Yes. Germans had to pay millions in reparations to the Allies. Hitler came along and promised that he would make the reparations go away along with all of the other restrictions put on Germany. Such as not being able to trade and only being able to have an army with very few soldiers, very little supplies, etc. If it was not for the Treaty of Versailles, WWII would never have happened. Germany was defeated and I think they would have just laid low for a while to rebuild their economy. The treaty gave Hitler a reason to rise to power and it also helped him win the peoples vote.
I think that it played a part in WWII, but I don't think that it is SOLELY to blame for the war.
The Treaty seemed to satisfy the "Big Three" as in their eyes it was a just peace as it kept Germany weak yet strong enough to stop the spread of communism; kept the French border with Germany safe from another German attack and created the organisation, the League of Nations, that would end warfare throughout the world.
However, it left a mood of anger throughout Germany as it was felt that as a nation Germany had been unfairly treated.
Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties the treaty was bound to impose on Germany. Those who signed it (though effectively they had no choice) became known as the "November Criminals".
Many German citizens felt that they were being punished for the mistakes of the German government in August 1914 as it was the government that had declared war not the people.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
It affected not only Germany, but Japan and Russia as well. Russia was purposely left out of the treaty because they had left the war to deal with internal issues, namely the Bolshevik Revolution. Once in power Lenin signed a truce with Germany. Russia was simply tired and incapable of continuing its fight. The other Allies took this as a sign that the Russian's somehow betrayed them, and therefor kept them out of the Treaty.
The Japanese had just gone through a rapid industrialization process prior to World War One. They're economy and population were booming. They needed oil, and room to expand. They entered WW1 on the allies side, hoping to gain territory. They then rconquered all German assets in South East Asia, and took over Manchuria as well. However, after the war, the Treaty forced them to give these conquered lands to France, since France had taken the worst beating of the nations represented in the Treaty. (Almost all the action on the Western Front occurred in France) Obviously, Japan was non to happy to give up these valuable lands, but they were powerless to overrule the Allies. In the Washington Treaty, they were forced to effectively halve the size of their navy, while the US and Britian could continue to build. That combined with loss of valuable land, left lingering resentment among head officials in Japan, thus setting the stage for their entrance into WW2 as an Axis power.
The Ottoman Empire was also broken up under the Treaty. However, this caused problems, as many ethnic groups were forced together, and adding to this was the Balfour Decision, which would give the Jews a homeland in Palestine. (obviously this didn't happen until after WW2, several decades later)
Ps- Chodder, Germany had to pay something like several billion dollars, not millions. *And we a thought a billion dollars was impressive today, just think what that would have seemed like to the Germans*
Love is a very powerful force, especially when its formed into a coherent beam of death.
Put it this way if Germany kept paying the reperations then the fianl payment would have been around October 1988 so that gives you an idea of how much money was involved, but most of the problems that led to war were as a direct result of the Versailles treaty things like Hyperinflation, which led to mutiny of the German Armed forces which led to fall of Weimar republic which created chaos which gave a moustached git with a knack for public speaking a way in to mainstream German politics and we all know what happend when ghe got to power. It all did not happen in that exact order but you het the idea.
Shadow Stalker said this in post #4 : Ps- Chodder, Germany had to pay something like several billion dollars, not millions. *And we a thought a billion dollars was impressive today, just think what that would have seemed like to the Germans*
I knew it was a lot but I forgot how much, so I just guessed.
As I was taught, Germany had to keep paying until they were told to stop.
And yes, I believe the Treaty of Versailles was a HUGE cause of WW2. The whole "Germany must accept complete responsibility for the war" thing had to be a killer. They didn't even really start the war. In fact, WW1 seems to have been one of the most easily avoidable conficts of the early 1900's.
Oh, and has anybody heard the whole story about the moronic assassins from the Black Hand that killed Francis Ferdinand? It is hilarious. Those guys were so horrible at carrying out their task I laughed when I heard the story. My teacher was laughing too.
Kevin: Remember that one time when I ate those napkins?
Me: (laughing) Yeah.
Kevin: That was funny. Do you remember what made me do it?
Me: I'm pretty sure you just said, "Hey, watch me eat these napkins".
Kevin: (laughing) Yeah, that sounds about right.
The Treaty of Versailles can be considered with the stepping back of today as a political mistake. Indeed it created all the conditions of a deep resentment and humiliation, along with its direct and indirect consequences on the german economy, that were the starting point of something even worse. Obviously, at this stage people were at lightyears of the concept of Europe as we understand it today. It was part of the struggle for land and power that has motivated long ago the most powerful nations of Europe since the beginning of their colonial History. The first half of the 20th century has been the culminating point of a lot of mistakes.
The Treaty of Versailles was definitely wrong. However, I think that the Germans are hypocritical because in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk they treated Russia MUCH more harshly.
But ultimately, the TOV resulted in bitter feelings in Germany, and it also resulted in many extremist parties (e.g. Nazis) forming their Anti-TOV stances which seemed attractive to many German voters.
Out of curiosity, what were the conditions of the Brest-Litvosk treaty? I know that Russia had to give up a fair chunk of land, but what else was there?
Love is a very powerful force, especially when its formed into a coherent beam of death.
The treaty was signed on Mar 3 1918 by Germany and Austria - Hungary and the new Russian government the two main parts of the treaty were that Russia lost massive amounts of land and that Russia's partcipation of in the war was over and that they were to live in a state of peace between Germany and her alllies. However the treaty did not last long as it was annuled in the Versailles treaty of Nov 1918.
The treaty brought about inflation in Germany with made the German public more likely to listen to Hitler who was telling them that he would give them jobs and food which was what they were struggling to get.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
05-21-2004 03:47 PM
