a fourteen point plan of how to end the war with fairness and lasting peace. Germany was willing to accept the consequences because they trusted the treaty would be based off of Wilsons’ plan. Unfortunately for Germany and her allies, there were meetings with the four main allie leaders at Versailles to determine the final terms of the treaty without them. These men were determined to punish Germany, excluding Wilson, and hold them completely responsible for World War One. The consequences for Germany were unreasonable and unfair because Germany was not able

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

The Treaty of Versailles ended the First World War between Germany and the allied powers. Because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh and unforgiving against Germany. Germany was forced to “accept the responsibility” of starting the war and had to pay the allies a whopping 6,600 million pounds, which at the time was a staggering amount of money.

The Treaty of Versailles was imposed on Germany by the Triple Entente, France, Russia, and Great Britain, at the end of World War 1. France used the treaty to get revenge and security, while Britain wanted imperial gains and Italy and Japan wanted territorial gains. The treaty stated that Germany must: limit its army to 100,000 men, give up its colonial possessions, pay reparations to the winning state, accept full responsibility for the war, and allow the Rhineland to be occupied for 15 years. Germany was also forced to sign the treaty in order to remain a unified country. The United States wanted to gain world peace and continued world trade from the treaty. Due to this, Woodrow Wilson backed out of the treaty and withdrew the United States involvement. Wilson came to Versailles hoping that measures would be taken to restore peace with Europe. However, once he read the treaty he soon learned that the last thing that would be achieved was peace. He was appalled by the enormous weight put on Germany’s shoulders, and even said, “the exactions of this treaty are more than the German people can bear.” Wilson wanted an end to come to all the alliances that had started World War One. He thought the Treaty would achieve this, but in his opinion, it only increased the divide between Germany and other European countries. Wilson even offered a counter proposal stating that Germany offers to proceed with their own disarmament in advance, in order to show that they will help to

France was very resentful when coming up with this peace treaty. The top three major component parts of the treaty were its attack on German military, territory, and the economy. The Germans were forced to downsize their military to one-hundred thousand men, to turn over all their submarines, and get rid of their air force completely. The second component forced Germany to lose West Prussia to Poland, causing Germany to now be divided in two. The treaty also took away Alsace and Lauren, two territories that were the very heart of German industrialization. Most of their coal came from this land. The third and the most obscene, was the so-called War Guilt Clause. This declared that Germany was to blame for starting the war and ordered Germany to pay reparations for the damage to the governments and their people because of the war. These reparations racked up to be thirty-five billion dollars. Thirty-five billion dollars was an enormous amount of money back then to anyone, let alone a country who has been just at war itself. Germany was already in its own debt because of this war and now on top of that, they now had to worry about paying for the other countries debt. This treaty put a lot of pressure on Germany. After Germany’s first payment of two and a half billion marks both Germany and France realized that Germany just could not pay the reparations on time. Germany was facing financial problems making it

“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.” However this statement was not the end of Germany’s humiliating troubles and as a matter of fact, things were going to get much worse. The war guilt clause had been fundamental basis on which Germany was required to pay 6.6million euros in addition to supplying raw materials to the Allies free of charge.3 However, Winston of U.S.A did not want Germany to be punished to the point of destitute where the nation will crumble and be worthless which lead to the real dilemma posed at Versailles which was “How much, at her utmost capacity, can Germany pay?”4. It was decided by U.S.A, Britain and France, who all held differing views upon the matter of placing Reparations on Germany. France wanted to cripple Germany as much as possible due to their geographic annihilation during the

The Treaty of Versailles was penned during the Paris Peace Conference, mainly to decide upon Germany’s consequences for beginning World War One. When Germany signed the treaty, it lost a tenth of its land to surrounding countries. Not only did they lose part of their country, but they also lost their overseas territories, including Chinese ports, Pacific Islands, and African colonies. One of the actual causes of the war was that Germany wanted ‘a place in the sun’, and requested

Germany took 100% guilt and blame for World War I, they lost some of their best land, French troops were to be maintained inside of Germany, the size of their military was reduced a lot and Germany got into many financial issues. Hitler opposed the treaty and went against what the treaty said. He re-armed Germany with more soldiers than they were allowed to have. The treaty was not respected very well. The Treaty of Versailles made Hitler feel the need to restore the status of Germany and this ended in him invading many countries. These countries obviously did not respond well and in the long run the treaty influenced World War II. The treaty was supposed to resolve the issues of war and it did but then it resulted in influencing more problems.

In Eyewitnesstohistory.com, Signing the Treaty of Versaille the author briefly explains both sides of the story during the Paris Peace Conference from how cruel and unfair it was to the Germans while showcasing the naivety and ignorant belief of the Allied forces as they have complete faith in the true ending of the war. President Woodrow Wilson presented multiple options such as the Fourteen Points and the League of Nations. However, many disagreed with Wilson’s ideals and this and many other disputes led to anger during the creation of the treaty. Despite this, “The Big Four” came up with the German’s punishment which was stripping a large collection of the German army and the pre-war territory while being forced to pay war reparations. In

The Treaty of Versailles was created in Versailles, Paris by ‘the big three’: the British Prime minister David Lloyd George, the French Premier George Clemenceau, and the US President-Woodrow Wilson. Many people, especially France felt the need to blame someone for the war since propaganda promised that their effort would be compensated by payments from the enemy. The ‘war guilt’ provision in article 231 held Germany responsible for the loss and damage that occurred to the Allies. Germany was forced to pay massive reparations that totaled to about thirty-three billion dollars in 1921.They also had to surrender the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France as well as give up other territories to Denmark and Poland. They were refused an air

France had suffered damage to both men and building structures in World War I. After Versailles in 1919, there was a clear intention on the part of the French that France should never have to suffer such a catastrophe again. After 1920, French military favored adopting a military strategy that would simply put a stop to any form of German invasion again. The responsibility of drawing Europe’s post-World-War II war borders fell primarily to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20. There the victorious countries’ positions of power drafted the Treaty of Versailles with Germany. On 28 June 1919, the peace treaty that ended World War I was signed by Germany and the Allies at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. Allied demands were represented by the ‘Big Three’: British Prime Minister, French Premier, and US President Woodrow Wilson. World War I had destroyed much

It’s November 11, 1918 World War 1 has ended and a world depression has begun, causing countries to lose more than 17 million lives, national pride, and money. A peace treaty is put into play, ending war between the allied powers and Germany, this treaty was called “The Treaty of Versailles”. This treaty was written mainly by David Lloyd George (Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), and Woodrow Wilson (United States of America). Gerorges CLemenceau believed that harsh rules should be placed on Germany for all that it destroyed, while Woodrow Wilson believed that it should be fair. In the end Georges Clemenceau won and a harsh peace treaty was put on Germany. This treaty stated that Germany must pay a fine of 132 billion dollars to pay for