When World war 1 finally came to an end on November 11 1918, politicians had to work out a lasting peace so that no war like that would ever happen again. The treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that was made by the main representatives of nations - Big 4(America, Italy, France, Great Britain) and was put into place after the ending of World War 1 to ensure peace throughout the nations or the world. Although the peace treaty was initially intended to establish long lasting peace, it was extremely unfair for Germany as it was strip of its war-making power, punished by losing territory, extreme military restrictions and placed sole responsibility for the war. Most of the defects of the treaty of Versailles can be blamed on the one-sided intentions and prejudice views by the decision makers, The Allied countries. This made the treaty unfair from the beginning, as it meant the big three could negotiate the conditions of the treaty to increase their personal benefit. For France, This was mainly because of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. French Prime minister Georges Clemenceau felt that France had been humiliated and was burning to restore its reputation and crucially gain back the rich industrial land of Alsace and Lorraine which Germany had won of her. Although Britain had not been attacked directly like France was, the earlier arms race of military sources before the war started between these two nations had led to the consideration of struggle for colonial domination for Britain. In addition, the British prime minister David Lloyd George was also concerned with the preservation of the British Empire and the risk of future German invasion. As a result, together with France, they forced Germany in the Treaty of Versai... ... middle of paper ... ...se, left a legacy of bitterness and hatred in the hearts of the German citizens. Overall, despite the fact that world war one was a devastation to the entire Europe, which though Germany was wrongfully held accounted for in the Treaty of Versailles. That wasn’t really a treaty at all and in another words, Germany’s so-called punishment for having the biggest contributions for the war. The treaty had overly weakened Germany and gave the victory countries more economic benefits and power mainly on the west. Instead of having Germany to be blamed for sole responsibility of the war by stripping away almost everything from Germany so that it is impossible for them to ever rise again, the allies should have put into thought of maintaining a good diplomatic relationship with them and accept the fact that each country had at least some contributions and fault to the war.
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.
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.
The First World War and Why It Wasn't The War to End All Wars The allies, following great losses especially Britan and France, were keen to prevent such a tragedy from re-occuring, they did this by not preventing Germany from rearmaring, they also didn't stick to what they planned to in the treaty of Versailes. Britan and France seemed more concerned with the spread of communism then what Hitlar was doing. Both Britan and France remembered the horrific experences of the first world war. Hitlar believed that Germany would become a great nation again under his rule. People thought that the treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany, once a proud nation, now under the control of a foreign nation, helpless to do anything to stop.
The Treaty of Versailles was supposed to end in peace but instead it ended in disaster . The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28,1919 (exactly 5 years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated), the treaty was created in hope that it would stabilize Europe and ensure that another catastrophic war like World War 1 would never happen again. Although the Versailles Treaty didn’t cause World War 2 it did have a great affect on it, by taking away land, limiting Germany’s military, and making Germany pay for all the damages done after World War 1.
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 (...
“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
... 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.
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.
The Treaty of Versailles was fair to Germany because, the primary starter of the war was Germany. Several factors ?conflicts with Serbia- Germany declared wars-invasion of Belgium-Germanys attacking plans, all led to the justification of T of V which proved it was fair. Following the assassination of Archduke Francis, of Austria-Hungry. Germany gave Austria a ?blank check in other terms, an assurance of support no matter the costs. This simple action ties to one factor ...
The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty created at the end of World War I, in hopes of establishing peace among nations. Although it sought after harmony, the United States’ Senate refused to ratify the treaty due to the distasteful idea of the United States’ involvement in the League of Nations, and Woodrow Wilson’s unwillingness to compromise with Henry Cabot Lodge’s revisions of The Treaty of Versailles.
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...
The outbreak of war in 1939 left everyone in shocked. But they were even more shocked when they heard that Germany and Russia had made a pact. On August 23 1939, Russia and Germany had signed the Non- Aggression Pact. The 1939 Non-Aggression Pact with Germany was not motivated by Stalin’s greed for territory, but by necessity. Stalin feared that Russia would be left alone against Germany. It was an agreement made by Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler to invade Poland and other countries in Eastern Europe and divide the countries between them. The Non-Aggression Pact was also agreed not to fight against each other. It also agreed to gain back land that was lost in during WW1. After World War one the Treaty of Versailles was created in order to give back on land to whoever owned it before Hitler claimed it as his own. Hitler felt the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany and also put a limit to how many men can be in the German army. It took a large amount of land from Germany to create new countries.
The Treaty of Versailles, one of the most controversial international agreements(“D.1. The Treaty of Versailles."), had been negotiated between January and June of 1919 (History. Staff). Although it was negotiated between January and June, the Treaty of Versailles was officially signed on June 28, 1919 (Hashall) at Versailles, a suburb of Paris (Benson). This treaty involved Germany and all allies of World War I (Benson). The peace agreement was established to aid in the termination of World War I.
...ace, jus ad bellum lists multiple criteria for ending a war in a way that would facilitate a stable truce between nations. At the end of World War I in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles placed complete responsibility for the war on the German people (Treaty). The tension formed by this treaty eventually led to Hitler’s rise to power and the initiation of World War II.