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Social impact of world war 1
Germany's consequences in the Treaty of Versailles
Social impact of world war 1
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General Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander during World War I, said "This is not a peace, it is an armistice for twenty years." General Foch was correct in predicting the Treaty of Versailles would not bring lasting peace. Reasons the Treaty of Versailles didn’t lead to lasting peace was because of the inability of the Allies to agree on how to deal with Germany, Germany’s refusal to accept the terms of reparations and the “war-guilt” clause, and the actions of the “big four” during the Paris Peace Conference. How the Allies dealt with the war reparations that Germany owed is a significant issue. France felt that Germany should cover the costs of the war. Britain was concerned about international trade and knew Germany would not buy goods from them if they were in heavy debt with the Allies. Because of this, the exact amount of money that was to be paid in reparations wasn’t included in the treaty. …show more content…
The German delegates viewed the economic sanctions as being far too harsh.
France, who pushed for harsher German punishment and reparation levels more than any other Allied Power, wanted the reparations to cripple the German state. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles laid the blame for World War I solely on Germany. The ‘war-guilt’ clause caused lasting resentment in Germany. The Treaty presented to the German delegates at Versailles was a harsh break from the promise of a treaty based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Because of this seemingly harsh treatment, Germany condemned the Versailles Treaty as unjust and unacceptable. The war-guilt clause led to growing German resentment and nationalism. Unable to effectively enforce this treaty, a harsher one would not have been able to lead Europe any closer to
peace. A majority of the decisions made at the Paris Peace Conference were made by the “big four,” which consisted President Wilson from the United States, David Lloyd George from Great Britain, Georges Clemenceau from France, and Vittorio Orlando from Italy. However, these European leaders were not interested in an equitable peace, and wanted payback on Germany. Despite Wilson's protests, they ignored the Fourteen Points. Germany was to admit guilt for the war and pay unlimited reparations. The German military was reduced to a domestic police force, its territory was made smaller, and its colonies were taken away. Alsace and Lorraine were restored to France. However, the Allies were reluctant to enforce the terms of the treaty. In conclusion, Foch was correct in that the treaty would not bring lasting peace. World War II occurred because Germany wanted revenge against the Allies. The Germans resented the treaty and refused to sign it because they felt it was too harsh. The Versailles Treaty did little to shape any sort of long-term peace from the results of World War I. The treaty was vague, exposed the Allies’ inability to cooperate toward an agreement, and fueled German nationalism from resentment over her treatment by the Allies in the treaty.
Article 232 of the treaty states “the (Allies)...require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all the damage done to civilian population of the Allied and Associated Power and to their property during the period of the belligerency...”(Document C). The payments were to begin May 1, 1921 and they should be finished by May 1, 1951. The reduced amount Germany was required to pay was 112 billion gold marks which is equivalent to 341 billion U.S. dollars. The original reparation was 132 billion gold marks. In the 1920’s, the Germans were angry and didn’t pay any. in 1929, they paid only 2 billion marks, Then finally in 1933 the payments stopped when Hitler took power (Document
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.
Schlieffen Plan, the arms race and vital miscalculations on behalf of the German leaders have all been cited as causes for WW1 that were solely Germany's fault. In the face of this almost overwhelming evidence against Germany other factors that led to war must be examined in which Germany played little, or no, part. These consisted of the trouble in the Balkans, the growth of nationalism, the denial of self determination to minority groups, the alliance system, traditional imperial rivalries, secret diplomacy and the popular theories of Social Darwinism. If the war guilt clause is to be believed Germany and her allies were totally responsible for war, planning and instigating a chain of events that lead to the crisis of July 1914, independent of any outside influence. This is certainly not true it and absolute proof that Germany was planning and instigating a war is extremely difficult to find.
