Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
World War 1 social effects
Impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany
Impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: World War 1 social effects
The world war started in 1914; quick victories and a war of short duration were expected. This certainly was not the case. What they experienced was a prolonged global war that cost millions of lives, destruction of lifetimes of work and caused hate throughout for generations to come. The defeated Germany was then humiliated by the treaty of Versailles and the conditions it required.
The armistice was signed on November 11, 1918 which officially ended the war until a peace treaty could be agreed to and signed. The peace treaty was signed by Germany on June 28, 1919 in the palace of Versailles. This peace treaty known as the Treaty of Versailles dealt exclusively with defeated Germany. When Germany signed the treaty, their army had been ruined the government was collapsing and the people were exhausted. The four powers were all greatly affected by this war and therefore vengeful intentions were at mind while creating the treaty. Germany had been defeated and the treaty of Versailles was the final touch to the devastation for Germany.
The treaty of Versailles came along with many territorial changes for Germany. In article 51: “The territories which were ceded to Germany in accordance with the Preliminaries of Peace signed at Versailles on February 26, 1871 and the treaty of Frankfort of May 10, 1871, are restored to French sovereignty as from the date of the Armistice of November 11, 1918.” I believe that Article 89 although not mentioned in the Modern History Sourcebook pages, although very important was the Polish Corridor; this piece of land ran straight through the middle of Germany which separated the rest of Germany from East Prussia this weakened Germany severely. East Prussia was a great source of money for Germany and th...
... middle of paper ...
..., first in inflation and then in the Great Depression. He promised a way out of economic hardship and the reassertion of Germany’s claim to status as a world power.” (pg. 806)
The treaty of Versailles was humiliating; it forced Germany to accept the full responsibility for the war. The treaty also commanded that no German troops could be stationed in their industrial heartland; it capped their military size for the country; it took away foreign holdings and forced Germany to pay reparations that were crippling. The treaty of Versailles paved the rise of Hitler and the Nazis just as the World War I did for the Communist revolution in Russia.
Works Cited
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1919versailles.html.
Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary, and Patricia O'Brien. Pearson Custom Library: Western Civilization. Columbia College ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.
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.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
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 the 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.
One way that the Treaty of Versailles had a part of causing World War 2, was by taking land away from Germany. This Treaty took away Lorraine and Alsace, by losing these two places Germany lost a critical resource. When these two places were taken it reduced Germany’s coal production by 40% which is really bad because everything was powered by coal at that time. Germany also lost the Polish Corridor and Danzig, this made it especially difficult to get to East Prussia Because it was surrounded by land that Germany didn’t have.(This evidence is shown on the German Territorial Losses Map). The information above supports the idea that the loss of land did affect Germany because by taking land away it takes power away too. As Hitler said in the Mein
The harshness of the Treaty and the way in which it blamed Germany for World War I crippled Germany. Much of its territory was taken away from it, including West Prussia that went to form a new Polish Corridor to the sea. Plus the Treaty forced Germany to reduce its army, demilitarise the Rhineland and get rid of its navy. The Treaty also forced harsh reparations for the War resulting in a great deal of the German people resenting the Allies. And it was later that Hitler used the bitter memories of Versailles to gain public support for his actions.
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 (...
What started with an assassination of an Austrian prince unpopular in with royalty in Vienna and plotters in Belgrade ended in war. Four years of artillery, machine guns, and poison gas had ruined the countryside of Europe. Woodrow Wilson put the blame for dead millions at the feet of secret diplomacy, excessive armament, imperialism, and the lack of international cooperation. His plan for a lasting peace was presented to the world in the form of the Fourteen Points, some of which were present in the final plan for peace, the Treaty of Versailles, which faced internal opposition at home. It was the strength of this opposition, from self or fawning-historian labeled "progressives" to conservatives and isolationists, in conjunction with the intractability and incompetence of President Wilson that encouraged the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.
What caused such a large-scale war to happen in the first place? Seven and a half months after World War I, a treaty was signed between the victorious countries, Great Britain, France, the United States, and Germany (Overview). It was created with the intention to create peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I doesn’t happen again. However, the peace was short lived before the Second World War engulfed Europe and the rest of the world in a brutal bloodshed. Instead of lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles contributed greatly to the cause of World War II as it caused humiliation and anger within Germany.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
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 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.
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
Sherman, D. (2000). Civilizations of the Ancient World. Western Civilizations: Sources, Images, and Interpretations (pp. 8-12). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
The Treaty of Versailles was a highly important peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919, after six months of negotiation at the Paris Peace Conference, which began on January 18, 1919, and ended on January 21, 1920. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles is arguably one of the most important events of World War I, as it ushered in the end of the first World War, effectively ending years of vicious fighting. Although the Treaty of Versailles had positive effects, and was crucial to ending the war, it was ultimately the source of intense international strife and led to many events that helped build pretext for World War II.