The Pros And Cons Of The Versailles Treaty

The treaty of Versailles was a treaty signed at the end of World War I by Germany and the Allies. United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy negotiated the treaty at the peace conference held in Versailles beginning January 18, 1919. The treaty reduced Germany’s armed forces to very low levels and prohibited Germany from possessing certain kinds of weapons, it also established Germany’s liability for reparations. The treaty was supposed to ensure peace and help Europe recover from the war. In my opinion the treaty did not help with any of those two subjects.

Though the treaty of versailles created peace and harmony in many nations after the first world war it left Germany to be humiliated and dishonored and to be worthless as a result Germany revolted, plunging the world into a second world war.

The reparations outlined in the Treaty of Versailles sparked an outrage because many thought that it was unfair to not directly state the amount of reparations that were going to be paid. That is a valid argument, but most people were not aware of what kind of state Germany was in even after the war. Margaret Macmillan brings up a huge point in saying that after the war, “Germany was also potentially very powerful. Its infrastructure was largely untouched by the war; it had a large and educated population; and, even without Austria, it was the biggest country in Europe west of the new Soviet Russia” (Pg.3). Even though it was not directly stated how much in reparations they were going to pay, Germany was capable of paying it off. For many other countries, the amount of $33 billion would take possibly up to a century to pay off, and it only took Germany a generation. Like Macmillan said, Germany had the infrastructure to keep their economy strong and the smarts to pay off that massive amount of debt with ease. Even though it was unfair

What responsibility did each of the “Big Three” have for the failure of the Versailles Treaty to bring peace to Europe? Be sure to discuss what each wanted to accomplish.

Everyone wants peace but it is not often that it is accomplished, especially between nations. Even though World War 1 was over, disputes between nations did not come to an end, but continued. The Treaty of Versailles was one of many attempts. It was a document that ended World War 1; however, it solely blamed Germany for the war and forced Germany to pay reparations. Furthermore, the treaty was also unfair because Germany did not even attend the meeting, Germany was blamed and humiliated, and they also had to pay everything.

The treaty to end war sows the seeds to the succeeding war. The Treaty of Versailles was a mutual agreement between allied nations. The treaty was signed after World War I and was signed by Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and Germany. The United States wanted the nations of Europe to gain independence from the treaty. Whereas, England and France wanted the Treaty to make Germany to pay in land, gold, reduced military strength and resources.

The treaty of Versailles helps cause World War II by punishing Germany. Germany felt that they are being treated unfairly. The unfairness of the Treaty of Versailles causes Germany to fight back for they had lost much of their territory, had made their military size decrease, had to pay reparations for their damage, and for it causes the people of Germany Psychological loss of pride and humiliation.

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 first World War had devastated the balance of the 20th century with effects still felt today. The war had obliterated once powerful imperial dynasties, birthed new states from the fallen imperial powers, supported the idea of independence in European colonies, and led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Yet, it brought hope to the newly independent territories and minority groups, while plunging a heavy recession to countries that were once world powers. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers (German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire) and the signage of the Versailles Treaty. This treaty along with the League of Nations was created to prevent another global crusade from happening again, but failed and led to World War II, which started only twenty years after the Treaty of Versailles was endorsed. And even with end of the Great War, it was evident that the world would never return to how it once was, four years earlier, in 1914. The destructive warfare brought out several unnerving and irreversible social and economic consequences that shook modern society for decades to come.

A treaty that was designed to end all wars actually ended up setting the stage for the worst one that the world has ever seen. The newly formed German democratic government saw the Versailles Treaty as a “dictated peace” (Diktat). The peace treaty did not ultimately help to settle the international disputes which had initiated World War I; on the contrary, the treaty exposed the underlying issues which had caused the war in the first place. Hitler was able to gain a foothold in German society and government in being able to capitalize on the resentment and frustration that the Treaty instilled in the German people. Hitler willingly became the outlet for the German people through which they could voice their discontent, so much of it at the

The German army was reduced to 100,000 men, and they were not allowed to have access to any tanks for their military. They were only given permission in the treaty to only be granted access to 6 capital naval ships to help defend their coastline, but they were not given any access to submarines which would help them attack, or become undetected. They were also to agree that the area that was to the west of the Rhineland and the area that was 50 kms east of the River Rhine was to be made into a demilitarized zone or (DMZ). A (DMZ) is an area of which no German soldiers or German aiding weapons are to be allowed. The Allies had agreed that they were to keep a standard army occupied on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years to be able to hold up these treaty agreements. Also, during the drafting of this treaty, Germany was not allowed to give any input even though that they were the most impacted, and are facing the majority of the consequences.

There really were only three debates surrounding the Treaty of Versailles. The first would be among the Europeans who disagreed with the terms of the treaty because it opposed their tradition of imperialism, or at least, President Wilson’s Fourteen Points (Foner 762). There also was conflict between the Allies who argued over who claimed what and Germany’s punishment in their belief that Germany was responsible for the start of the World War. The wording of President Wilson’s Fourteen points did not convince the Europeans which lead to the French and British empires, for example, to reject any colony under their rule pleading for “self-determination” as President Wilson stated (Foner 764). The second debate would be those among Eastern Europe

People often would assume that a peace treaty would bring peace to those involved and would end all violence. In the case of the Versailles Treaty and after the World War I ended in November 1918, that was not what appeared that happen. After the Versailles Treaty was officially signed on June 28, 1919 by victorious Allied nations and defeated Germany, that was when the beginning, prior to World War II began. Prime Minister George Lloyd Clemenceau of France had a voice in the Versailles Treaty and Germany did not. He specifically wanted Germany to pay France in land, gold, riches in general to pay for their suffering because of Germany’s mistakes during the First World War.

Treaty of Versailles Debate The great world war had essentially been won. All that was left was to iron out the terms of the Central Powers surrender. Thus a peace conference convened at the Palace of Versailles on January 18, 1919. It was there that the Allied powers, the Central Powers were excluded, laid blame upon the Germans for the start of the war and imposed stringent obligations upon them as retribution for the losses on each side.

The Successes and Failures of the Treaty of Versailles in Addressing the Causes of Conflict and Restoring Peace and Normality