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Treaty of Versailles On June 28 1914, the war had started with the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. On 28 June 1919, exactly five years and about 9 million dead soldiers later, the Treaty of Versailles was signed by defeated Germany and in my opinion that was historical event of great importance that shaped the post-war Europe. Germany's nose was in the dirt and the allies meant to keep it there. At the treaty of Versailles, Germany and the other Central powers agreed to repay every cent of damage caused by the war. This was known as the reparations and the final amount was fixed at the huge some 30 billion gold marks (at least two zeros more for todays value) plus interest payable over thirty years. The Peace Treaty of Versailles wasnt a real success.
The Versailles Treaty left many questions unanswered and did not fully settle the questions. The pact couldnt reverse the tendency initiated by World War I. Generally the Allies attempted to create a status when it all began, which lead to instability and created the Second Great War in Europe. (Nicolson 29) The unsympathetic settlement with Germany left it weak and opened the door for military opportunists, like Adolf Hitler. The Allied nations wanted to keep Germany at the bottom level; most of the leaders were determined to crush Germany and her possessions.
Thus, the Versailles Treaty had altered its articles, according to the widespread hatred towards Germany. Consequently, Germany was blamed as the instigator of WWI. The outstanding figures in the negotiations leading to the treaty were Woodrow Wilson for the United States, Georges Clemenceau for France, David Lloyd George for England, and Vittorio Emmanuelle Orlando for Italy the so-called Big Four. (Stephens 72) U. S President Woodrow Wilson insisted that Germany should be treated fairly with justice and honor so that they would not want to get revenge in the future. In fact the United States had suffered only few casualties compared to other allied countries. President Wilson also suggested that a League of Nations be set up to settle future clashes in Europe and elsewhere.
However as the single diplomat that opposed the aspects of the pact, President Wilson, never provided his signature to the treaty. America remained isolated from European affairs. The victor countries made clear that the Germany and her collaborative allies have been totally defeated in the war. War Guilt clause was settled up that Germany must accept the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage that the Allies and their citizens had suffered.
Germany's rights to her colonies in Africa and East Asia were taken off. Moreover Allies needed a guarantee to make sure that the treaty will be respected. Therefore decisions were made that the Rhineland, the territory west of Rhine River, will be occupied by the allied Territorial Army for another 15 years. All these were made to ensure that Germany would remain weak and never wage another devastating war.
The Versailles Treaty, written without German participation (Germany was only invited to listen to their fate being discussed), placed all the blame for the First World War on Germany and was coincidentally signed by two Jewish diplomats. Treaty of Versailles, aiming to prevent another war, had a huge effect on Hitler coming to power in Germany and achieving a position of power from which a war could take place. The focus on Germany allowed nationalism to arise against the treaty. Subsequently, German dissatisfaction with the terms of the treaty played an imperative part in the rise of National Socialism.
Hitler, a fascist, capitalized on this feeling to gain control. Political tolerance had been retreating steadily after the War, the heavy restrictions, economic inflation, depression and serious unemployment problems made the German people feel humiliated. Hitler was outraged with the Treaty of Versailles which he felt was extremely unfair and undeserved. (Nicolson 32) He aimed to completely overturn the Treaty which would restore German pride and make Germany strong once again; it would also unite all German people together in the then split up country of Germany. This type of reaction was accelerated by Hitler. Luckily for Hitler the Depression happened, without which he would never have got into power and become so much stronger militarily in comparison to other countries. The traditional right brought him to power, and he quickly was able to assume control and direct the country.
Another key element of Hitler's rise to power was the Great Slump, which overwhelmed the world economy. The U. S stock market collapse virtually stopped loans to the economically poor Germans, who could then not afford to pay the excessive reparations to France and Great Britain. Hitler utilized his full powers as Chancellor to slowly wear away power from the Monarchy and into his own camp. The Great Slump provided the opportunity for the politically brilliant Hitler to seize power peacefully.
He also played upon the League of Nations' failure to act determinedly to slowly gain territory around him. The League of Nations, the world's first peacekeeping body, was set up soon after the Treaty of Versailles and it was meant to keep peace within Europe. It had several problems from the start, specifically America not joining and a conflict between France and Britain over what the league should be doing. In the 1920 's it was quite successful settling many minor disagreements. However, in the 1930 's it came across the problem of having to deal with two strong countries. The League had no successful way of punishing or dealing with countries; it had no army of its own and had to rely on trade sanctions.
When Italy attacked Abyssinia no one felt compelled to help as they had economic problems from the depression at home. Britain and France had been hit by the depression and needed trade for money and jobs. (Nicolson 37) Japan attacked Manchuria as it was a relatively small island with few raw materials; Japan thought they had not been rewarded satisfactorily from WWI when they had helped the allies. Japan's attack on Manchuria was treated similarly; no one could afford to send troops to help and trade sanctions would not have worked. Britain was also worried that if she helped Manchuria, her colonies nearby would be at risk.
The two countries, Italy and Japan, both left the League after being fated. They both became Hitler's allies. Britain and France hold some responsibility for World War 2 as their policy of appeasement allowed Germany to be in a position of strength but the painful memory of World War I led them to make concessions in order to avoid another violent conflict. They made concessions to Hitler in the hope of keeping peace.
However, Hitler's early demands were reasonable and he didn't begin to make unreasonable demands until he was in a position of strength, when Britain and France could not easily refuse. Germany had been spending 23. 5 % of her budget on the military, at the same time Britain and France had been spending much less as they were not preparing for a war and they had also spent more on trying to sort out the depression. They had to let Germany get away with things so that they could get stronger. Historical evidence suggests that Hitler would have been forced to back down if the French and British had challenged his offensive. (Stephens 77) If Britain and France stood firm, the result would have been Hitler's overthrow. However, before conquering Poland, Hitler was very scared of a war on two fronts meaning Britain, France and Russia fighting him from both directions. Joseph Stalin (the dictator of Russia) offered Britain and France an alliance against Germany but they were too untwisting of communism which as capitalists, they were scared of and disliked.
They took 5 weeks to send a reply which did not impress Stalin. When he got in touch with Hitler he got an immediate reply and a visit from an ambassador who had the power to sign an agreement. They made a non-aggression pact so Germany could attack Poland without the fear of a war on two fronts. In return Russia would receive a portion of Poland.
Nevertheless Germany wasnt the only one to fight against the Allies in the Great War, The idea of forcing her to take full responsibility is wrong. There is no doubt that Germany should get a punishment for what she did but it should be a wise penalty. This punishment is too hard and it should have been divided between all the Central Powers. Anyhow historians who argue about the causes of the Second World War consider the treaty of Versailles as on of the entire responsibilities. The treaty made Germans drive away from democracy and towards fascism. Thus The peace Treaty of Versailles was one of the most important events of the 20 th century.
It helped to shape modern Europe. Understanding how the politicians at Versailles arrived at their conclusions is a very important feature of current political understanding and not just part of a historical procedure. The Treaty of Versailles is as lively and relevant now as it was in 1919. Bibliography: Harold Nicolson, Peacemaking, 1919 (1933, repr. 1965); W. E. Stephens, Revisions of the Treaty of Versailles (1939);
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