Dbq Treaty Of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles Document Review

War is never a one sided conflict. Between 1914 and 1918, a war that most people thought would last only a few months erupted across Europe and killed over seventeen million people. The Treaty of Versailles was essentially the document that ended the bloody war. It was written by the victorious Allies who attempted with the document to end all wars permanently. However, its requirements and stipulations placed virtually all responsibility for the “Great War” on Germany. Unfortunately as a result, within twenty years, World War II began and lasted for six years longer than World War I and was even more deadly. The Treaty of Versailles helped to cause World

War II because it too harshly punished Germany. The treaty took valuable territory away from Germany, it extensively reduced the size of the military, it placed crippling excessive economic sanctions on Germany, and it stripped away German pride. Although the Versailles Treaty was well meaning, it did not achieve its goal. It serves as a grim reminder of the after effects of war and revenge.
World War I began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. However, it was really a struggle for economic and political power during the waning days of Imperialism. It
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arose in part from a scramble for overseas colonies and overzealous national pride. It was also a war that had its roots in the military/armaments build up of the European nations. By 1914, all of Europe was truly a powder keg ready to blow. Once the fighting was underway, most of the battles occurred on the Western Front in France and Belgium and on the Eastern Front near Russia. It is ironic that so little of the actual military engagement occurred on German soil. As a result, the German people were not aware of the huge loss of life and property in other parts of Europe. They were also unaware of the fact that they lost the war terribly. Hence they were completely unprepared for such a harsh “Peace” Treaty. The sentiments of unjust retribution would sow the seeds for the rise of Nazi Germany only a few decades later.
The most influential authors of the treaty were the Allied European nations, most notably Minister Georges Clemenceau of France and Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain.

Due to geography, France suffered the most casualties of all Allied nations during the war and much of the trench warfare and destruction of property was on French soil. France was also the only Allied nation bordering Germany. In short, France wanted revenge. Germany would be forced to bear the responsibility for all of the Central Powers. Germany (and the now divided Austria-Hungary) had been the most powerful, and France wanted to insure that it was weakened so that another similar situation in the future was impossible. President Wilson attempted to be the voice of reason. His goal was to promote global safety. However, his point of view was “greatly” diminished because of the “great” ocean that separated (protected) the US from Europe. With some tempering by the British, the Treaty of Versailles seemingly achieved the goals of the French in insuring that Germany would pay monetarily for the damage done and militarily for their unfounded aggression towards neighboring countries. Its real legacy however, is World War

II.
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One key way that the Versailles Treaty contributed to World War II was by severely weakening Germany geographically and politically with territorial loss, approximately 13% of its territory and 10% of its population to the victors of the war. These losses were especially difficult for Germany to handle because the territory given to other nations was valuable in resources and industry. However, France felt vindicated as they regained regions previously lost in 1871. Also many of the people of these regions remained loyal to their German homeland. In addition, Germany was made to give up all of its remaining lucrative colonial possessions (mostly in Africa).
Another important connection between the Versailles Treaty and the start of World War II was the heavy restriction place on Germany’s military.

The victorious nations like France and Belgium were justified in trying to establish rules that would prevent Germany from becoming a military menace again. After all, Germany did invade these two countries. But the sanctions were so severe that the Germans felt insecure and vulnerable to possible outside threats. Germany was given a cap of only 100,000 troops with no reserves and a very small navy.

The reparations articles in the Treaty of Versailles crippled the German economy and brought great instability to the country. The reparations, which were outlined by Articles 232 and 233 of the treaty, were meant to force Germany to pay for damage done to the civilians and property of the Allied nations during the war. The final total amount of the reparations was the equivalent of 341-432 million dollars in current US currency. Germany did not have the resources or funds after the war to make the payments.

Another critical way that the Treaty of Versailles failed and contributed to World War II was how it attempted to humiliate and humble all of the German people. The Serbian/Austro-Hungarian situation was never addressed in the document. This instilled a sense of

unfairness
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amongst the German people. Adolf Hitler specifically cited the War Guilt Clause (Article 231) in his speeches when motivating the people to rise up and challenge the European Allies. This challenge by Hitler manifested itself in World War II. After an era of extreme nationalism this attempt at extreme shame and disgrace would eventually lead to further and more deadly extremes in Germany.
Finally, the Versailles Treaty did not help to make the world globally safer. It did create a League of Nations which was supposed to ensure and police militarism and aggression in Europe. The premise was based on President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. However, the treaty was not ratified by the US Senate, and the United States did not become a member of the League of Nations. The league itself turned out to be weak and ineffective because it had no enforcement powers over neighboring countries. This was another colossal failure of the treaty.
Writing a peace treaty at the end of the world’s deadliest conflict up to that time was a difficult task. Although it is understandable that people in Europe wanted to blame someone for the 17 million deaths and unmentionable suffering, the Treaty of Versailles did not achieve its ultimate purpose- peace and the future inability of Germany to attack neighboring nations. In retrospect, stripping Germany of territory, military protection, domestic economic stability, and national morale was too harsh. It made Germans angry and resentful, and although it was not the only cause of World War II, it played a significant role in leading to exactly the kind of conflict it was meant to prevent.