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The Treaty of Versailles was the formal treaty that brokered the end of World War I. It was drafted at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, primarily by The "Big Four" - the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy, all Allied powers. None of the defeated nations had any say in the drafting of the treaty and even other Allied nations were only nominally involved.
Although US President Woodrow Wilson had already outlined his American strategy for peace in his 14 Point Plan Plan, other Allied nations, especially France, demanded "compensation by Germany for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and their property by the aggression of Germany by land, by sea and from the air.” The goal of the Treaty of Versailles was to make it so that Germany could never threaten other European nations again, and the sanctions and reparations put on it were extreme.
Germany had to give up territory in Europe, reducing its size by about 10-13% - Alsance and Lorraine were returned to France, the Saarland was put under League of Nation supervision, land was given to Belgium and Denmark. Poland was recognized as a formal country and given access to the sea through the annexation of Western Prussia.
All of Germany's colonies were taken over by Allied countries such as Britain, France and Japan.
The "war guilt clause" of the treaty proclaimed that Germany was the sole aggressor and responsible for all of the losses and damages to Allied countries.
The dollar amount for reparations was set at $33 billion dollars. (The modern equivalent would be about $480 billion!) Even though it was well known that Germany could not afford to pay that amount, the treaty permitted the relevant countries to take punitive action if Germany fell behind in payments.
Much of the German army was forcibly disbanded - Germany could only keep a standing army of one hundred thousand men.
The Germany Navy was disbanded, Germany could keep a standing navy of 6 ships.
German industrial factories were forbidden to make armored cars, tanks, submarines and airplanes. Only a few select factories were allowed to make munitions (guns, bullets and bombs).
A large part of Germany was made into a demilitarized zone, where there could be no armies or weapons.
German companies or merchant ships could be seized as part of reparations.
The impacts of the Treaty of Versailles were deep and long ranging. Germany had already borrowed heavily to fund its involvement in World War I, so its economy was already unstable. Unable to pay its loans or the reparations that had been levied on it as a condition of the Treaty of Versailles, the German government increased taxes and began printing huge amounts of paper money to pay for the foreign currency it needed to pay reparations.
This caused a massive inflation crisis in Germany - by the end of 1921, a loaf of bread that would have ordinarily cost 160 marks now could cost 200,000,000,000 marks - that is 2 billion paper marks! Paper money had essentially lost all value and the effects on German citizens was devastating.
Hyperinflation in Germany - Mashable. This website has fascinating pictures of what hyperinflation actually looked like!
A display of extremely high food prices in Weimar Germany
Furthermore, in a dramatic shift from previous treaties, the Treaty of Versailles gave Allied nations the power to take not just the property of the German government, but property owned by German citizens. That meant that the issue of reparations was felt personally by many Germans, who suddenly found themselves without the money or property that they possessed before the war.
Peace Treaty of Versailles - Articles 118-158: German Rights and Interests Outside Germany. Check out Article 122 - "The Government exercising authority over such territories may make such provisions as it thinks fit with reference to the repatriation from them of German nationals and to the conditions upon which German subjects of European origin shall, or shall not, be allowed to reside, hold property, trade or exercise a profession in them."
All of this lead to massive resentment of the Treaty of Versailles by German citizens, and spurred the public towards more conservative and right-wing politics. In the period of time after WWI, a myth began to spring up called the "stabbed in the back" myth, that said that Germany did not lose World War I but was betrayed by civilians, especially members of the current German government, and Jews. This myth shows the rising sympathy that average Germans felt for the propaganda of the National Socialist Party, that began to rise to prominence with its leader, Adolf Hitler. While it cannot be said that Germans would not have been swayed without the extreme measures put in place by the Treaty of Versailles, it has long been considered a factor in the rise of the Nazi party and the beginning of WWII.
An illustration from a 1919 Austrian postcard showing a caricatured Jew stabbing the German Army in the back with a dagger.
Click here for a link to an interactive timeline for the Treaty of Versailles.
A Century Later: The Treaty Of Versailles And Its Rejection Of Racial Equality
The Treaty of Versailles concluded the war to end all wars. Constructed through diplomacy, a fragile peace replaced global bloodshed.
The treaty's proclamations are now iconic: that nations should have the right to self-determine, that a war's victors should negotiate how to move forward, that the defeated powers should be held responsible for the damage.
Yet the treaty, negotiated by the key players in World War I — notably France, Great Britain, Italy and the United States — was deeply flawed and could not fend off the rise of fascism, the Nazi party and, eventually, World War II.
Versailles' mixed legacy is even further complicated by a little-known attempt by Japan, one of the emerging players at the table, to move the world forward on the issue of racial equality.
Japan asked for, and nearly got approved, a clause in the treaty that would have affirmed the equality of all nations, regardless of race.
For all of the history forged, some historians believe the great powers missed a pivotal opportunity to fashion a much different 20th century.
depended on the “great powers” to protect its decisions militarily
Brief History:
American President Woodrow Wilson intended the League of Nations to be the primary body of a new style of international relations based on the cooperation of all of the nations of the world.
This idea was based on his 14 Points, a basic outline for the post-war world.
The League was to be centered in neutral Geneva, Switzerland.
Small nations as well as large nations were asked to join, dependent on their acceptance of the Covenant of the League.
Forty-two nations were represented at this first meeting.
Notably absent were Germany, Russia, and the United States.
Germany, identified as the aggressor in World War I, was barred from admission at first
admitted in 1926.
Russia, now the Soviet Union, was not invited to join the League due to the radical policies of the new communist government.
The Soviet Union finally became a member of the League in 1935.
In November 1919, the U.S. Senate voted against accepting membership to the League, and the nation never joined.
For an interactive map from BBC's Bitesize History showing the terms of the Versailles Treaty click here.
Image shows (L - R) Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britan) Premier Vittorio Orlando, Italy, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, President Woodrow Wilson, May 1919.
Click here to watch the League of Nations: Wilson's League for peace.
For a list of the League of Nations' successes and failures click here.
1921: Washington Conference - Japan, U.S., and Britain all agreed to limit the size of their navies
1923: France and Italy invaded other areas but the League couldn’t stop them
1931: Lost credibility for allowing Japan to invade Manchuria
1932-1935: Couldn’t prevent Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay
1932-1937: Disarmament Conference attempted to limit world wide armament - with world war two beginning to become a fear, disarmament seemed unrealistic
1936: Hitler re-militarized Germany, denounced Treaty of Versailles, and invaded Austria in 1938
For a League of Nations lesson plan from Ohio State University click here
Includes "Claims of the Annamite People" that called for civil rights for the Vietnamese people of French IndoChina.
"Any war of threat of war is a matter of concern to the whole League and the League shall take action that may safe guard peace." (From Article 11 of the League's Covenant)
While the League was able to prevent a number of wars from breaking out, it was considered a failure when several disputes led to invasions or war.
For details on both these successes and failures, as well as information on the strengths and weaknesses of the League of Nations, visit League of Nations
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