The Treaty of Versailles was Too Harsh on Germany

701 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis the treaty of versailles essay

The Treaty of Versailles was Too Harsh on Germany

I think that the treaty of Versailles was harsh on Germany because

even though they were a part of the war, so were the allies, yet they

didn't take any blame for the war. The French wanted revenge and

Wilson wanted peace. These two, conbined, still made a harsh treaty.

Lloyd George tried to get a 'halfway point' between the two but ended

up going mostly to France because that was what the British people

wanted. The blank cheque that was given to Germany was like putting a

blindfold over their eye, but they had no way out. All Germany could

do was hope that the 'big three', Lloyd George, Clemenceau, Wilson,

would take pity on them, so they also lost their pride and dignity,

which the German people hated.

The German argument over the 6,600 reparations that was told them in

1921, was that they had no money to pay it. They had also a lot of

damage as the Allies, so they would go bankrupt, which they later did.

They had no air force, submarines or tanks, the navy limited and the

army only had 100,000 men, and this German argument was they had no

means to defend themselves from attacks, which may come. The German's

anger was not good and Lloyd George thought that in later years this

treaty would bring about another war. The French wanted the rhineland

to go to them but the treaty settled on being demilitarised, the

Germans opposed this idea as well, and I agree, the Germans could not

defend themselves if attacked and innocent civilians would die when it

could have been prevented. They lost lots of their Empire and all of

their colonies in other parts of Europe but mostly civilians lived...

... middle of paper ...

...rices were

inflated. They went bankrupt within a few months. France by this time

had had enough, so they invaded Germany, looking for money. Britain

and America did not get involved, they refused. The Germans got even

more angry with this but sill they couldn't do anything about it.

Looking back on my research I still feel that the treaty of Versailles

was very harsh. Even though I feel that France were in some ways right

in their pursuit of justice. It built up revenge on Britain, France

and the USA, which would be dangerous in a few years. If the treaty

had been kinder to the German's then there wouldn't be so much anger

built up over the years. This treaty could have been a main factor why

the Second World War started, therefore I agree with the statement but

I feel that Germany were treated fairly to some extent.

Show More
Related

  • Treaty Of Versailles Dbq Essay

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Did Ww1 Affect The Canadian Economy

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    To try to pay its reparations, the German government printed huge amounts of money. Subsequently, marks -- German currency -- became almost worthless. A loaf of bread which used to cost 2 marks in 1918, became worth six million marks in 1924. People struggled to survive and more than 60 million people, both military and civilian, died.

    Read More

  • The Treaty of Versailles as a Cause of WWII

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    The coalitions brought by the Versailles Treaty contributed greatly to starting WWII. The Treaty was responsible for the formation of the Allies. However, when made, these alliances were based on promises from the superpowers, particularly France. This ensured that Germany would not have support from the smaller countries in Europe (Document B). Belgium had aligned itself with France previously, and it continued to do so, but Czechoslovakia and Poland...

    Read More

  • Fascism in the 1920's and 1930's

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Germany and her allies were blamed for the war. The Treaty of Versailles said that they had to pay for the cost of the war. The Treaty of Versailles is what caused World War II. If it had been less harsh on Germany, the Weimar Republic would have been stronger and would not have faced as much economic and social turmoil. Had the treaty been harsher, Germany would not have had the power to make war.

    Read More

  • The Causes of World War II

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 (...

    Read More

  • Treaty Of Versailles

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Was the Treaty of Versailles the Major Cause of World War Two?

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • How Did The Versailles Treaty Help The World War II?

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Treaty Of Versailles

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • Flaws in History Textbooks

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ced because of the alliances with the allied powers. My favorite was that Great Britain said it was a hard choice to go to war. I completely disagree with that statement, because needed to defend the sovereignty of Belgium and the connection with the Hanoverians in Northwest Germany.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Origins of Second World War by A.J.P. Taylor

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... him to conciliate.” (pg. 216) Finally, Taylor explains, after Britain’s failure to help reach an agreement, the aggression dragged both France and Britain into war with Germany.

    Read More

  • Imperialism in World War 1

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... and the British, who were constantly fighting with the Germans throughout the beginning and during WW1.

    Read More

  • Treaty Of Versailles

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Treaty of Versailles had a lot of opposition from various groups, but Wilson’s stubbornness was most liable for the failure of it in the United States. There were many problems with the treaty according to the senate. The opinions on the treaty we

    Read More

  • The Cause, Course, and Consequences of world War II

    386 Words  | 1 Pages

    World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The Allied Powers consisted of the British Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States of America was known as “The Big Three”. The Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan, they were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940.

    Read More

  • Germany's Objections to the Treaty of Versailles

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    also very unrealistic, blaming Germany for the whole of the war. However, some of Germans objections were not justified, such as military restrictions, as the Allies have just been involved in a war. and had to reduce the threat imposed by Germany.

    Read More

More about The Treaty of Versailles was Too Harsh on Germany

Open Document