The Fairness of the Treaty of Versailles

The Fairness of the Treaty of Versailles

When assessing the fairness of the Treaty of Versailles it is

necessary to consider the impact of the treaty, not only on Germany,

but also on all the major powers involved in both the treaty and the

First World War. In order to determine the fairness of the treaty it

is important to, in Germanys' case especially, consider the Treaty of

Versailles in economic, military, territorial and colonial terms.

There are also other countries which the Treaty of Versailles had an

impact on, and the affect that the treaty has had on them can also be

assessed. However, in order to assess the treaty, it is also important

to consider by whom and how the word 'fair' is defined and used, as

different countries will have differing views on what 'fair' treatment

of Germany would consist of.

Although the treaty may have been considered harsh at the time, now it

is generally acknowledged that the treaty could have been a lot harder

in economic, military, territorial and colonial terms. Firstly, in

economic terms, while reparations of £6.6 billion may appear

intimidating, the Dawes Plan in 1924 spread out the payments over a

longer period of time and the Young Plan reduced payments to £2

billion. Since the reparations were not only to be made in money, but

also in other goods such as ships and natural resources, Germany was

able to make the reparations. They were also helped by extensive

American loans and the payments ceased when Hitler came to power. So

although the original reparation figure was set at £6.6 billion, in

reality Germany ended up paying a small fraction of that, and E

Mantoux sustains that "Th...

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... later the fulfilment policy. Also, the conditions

applied to Germany were equal with the stipulations that Germany

applied Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and those applied to

France. Germany's territorial losses could also have been more harsh

then they really were, as they were at the end of the Second World

War. However, they were a direct violation of the Fourteen points and

were a lacking the idealism that Germany were expecting. Also, France

were the least happy, and with reason, with the outcome of the treaty.

I believe that their interests were least well protected of all the

allied nations. In conclusion, I believe that the Treaty of Versailles

was fair in regard to Germany in all respects, and that France was

'ripped off' in comparison to what Britain and America achieved from

the Treaty of Versailles.