Treaty of Versailles Essay
The Treaty of Versaille was a peace treaty that ended WWI, a war that was considered to be the war to end all wars. It ended the war between the Allied Powers and Central Powers. The Treaty forced Germany on paying thirty-three billion dollars for war reparations, which were expensive payed by the losing country for damage or injury inflicted in war. The Nazis used the effect of the war reparations to gain power to convince the people that's their the best option for Germany. The Nazis gained supporters by rallying and eventually took over the German government.
The Treaty of Versailles was an agreement that ended WWI. German Authorities had no choice but to accept the terms of the Treaty showed by “The Big Three”. The Allied Powers took large pieces of industrial land from Germany and distributed the land to other nations such as the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and the Rhineland. All of Germany's overseas colonies were annexed
The Weimar Republic was in charge of Germany during this time of the payment of reparation that were inflicted on the country by the Treaty of Versaille. Germans were angered by their government's decision to accept the treaty rather than talking with the other countries. They were not allowed to negotiate with the other countries because they were not invited to talk with the Allied powers. The people turned to the rising power which they called themselves the Nazis, because they could promise something their current government could not. The leader of this group, Adolf Hitler, was able to gain control and transform the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian dictatorship. The revolution was accomplished in gradual steps by using legal and semi legal methods as well as terror socialists leadership within the state. During this process, the old conservative-nationalists elite, while partially preserved, was not cleared up to Nazi
Several factors contributed to the instability of Germany’s Weimar Republic, such as the new political ideals brought forward and the government’s hunger for war. This could be compared to the many different governments created and dismissed in France’s Revolution towards the end of the 18th century. The new excitement from overthrowing the monarchy and the different opinions about how to run the new government made it very unstable, which is why France jumped from a monarchy to the National Assembly to the Legislative Assembly, and so
In conclusion, the Weimar Republic of Germany ended up collapsing and giving way to Nazi rule because of the lack of popular support, the lack of organization within the party, and the fact that it had to compete with other, stronger forms of government.
There is no excuse for the horrible things Nazi Germany did during World War II. But one can get a better idea how that war started by learning about how World War I ended. The Treaty of Versailles was created by the winners of World War I, like France, Great Britain, and the United States, to make peace. So how did it help contribute to an even worse war less than twenty years later? It was mainly because it was too hard on Germany’s territory, military, economy, and national pride.
The Treaty of Versailles is a cause of World War II because of the restrictions it placed on Germany as the alleged sole aggressor of the war. The war reparation totaled $98 billion, and under Clause 231 Germany was forced to take the entire load onto her ruined economy and attempt to repay the debt starting with an initial $5 billion payment. In terms of military, Germany was limited to a 100,000 man army, with her navy stripped to the level of a coast guard, she was allowed no heavy artillery, no weapons of mass destruction and the border with France became a demilitarized zone for 15 years following the signing of the treaty on June 28 1919. Germany also lost all her territories in Africa and became a mandate of the Allied Forces, those living in mandated zones could participate in “self-determination” after the Allies taught them how to be a democracy (...
“Given these results, the Versailles treaty must be judged one of history’s greatest catastrophes”. The treaty of Versailles was one of the worst treaties or even agreement that the United States and their allies ever agreed to. The treaty of Versailles was the end result of WW1 between the Allies (England, France, Russia, United States) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire). WW1 was the first time in history that multiple nations all over the world fought against each other through alliances and because that caused major blood shed on a scale that was never seen before and is therefore called “The War to End All Wars”. The Allies eventually won the war on 11 November 1918 that was than preceded by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
The stipulations of the Versailles Treaty were aimed to bring down Germany and make it as weak as possible. One of the solutions the the victors came up was to take territory away from Germany, resulting in the country losing more than forty percent of their coal producing areas. They took away the Polish Corridor, parts of East Prussia, parts of Denmark, as well as Lorraine-Alsace (Doc A). Taking away the Polish Corridor put Germany in a difficult position, as it geographically split Germany into two pieces. In addition, the city Danzig was also a very...
At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 the “Big Four” meet to settle terms of peace. Britain and France wanted to punish Germany, Italy wanted money or land, and the United States wanted to heal wounds through Wilson’s League of Nations. There was a discussion about whether the United Sates wanted to accept the Treaty Versailles or not. President Wilson wanted the League of Nations to “end all wars”. It was not the influence of the opposing forces of the U.S., conservative or liberal, that led to the absolute defeat of the Treaty of Versailles, but rather the political unawareness, incapability, and stubbornness of President Woodrow Wilson.
Not only was Germany forced to pay ridiculous debts, but the treaty of Versailles was also caused Germany to lose large portions of their land. According to articles 31 - 50, Germany was forced to give back all of the land they took from Belgium. They were also required to return Luxenberg and Alsace Lorain. This was devastating to the future of Germany because without their land, they could not expand their empire. Germany's economic future was put into danger because they could no longer trade with members of the allied party.
World War I was ultimately ended in 1918 after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Peace settlements were signed on June 28, 1918 at the Hall of Mirror in Versailles, Paris. The Treaty was an agreement among the United States, Great Britain, and France. Woodrow Wilson, George Clemenceau, and David Lloyd, who represented the "Big Three" countries, collaborated in negotiating the Treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was designed to weaken Germany and give Germany full blame for causing the war. The Treaty implemented massive reparations to Germany which would obliterate Germany's economy, notwithstanding the millions of dead allied soldiers. The settlement strictly limited the German's military. Germans were additionally forced to depart from their homes in Russia, Poland, and Alsace-Lorraine and return to Germany or Austria. Furthermore Germany had to give back any land belonging to other countries. With no alternative, Germany signed the peace settlements. The Treaty of Versailles was undoubtedly justified, Germany was positively the main instigator of the war and its excessive brutality of fighting provoked the war more particularly. Thus, making the amends to Germany was rational because of all the destruction Germany had triggered.
Exploring the Reasons Behind Public's Discontent with the Weimar Government There were a number of reasons why the German people were unhappy with the Weimar government. One of the main reasons for this was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The result of this was that Germany has to take the war guilt, Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million marks to the allies in particular France, Germany lost its colonies, it lost its air force & tanks, and its soldiers were restricted to 100,000. The Ruhr was demilitarised. Also they lost their colonies and its land was cut up such as the Polish Corridor and Alsace Lorraine.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
The Treaty of Versailles, which put an end to World War I, caused a number of positive and negative outcomes in Germany. Germany was in need of a democratic government in order to meet the harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Established by members from the Social Democrat Party in 1919, the Weimar Republic became the central power in Germany for the following years. The republic was found in the city of Weimar and was a replacement, so to say, for the imperial government that had previously stood as the central authority. Even though the Weimar Republic managed to lead Germany for 15 years, it experienced devastating drawbacks such as hyperinflation, lack of support from the public, and the constant efforts from different groups to overthrow the government; because of these factors, different political groups sought a resolution, such as overthrowing the government and pushing for a strong leader.
The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after World War I, was supposed to ensure peace by imposing harsh conditions on Germany in the form of reparations. Canadian, American, and other delegates warned that the reparations were too severe. In the end, the Treaty ended up crippling Germany and Austria with war debts that guaranteed another war: World War II. Although the Treaty of Versailles, in itself, did not impact Canadian economy that much, World War II
The Treaty of Versailles did not just end World War I, but it also changed the world. From it changing every countries view on Germany, to changing Germany itself. It contained many conditions, which led to the countless numbers of results. This treaty created a completely different outlook on the world.