Who's To Blame For World War I

World War I began in June 1914, and the fighting ended in November 1918. At war’s end the major Allied Powers included Great Britain, France, and the United States. The major Central Powers were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Each of the Central Powers signed its own treaty with the Allied Powers. The treaty that Germany signed was the last treaty to be signed, and it became the most famous one. The Treaty of Versailles was mainly negotiated by the leaders of the Allied Powers: France’s Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, Great Britain’s Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and the United States’ President Woodrow Wilson. Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II had little participation because the others believed his actions caused the war. It was signed on June 28,

Much of France had been devastated by the battles when Germany had invaded. He wanted to protect France and keep Germany from becoming strong enough to begin another war. George and Wilson also did not want Germany to begin another war. However, they were concerned a severe punishment would set the pretext for another war. Wilson’s concerns and proposals were largely ignored, and the final treaty had severe consequences for Germany. Germany had to accept full blame for WWI and had to give up one million square miles of land. Some of this land had been seized by Germany before WWI, and the majority of this lost land was rich in natural resources that could have been used to improve Germany’s struggling economy. In addition to losing this land, Germany also lost all of its colonies. Germany had to pay reparations to other countries for the losses and damages those countries had suffered as a result of the war. This would prove to be very difficult for Germany because it had to finance the rebuilding of its country, too. In order to keep Germany weak, its military had to be reduced and production was stopped on almost all war