Treaty of Versailles

What responsibility did each of the “Big Three” have for the failure of the Versailles Treaty to bring peace to Europe? Be sure to discuss what each wanted to accomplish.

Between the years 1919-1939, the Treaty of Versailles affected Germany in many ways such as economically, politically, loss of German territories, and caused Germany’s armed forces to struggle. The Treaty of Versailles was when Germany and The Allies signed a peace treaty, ending WW1. The treaty stripped Germany 25,000 square miles of land and over 7 million people. The treaty also caused Germany to go into a great depression.

The Versailles Treaty was when the Big Four countries met together to see what could be done to help end the war and for it not to happen again. These Big Four countries were the ones that controlled the negotiations and made the decisions, people could make suggestions, but it was up to those countries. These Big Four countries were Britain, France, Italy, and the United States. These states were trying to get their wishes to come reality, and hopefully not starting another war. This leading to Germany becoming very weak and without a way to fight for a very long time, which was about 20 years. The Treaty of Versailles was actually a very big contribution for starting World War II.

The Treaty of Versailles was a major event in the 1920’s that was largely responsible for the events to follow, including the rise of Hitler and World War 2. Woodrow Wilson came up with a fourteen point plan of how to end the war with fairness and lasting peace. Germany was willing to accept the consequences because they trusted the treaty would be based off of Wilsons’ plan. Unfortunately for Germany and her allies, there were meetings with the four main allie leaders at Versailles to determine the final terms of the treaty without them. These men were determined to punish Germany, excluding Wilson, and hold them completely responsible for World War One. The consequences for Germany were unreasonable and unfair because Germany was not able

Thesis: The peace treaty that resulted from World War 1 was not too harsh of a punishment for the offenses committed.

The Treaty of Versailles was a monumental stage in German history, helping to shape German history for arguably the best part of thirty years. It can be argued that the Treaty was the most significant event since the unification of Germany in 1890. The short term consequences were also highly prominent as over 300,000 Germans fled to America in the years 1917-23. Moreover many Germans were aggrieved by the Treaty, this lead to public exploits (Kapp Putsch and Munich Putsch) that lead to casualties accumulating into the 1000’s. With so much death and

The whole purpose of the Treaty of Versailles was to promote peace and stop the wars, but in the end all it did was create another World War. Many predicted the result of the weak treaty, but people didn’t listen to them. Jan Christian Smuts, a South African statesman, wrote to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George: “This treaty breathes a poisonous spirit of revenge, which may yet scorch the fair face- not of a corner of France, but of Europe.” A French General who had been involved in World War I named Marshal

There is no question that the German people showed a high level of discontent with the Allies after World War 1, especially since the unveiling of the terms from the Treaty of Versailles. Possibly the most humiliating clause implemented in the Treaty of Versailles was Article 231, also known as ‘War Guilt.’ This was a term, which forced Germany to accept all responsibility for initiating the First World War along with paying a detrimental bill of £6.6 billion for war reparations , strongly demanded by French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau, even though it was apparent that Germany would not be able to keep up with this payment. So clearly from the aftermath of the First World War, Germany became a bitter nation filled with hatred towards the Allies. However, there had to be an outlet for all this anger, which some historians argue was redirected towards the Weimar Republic. In result, this was a source of promulgation for the Nazi Party as the Germans were deviated towards extreme radical parties. The National Socialist Workers Party, also popularly known as The Nazi Party, was founded after the collapse of the First World War. It was first regarded as the Germans Workers’ Party until the infamous Adolf Hitler assumed leadership of the organization. The primary purpose for this party was a cry for German nationalism and anti-Semitism. Throughout the early 1920s, Hitler attempted to lead the Nazi Party to success, trying to persuade the nation into adopting the Nazi

Upon signing the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, then British Prime Minister Lloyd George declared: “We will have to fight another war in 25 years time, and at three times the cost.” This ominous prediction came true as the controversial peace settlement brought no end to conflict in Europe. The Treaty was described by critics as Carthaginian: a peace so brutal it crushes the defeated side. This was the intention of the Allies, who felt a disabled Germany was the best way to preserve peace. This rationale did not satisfy Germany, who sought to undermine Versailles and succeeded in breaking the Allies’ resolve to enforce the Treaty. Ultimately, the ineffectual peace enabled Nazi ascendancy in the 1920s and 30s. Discontentment with the Weimar government, responsible for signing the Treaty, provided a receptive audience for Hitler 's hard-line policies, which were designed specifically to regain German supremacy. The signatories to the Treaty allowed Germany to violate successive terms without reprisal, which led inevitably and inexorably to the Second World War. Thus, the real criticism of the Treaty lies in its lack of enforcement.

“On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war. (Versailles is a city in France, 10 miles outside of Paris.)” (“World War I Ended with the Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919”, n.d)

After World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. The Versailles Treaty being one of the most important intending to set peace among all nations and thus marking the end of the war.

The First World War ended, 11th November 1918 when Germany signed an agreement for peace and no more fighting which was prepared by Britain and France. (www.bbc.co.uk)

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace signifying the end of WW1. The Germans were held responsible for all the deconstruction and costs and had no choice but to sign it. The treaty detailed Germany’s loss of territory and debt to other nations. After WW1, Germany experienced severe economic turmoil, including problems like inflation and unemployment. As a result, Germany view the Treaty of Versailles as unfair. They wanted their territories back and freedom to operate their economic as they wished. Germany was unable to compete internationally due to the treaty crippling their economic powers, thus breeding dissent towards the Allies.

My understanding is the Treaty of Versailles, implemented at the end of WW1, imposed some heavy "punishments" on Germany. This caused a lot of resentment and bitterness in Germany and eventually lead to the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.

The Treaty of Versailles was a very unfair document towards Germany. According to Mike Dowling, the treaty had taken away Germany's overseas colonies and their coal source. Germany could not build large ships and their army was a joke.