More handpicked essays just for you.
What were the social, political, and economic effects of World War I on Europe
How the treaty of versailles impacted germany after wwi
Effect of the world war 1 on germany the treaty of versailles
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Before the Treaty
The treaty would’ve originally been the “Fourteen Points” created by President of the US Woodrow Wilson: a list of war objectives that dealt with territorial and political resolutions, and preventing war in the future
However at the Paris Peace Conference, the other countries in the “Big Four” (Italy, France, and Great Britain), rejected this idea and wanted to put more harsh, strident obligations on Germany, because they saw them as the primary cause of World War 1
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
A document that specifies the peace terms enforced on Germany by the Allies at the end of World War I
It was signed on June 28th 1919 (between the Allied countries and Germany)
It took effective force on January 10th 1920
It
…show more content…
The consultations of the treaty happened between January and June 1919
The outline was written at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Palace of Versailles
The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy made most of the essential resolutions and decisions
None of the nations defeated in World War I had any real say in creating the document; while the other Allied victors had an insignificant position
What does it do?
It dictated severe constraints on Germany (the losers)
One thing the treaty did was make Germany admit to being responsible for the war and the losses and damage to the Allies (Article 231)
It also inflicted many financial burdens on Germany, including having them pay approximately $33 billion dollars for
Due to German development, several wars broke out with neighboring regions such as France. By gaining the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, German and French border tensions reached new heights. Due to this conflict along with several others, Germany claimed responsibility for the Great War, as exhibited in Document 4. By forcefully signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany accepted defeat and accountability for World War I. On the contrary, in Document 5, a German nationalist opposed the idea that Germany alone was liable for outbreak of the war.
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.
The Paris Peace conference had a total of twenty-seven countries with their highest representatives and aides who devise a peace settlement. For two months they had redrawn the map of Europe with political and economical arrangements. It took another six months for the leaders who defeated the Central Powers to decide which rules that would govern the postwar order. The Central Power leaders are also known as the Big Four who was: President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Premier Georges Clemenceau of France, and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando of Italy. After all the peace makers of the treaties was creating the fire for the Second World War in 1939.
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.
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...
National leaders from Britain, France the United States and Italy didn’t allow the defeated nations any say in the drafting of the treaty. The terms were severe, unjust and unfair. Germany’s territory and population was reduced. There was a war guilt clause that named Germany the aggressive nation in the war and responsible to make reparations to the Allied nations. This meant that losses and damage had to be paid for by them. The four nations wanted to keep Germany from becoming a threat again. The military was restricted. The Germans felt they were being dictated by the treaty. In 1936, Hitler remilitarized Germany in a violation of the treaty and the Allies did nothing to stop
The French; for example, was one who thought this treaty was too moderate and was highly disappointed by it (“D.1. The Treaty of Versailles”). They wanted to get rid of Germany all together, but on the other hand, the British and Americans wanted to avoid forming pretext for a new war (History.com Staff). Allied countries thought that the treaty was a just punishment to Germany, but in the United States it was received with mixed feelings and reviews (Adams). All responsibility for World War I was given to Germany, and they were ordered to pay reparations (Benson). Germany had been anything except pleased about this, and not to mention they felt utterly embarrassed about the situation (Benson). They also felt completely betrayed by Wilson and the United States (“D.1. The Treaty of Versailles”). Under protest and the threat of an invasion, they signed this document (Benson).
The Treaty of Versailles is one of the most controversial postwar resolutions ever drawn up. The leaders of the prevailing 4 nations, Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, David Lloyd George, and Vittorio Orlando, were the authors of this controversial document. Each leader went into Versailles with their own idea of how the world should look after the great war. However, the European leaders widely agreed that Germany should be restricted, to some extent, militarily and sanctioned economically. France demanded the most from Germany, to ensure that Germany could not recreate a war machine ever again. Specifically, France wanted to annex Alsace-Lorraine and the Rhineland to create a buffer zone between Germany and mainland France. France demanded
Therefore, The Peacemakers had to make an impact to the world and make sure that this never happens again. The Peacemakers were called The Big Four: Britain, France, Italy, and United States. Their crucial conferences were held in Paris where they debated and argued. As a result Paris was known to be the capital of the world. When the Peacemakers first established they had a trial conference to improve and to organize themselves and to do this they had to study the Congress of Vienna because it was the only source they had at the time. Thereafter they decided to have a full conference to negotiate with the enemies.
In the United States there was a lot of opposition to the Treaty as well as the rest of the world. The public had a problem with the treaty and its questionable clauses. At the beginning of the war Americans had been promised that the war would end “moralize nationalism”, but the treaty did not reach their expectations (Doc B). The treaty wanted to use force to destroy force, use militarism to prevent militarism, etc. (Doc A) . Americans were ...
On top of the guilt clause, Germany’s military and territory were cut down by the treaty. Limiting the Germans to what they had as far as military strength was to help lower the chances of Germany “starting” another war. It’s army was reduced to 100,000 men. Germany’s navy was also reduced and to top it off, Germany had to eliminate its air force.
The Germans thought it unfair, as they persuaded themselves and others that they had not lost. It came as a shock that the conclusion of the reparations clause, under the terms of article 231, demanded that Germany was legally subjected to pay up and accept the “financial burden of putting Europe back together again” (merriment, 1996). The conditions of the treaty given as an ultimatum, to the German democratic parties whom, later were addressed as the November criminals for ‘stabbing Germany in the back’, had no choice but to accept the terms or face invasion. They had to Acquiesce the proposals that “curtailed the power of the nation, deprived it of its prestige, attacked its transitions, and impaired its integrity. (Abel 1938). Consequently, irritated German leaders, wanting to arouse international sympathy, deliberately lead to the mistranslation of article 231, making it refer to Germany’s sole guilt, as opposed to the joint guilt of Germany and her allies, setting off an increasing wave of righteous indignation about the war guilt lie and so with the acrid debate that was arising, the article turned into a war guilt clause enhancing the impression of a charge of German moral
On November 11th, 1918, the Germans finally ended World War I by signing an armistice after many casualties. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the “Big Four” met to deliberate and decide what the peace terms would be for the defeated Central Powers. The peace treaty produced for Germany was the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany had no choice but to sign even though the punishment was harsh and deserved. The Treaty of Versailles took away German conquered land, large part of its army, and stated that Germany had to compensate the Allied Powers for the damages they caused.
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.
It has been almost a century since the first Paris Peace Conference was hold, but even until now, it is a popular yet also controversial event in the history of the world. The Paris Peace Conference took place in 1919 involving more than 1,000 representatives from over 30 nations. The results of the Conference are five treaties regarding terms that, according to the Conference, shall prevent any upcoming conflicts among nations. Although World War II started only after 15 years, nonetheless, the treaties did function as a buffer between countries. Although many resolutions were discussed, the negotiation of the Conference revolves around four main topics, reparation from the previous war losses or limitations on the main Central Power, Germany, self-recognition, President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the annexation of land.