Why Was The Treaty Of Versailles Important

The Treaty of Versailles formed after World War I forced Germany to pay great amounts in reparation payments, which was severely damaging to their economy and to their collective national ego. In addition, they were forced to greatly weaken their army by demobilizing, abolishing universal compulsory military service, and by having their army be comprised by no more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry. Furthermore, the country was also forced to return lands which they had viewed as 'Germanic' and had laid claim to, as well as overseas colonies, back to various other countries.

As stated in the New York Times, "...Germany today cast off the last shackles fastened upon her by the Treaty of Versailles when Adolf Hitler, as commander-in-chief of the Reich defense forces, sent his new battalions into the Rhineland’s demilitarized zone. . . ." (Document3). Hitler had challenged every condition in the Treaty of Versailles and violated every negotiation made. Territorial aggression and pushed every limit he was given, that disrupted peace. Hitler himself expresses his idea as stated "Oppressed territories are led back to the bosom of a common Reich, not by flaming protests, but by a mighty sword" (Document1). He also, rebuilt the German military and used extreme nationalism to unite Germany. A British historian, A.J.P Taylor expressed, " ...Hitler when he had come to power by constitutional means and was apparently supported by a large majority of the German people?"(Document8). Hitler had gathers supporters through his ideas and his speeches of hope. Hitler's leadership threatened the whole continent of Europe's peace. If his leadership was the ignition to the fire then state or the economy kept the fire running through the

World War II was one of the bloodiest wars ever fought. World War II cost over 60 million lives and trillions of dollars. However, the entire war could of been prevented. Many wars in history could have been prevented. Rash decisions ignite wars and change history forever. One example of a rash decision is the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay excessive reparations. This was impossible at the time, as the country was just in a long and expensive war. Another irrational decision was the laws of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was a good idea, but it had flaws. Allowing members to leave the League of Nations at anytime without consequences is an example of a flaw. Germany used this to their advantage and left it in 1933. Finally, the leaders of Europe should not have pacified Hitler, like they did in the Munich Conference in 1938. Changes to the Treaty of Versailles, and the League of Nations, and by not practicing a policy of appeasement against Hitler could have prevented World War II.

Some of the main ideas in the Treaty of Versailles are that Germany had to take the blame for starting the war. That was a big part because people got justice out of that. Germany also had to pay a lot of money for the damage that were done during the war. Next Germany was not allowed to own submarines or have an Air Force. They were only allowed to have a navy of six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was not allowed to place any soldiers next to France. And lastly Germany lost lots of land in Europe, their colonies were given to Britain and France. There are many examples of this treaty still today, in modern times. It had big effects in earlier times as well. But first here are a few examples of how much

In addition to territorial losses, Germany also suffered military restrictions from the Treaty of Versailles. According to Article 160 of the Versailles Treaty, the total number of German military troops allowed was one hundred thousand. Germany was surrounded by countries with large military troops. France had the largest army and were in control since Article 160 excluded Germany to attack any other nations. Germans felt scared and unsafe with such a small army. This worried many Germans and was another reason they were against the Treaty of

Living space then, was a necessary objective in Hitler 's eyes, but in order to achieve this space he needed to develop Germany 's army first. So he did. Between 1933 and 1939 the Treaty of Versailles was secretly avoided to massively increase the size of the German army, from 100,000 to 300,00017. The Luftwaffe, German air force, also rapidly increased and by 1940 it was the strongest among all the European powers. The German war machine was impressive, in just six years it went from being the weakest army to one of the strongest18. However, this created a vicious circle in terms of foreign policy for Germany: Hitler wanted living space, so he built up the army. However, in order to pay for this rapid rearmament, he had to conquer territories. Thus, Hitler made war profitable and a key part of the foreign policy of Germany19.

The treaty of Versailles forced Germany to give up most of its land and population, limit its army

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 placed accountability for World War I on Germany. As a result, Germany was obligated to pay a sizable restitution. The German military was limited to 100,000 men, conscription was prohibited, and armored vehicles were banned. Germany's European possessions and overseas colonies were distributed among the Allied Powers. The German people detested these terms, and the Treaty fueled the sweeping nationalism that propelled the Nazi Party. Although the reductions in Germany's military and land, the Treaty of Versailles left Germany pretty much intact. Germany then experienced considerable economic prosperity. Loans from the United States helped to offset the burden of the reparations. Because the treaty did not break Germany

This investigation assesses the significance the terms presented on the Treaty of Versailles had on Germany and how it ultimately resulted in the Second World War that began in 1939.

The military of the Germans was depleted after the war. The treaty depleted it even more. The Germans also lost a lot of land also because of the treaty. It took away 25,000 Square miles away from Germany and 7 million people lived on that land. They were only allowed to have 100,000 men in the military.

The Treaty of Versailles had terms in which were extremely harsh on the German military. The terms of the Treaty such as the war guilt clause, the reparations and the colonial losses had the largest impacts on Germany, weakening the nation and the confidence of the people. The treaty was devastating for Germany as it had to surrender its biggest glory, being the German Army. The treaty accounted for the reduction of the German army to 100,000 men, all of which had to be volunteers and a navy that could only be comprised of six battle ships. Aircrafts and submarines were banned. These changes significantly minimized German power and made the nation vulnerable on a worldwide scale. These conditions took a large toll on German morale, embarrassing

Some may have attacked the treaty, several politicians and ultimately the U.S. government denied any and all liability in reference to the treaty (pg. 766). The premise was that the treaty was intended to set the stage for the failure of Germany. The reality was there was a huge debt that ultimately brought political, economic, and social issues (pg. 761). Most people did not yet know that the leaders of Europe were, in fact creating a foundation for another World War (pg. 765). The Treaty of Versailles called for coalition of nations to be established in order to avoid another major conflict. It was meant to be a forum in which nations could solve their problems peacefully and without war. Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States,

In order to fully understand the role the Treaty of Versailles played in the initial upcoming of Adolf Hitler, we must first delve into the reasoning behind German involvement in World War One. Since the late 1800s, Germany was intent on expanding its borders, by any means necessary. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, was obsessed with his desire to “create a German Empire out of the group of smaller German states” mainly under Austria-Hungary’s authority (Schmidt, 2006). In order to expel Austria as the primary influence over these smaller German states, war was inevitable. Subsequently following the war, also known as the Seven Weeks War, Bismarck extorted the small German states of “Schleswig, Holstein, Hanover, Hesse, Nassau, and Frankfurt, which created the North German Federation” (Schmidt, 2006). Even more importantly, Austria was successfully displaced as the major influence over those small German states. Bismarck’s next calculated move was to achieve the same unification in the southern parts of Germany.

World War I was a devastating war that had a long-lasting effect on every European country. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife by the hands of a Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand. Germany urged Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia, but Russia stepped up to protect the country. Germany ambushed Belgium, and proceeded to Russia, throwing Great Britain into the war due to their alliance with Belgium. As a result, the continent of Europe, including Great Britain, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and France, was plunged into a great World War. The war lasted from 1914 to 1918, and it left Germany singled out as the catalyst. In November 1918, Germany finally agreed to an Armistice, a halt in the fighting, but they did not consider themselves to be surrendering. At the time, the Germans believed that they would play a role in constructing the treaty that would end the war, but when the time came, they were not allowed to participate. Germany was greatly angered by this, but there was nothing that they could do for their army had been disarmed. They had two choices: sign the Treaty or be invaded by the Allies. With no other option, the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France. Although the Treaty of Versailles did bring an end to World War I,