At the end of World War One, Germany was required to pay a large sum of money to the Allies consequently resulting in the German Depression. The sum Germany had to pay was set after the Treaty of Versailles was enacted at approximately six billion, six hundred million – twenty-two billion pounds, (World War Two – Causes, Alan Hall, 2010). The large amount of reparations that Germany had to pay resulted in a depression and angered the Germans because they thought it was an excessive amount of money to pay, (World War Two – Causes) The Germans hatred of the Treaty of Versailles was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power. Germany could not pay their reparations and was forced into a depression, (World War II – Causes). The Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its economic production and its available employments, (World War II – Causes). The German Depr...
middle of paper ... ... The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power.
“The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, recognized the feelings of the British people when he said ‘the Germans are going to pay every penny: they are going to be squeezed … until the pips squeak” (. This was the general conscious the British and the French people had because they felt they were owed for all of the wartime damages that occurred, the civilian and Soldiers lives that were lost, and because of the recourses the allies used to fight central powers. Ultimately the British and the French wanted revenge on Germany and for the first time they were in the power to do it. “Germany was not invited; as the defeated party, it was only required to sign the treaty once the cost of defeat had been established”2. The German s had no say at the negotiating table at the treaty of Versailles and because of this the “Big Four” ultimately and the power to punish Germany however they sought fit. This was a long shot from “Wilson’s proposed, “peace among equals,”2 and created much resentment from the German people. “Acceptance of blame appeared in Clause 231 of the treaty, later known as the ‘War Guilt clause’. Once Germany was made to acknowledge that it was responsible for the
...ace, jus ad bellum lists multiple criteria for ending a war in a way that would facilitate a stable truce between nations. At the end of World War I in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles placed complete responsibility for the war on the German people (Treaty). The tension formed by this treaty eventually led to Hitler’s rise to power and the initiation of World War II.
The Treaty of Versailles only partly helped Hitler become chancellor. On 28 June 1919, Germany signed the Treaty with the allies, losing 10% of her land. The German army was reduced to 100,000 men and Germany had to pay reparations of £6,600 million. Hitler blamed the Treaty for Germany's problems. When Germany failed to pay a reparation instalment in 1922, French and Belgian troops entered German soil and seized goods.
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
The first step in identifying whether or not the peace settlement after World War I (WWI), would be the effectiveness of communication to the Germans. In order to properly communicate, one must simply tell the people involved what the conditions are and the consequences for not following them. In addition, the demands must be moderate and the opponent needs to be made clear that it will not favor them in the long run if they do not comply to the terms. While Germany was effectively given the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, one could argue that it was done in an unfair manner. Germany was not even present at the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles and the Germans expected something along the lines of Wilson’s 14 point plan. At the end of the discussions,
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.
The Germans view that the clause that destroys Germany's global power and economy is justified. However, the term was vital to prevent Germany from becoming a global power and danger to everyone. In conclusion, Germany had many complaints about the Treaty of Versailles. The. Most of the complaints made are justified such as the 'reparations' being ridiculously too much and 'war guilt clause' being too much.
The war reparation resolution was proposed by both Australia and the United Kingdom, and eventually became Article 231 of Treaty of Versailles. The article assigned complete blame for the war to Germany, required Germany to accept full responsibilities for causing the war, and must pay a set of reparation appointed by the Great Powers. The reparation impositions were considered to be retaliation to the reparation forced upon France by Germany in the Treaty of Frankfurt after the Franco-Prussian War. The recompense form of the war varies among different forms, from coal, steel, and gold, to intellectual property. According to the treaty, Germany will finish paying off the reparation in year 2020. The reparation, no doubt, is only another indirect way of limiting Germany's growth in any field possible and has added another pair of shackle on the already weakened Germany economy, some historians beli...
They believed that it was Germany’s entry into the war that caused the large European war. Most Germans believed that the treaty of Versailles was diabolical. Germany had gone to an adverse situation. Germans owed the Allies 33 billion dollars in reparations. Meanwhile, Germany’s new democratic government fell behind in payments.
This historical investigation will determine: to what extent was the Treaty of Versailles responsible for starting World War II? The years under investigation are 1919, the time of its ratification, until 1939, the year in which World War II began.