The Versailles Treaty
The Versailles treaty had an amazing affect on the future of all the countries in Europe that were a part of World War One. However, the treaty had the most devastating affect on the future of Germany. The treaty of Versailles essentially made the German people entirely responsible for the First World War. This blame that was put on Germany was one of the main factors responsible for Germany's economic and political future, leading up to World War Two.
Because France blamed Germany for the First World War, they forced them to pay for all of the damages that was considered their fault. This was extremely demoralizing to the economics in the country, because Germany had to basically pay for the entire war, which caused Germany to plunge deeply into debt. According to articles 159-187, Germany not only had to pay off their debt, but also had to pay off the debt that Belgium had to the allies. The article also stated that Germany was expected to pay reparations for casualties, that were to be paid to the families of the deceased, they had to pay for all non-military damages, and all the ship that were destroyed at the hands of the Germans. The French also took total control over the Saan Busin, and controlled all of the coal deposits and the railroad systems. This was devastating to the future of Germany because there was no feasible way that the Germans could repay this debt entirely.
Not only was Germany forced to pay ridiculous debts, but the treaty of Versailles was also caused Germany to lose large portions of their land. According to articles 31 - 50, Germany was forced to give back all of the land they took from Belgium. They were also required to return Luxenberg and Alsace Lorain. This was devastating to the future of Germany because without their land, they could not expand their empire. Germany's economic future was put into danger because they could no longer trade with members of the allied party.
The Versailles treaty was also responsible for the political problems the country faced after World War One. The treaty stated, in articles 42-44 that Germany was not allowed to have any armed forces and if this rule were not followed, it would be considered a hostile action.
The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after World War I, was supposed to ensure peace by imposing harsh conditions on Germany in the form of reparations. Canadian, American, and other delegates warned that the reparations were too severe. In the end, the Treaty ended up crippling Germany and Austria with war debts that guaranteed another war: World War II. Although the Treaty of Versailles, in itself, did not impact Canadian economy that much, World War II
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.
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.
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...
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. World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms for the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
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 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 Treaty of Versailles was one of the factors that led to the inevitability of World War Two. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that occurred as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that was held after Germany was defeated in World War One. The Treaty was put into action and required that Germany should accept responsibility for the war; of course Germany was humiliated by this. They were required to pay colossal war reparation payments. This was one of the main reasons the treaty had a severe impact on Germany; it crippled the German economy and critically reduced the living standards of the people. This made it virtually impossible for the German economy to function productively. The effects that the treaty had on Germany directly led to the rise of Hitler who he capitalised on German resentment at their treatment. He provided a focus for the German people and their desire to take back what they once had, and to restore their pride once again becoming a glorious nation.
Germany's embarrassment after losing World War I was one of the major reasons for the cause of the Holocaust. After Germany's defeat in World War I, Germans found it hard to believe they had lost the war. The Treaty of Versailles was a document that officially ended military actions against Germany. Germans did not like this treaty because their government would have to pay other countries for their economic losses. Germany also lost all of its colonies overseas. It had to give back provinces to France, Belgium, and Denmark. France got German coal mines and Gdansk, now a city in Poland, became a "free city." Poland gained most of Western Prussia and Germany's Rhineland was demilitarized, although allied troops occupied it for fifteen years
Treaty of Versailles was a treaty between the Allies and Germany. Allied leaders considered it the most important of the five agreements. While the Allies believed it was the most important the Germans thought I was unfair. The treaty forced Germany to pay money to the winners and to give up land and weapons. Many treaties were made. Although they tried to make treaties, it still didn't help later
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the end results of World War I. President Woodrow Wilson came up with a large portion of the treaty such as the League of Nations and his famous 14 points. The overall purpose of the treaty was to repair the damages caused by World War I, return everything as close to normal as possible, and lastly to keep peace in hopes of preventing future devastating wars.
Even though Germany asked for a reduction, it was rejected by France because she had to pay war debts to the USA. This deprived Germany from a lot of its income and with no Gold reserves Germany was in the worst Bankruptcy it had ever experienced. Due to the fact that Germany was unable to pay reparations, because it was bankrupt, France sent troops into the German industrial area of the Ruhr- they confiscated raw materials, manufactured goods and industrial machinery. This led to workers going on strike and the French replied by arresting those who obstructed them and bringing in their own workers, causing many German workers to become unemployed and the German economy to drastically drop.
Despite the treaty’s financial burden on Germany, the country’s war-fatigued economy would have eventually led to World War II. Even before the Treaty of Versailles was in place, Germany had just faced a war loss; the country had spent 170 billion marks (the equivalent to about 593 billion modern U.S. dollars) on the war. This removed Germany from first place in the world’s greatest economies, as Germany was the top spendthrift of World War I. With or without the Treaty of Versailles, the overall cost of the war was still a major blow to the Germans’ financial situation.
When the Treaty Of Versailles was created it was sent to Germany to sign it. Germany did not want to sign it but they were forced to by french victors. Signing the treaty came with a lot of bad side effects one of reason is that they can barely defend themselves against unwanted visitors. The amount of military soldiers they came carry is
The treaty also led Germany into humiliation. They lost their land, military, respect, and a say in world affairs. Germany became isolated, and to the German people, Hitler was their ultimate saviour. In a matter of years, Hitler quickly rose to power and boosted the economy. He had satisfied Germany, in the early years, and came to power in a legal manner.