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

The Great War, or World War I, was the first modern warfare and the first total war in which almost everyone participated in it, both directly or indirectly. After the war, President Woodrow Wilson hoped that the Great War will be a war to “end all wars”; unfortunately, almost twenty years later, World War II erupted in Europe and the world plunged into an even deadlier war. With the end of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was drafted to secure peace throughout Europe, but the cruel and unreasonable terms made World War II almost inevitable.

The Treaty of Versailles was created at the Paris Peace Conference as “the treaty to end all wars”, and the treaty that ended World War I. However, unfortunately for Europe and the rest of the world, it only led to the Second World War. The Treaty of Versailles went horribly wrong for the European countries because it did not satisfy the European countries at all, especially Germany, the United States, France, and Britain. The United States was not happy because the U.S. Congress felt that the Treaty took away their constitutional power to declare war, and they disliked the League of Nations. Germany was not happy for a number of reasons, which includes that they were not allowed to participate in the creation of the Treaty, and most of all, the “War Guilt Clause” embarrassed Germans to extensive levels. France was not happy because the French wanted the Treaty to be more harsh on the German people, and they wanted to enforce the treaty even harsher. The British also were not happy because they were not in agreement with the French that the Treaty should be harsh on the Germans. Because so many powerful countries in Europe were dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles, they all tried in their own ways to fix it in their countries, which led to the Second World War.

What is a treaty? Isn’t it a written compromise to finalize a conflict through peace? Interestly, a known treaty supposed to be a settlement of peace ended in incrimination of one single country. The Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 to serve as a peaceful agreement between nations to end World War I. The issue was that the discussion of the treaty was held in Versailles and didn’t invite Germany to be a part of this. The core writers of this were represented by the U.S., France, Britain, and Italy. Each of these leaders wanted different things, but the outcome transpired in blaming Germany for the war and expecting them to pay war reparations. This action sparked angry flames through Germans. So how did the Versailles Treaty help

Treaties are formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries which are solutions to solve bigger problems. Most of them contain promising resolutions, but sometimes they do not succeed in solving the conflict. When a treaty does not encompass the smart solution, the problem can deteriorate. The Treaty of Versailles did not achieve its intended purpose which led to further suffering, conflict, and combat.

The Treaty of Versailles was created to bring peace between nations after WWI. This investigation will answer the following question: To what extent did the Treaty of Versailles bring peace? In this investigation, the extent of the Versailles Treaty’s success will be evaluated by examining the period of its development, 1918, to the rise of Hitler, 1933. Several sources were used in this investigation including a number of books that look at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the reactions those terms triggered. Many sources, both primary and secondary, also examine how those reactions resulted in a failure in the attempt of brining permanent peace.

1.A) Source A believes that the cause of hostilities in poland were the direct result of British actions. The first issue discussed is the unfavorable terms of the Versailles Treaty. Article A states that germany had tried to change some of the harshest policies of the Versailles Treaty however, the British government did not cooperate with their efforts. Additionally the article states that it is British intervention in the domestic policies of poland that prevented a peaceful solution from being reached between the two nations.

The Great War, or World War One as we know it today, was only the beginning of significant international tensions that remain to this day. Casualties between the Central and Allied Powers totaled more than seventeen million-unheard of in wars up to this point in history. The Treaty of Versailles was agreed upon at the end of the war to prevent such horror from reoccurring. However, poor foreign policy choices, especially on the part of the United States, have had effects that are still visible today.

After World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. The Versailles Treaty being one of the most important intending to set peace among all nations and thus marking the end of the war.

Following the Treaty of Versailles at the completion of World War 1, Germany fell into a state of ceaseless economic and moral decline, and its people became increasingly dissatisfied with the nation’s conditions. Many historians agree that Germany’s circumstances were caused due to the extensive reparations it had to pay, however, at this stage, Adolf Hitler’s ideologies of racial superiority and his anti-Semitic views falsely led him to accuse the Jews of Germany’s problems. Using the race as practical scapegoats, Hitler began dictating ideologies of German nationalism and anti-Semitism through speeches - delivered to the like-minded individuals of the German Workers Party (later, the Nazi Party) - and later through his

World War 1 not only changed the landscape of Europe, but it also drastically impacted the future of the world and subsequently, international relations. The devastating loss as a result of the Great War urged world leaders to implement peace settlements and treaties to ensure that the World would not bear witness to such atrocities again. The Allied powers of World War 1 were usually at the forefront of these settlements- not only were they focused on the rebuilding of Europe and its future, but they were also concerned about their empires and colonies across the world. It was at the Paris Peace Conference that the attempts to restore “order” following World War 1 began, and although some of these settlements were successful, others were not.

World War I brought forth unprecedented warfare in European history, leading to some sixty million active troops across Europe and millions of causalities. Understandably, the goals behind the Treaty of Versailles aimed to restore European stability and create international peace. However, these goals results in treaties that were “poisonous spirit of revenge” and “overlooked the really important issues of economic recovery.”

The idea and practice that the loser in wars should be severely punished so as to prevent a future recurrence has been in existence since ancient times. After all, it is only a logical extension, to conflicts between nations, of the “eye for an eye” doctrine of vengeance. When the Greeks avenged Paris stealing of Helen, they burned Troy to the ground. When the Romans defeated Carthage in the Punic Wars, they went one step further – obliterating the city and spreading salt over the site of the city. In Utopia, Sir Thomas More writes that the Utopians’ one aim in wartime is to “punish the offenders so severely that nobody will ever dare to do such a thing again” (111). However, nothing could have prepared the world for the devastation

“Diplomacy would rely more on naked power than on shared values” (Kissinger, 1994 page 94). In world history we can reflect on two treaties that had the intention to achieve the same goal of stability; however they had diverse approaches. Henry Kissinger and other proponents of The Congress of Vienna argue that the great period of peace in Europe, between all great powers, was successful in creating longevity in peace due to the realist theories encompassed in The Congress of Vienna. Further, many realists also believe that The Treaty of Versailles produced “the precise opposite of what they had set out to do” because, unlike The Congress of Vienna, it was composed of liberalist, constructivist and ideological principles (Kissinger, 1994, page 245). I agree with Kissinger’s argument and further argue that The Treaty of Versailles, which failed to include legal obligations and concrete mechanisms, was a primary cause of World War II. Even though there are numerous explanations for why the Congress of Vienna produced greater stability than the Treaty of Versailles, in this essay I will compare two major reasons. The first is that the Congress of Vienna focused on restoring the balance of power, while the Treaty of Versailles wanted to enforce collective security. The second reason is evident through comparing the outcomes of both treaties; while the Congress of Vienna produced the Concert of Europe, the Treaty of Versailles produced the infamously unsuccessful League of

In 1919, the Allied victors in World War I met at the Paris Peace Conference to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers. The Allies created the peace terms in the hope to create and maintain world peace. However, the Allies and Central Powers realized that the peace terms stated in the Treaty of Versailles did not help to maintain world peace. When the Allies created the Treaty they designed it in a bad way. Rather than specific, the Treaty didn’t make much sense because it was wordy. John Maynard Keynes – an English economist - attended the Paris Peace Conference and wrote the book The Economic Consequences of Peace in which he stated his opinion about the Treaty. In Thornstein Veblen’s review of The Economic Consequences of Peace he argues that Keynes withheld information about the consequences that the Treaty would cause. If Keynes would not have withheld any information the economic downfall would not have happened. Keynes failed to include the consequences of the Treaty in his analysis though, and failed to influence the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference.

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,