The Treaty of Versailles:

The Beginning of WWII

Tina Ford
HIST1700-022

To quote the words of a member of the British delegation, Harold

Nicolson, in reference to the peace meetings in France:

We were journeying to Paris, not merely to liquidate the war,

but to found a new order in Europe. We were preparing not peace only,
but eternal peace. There was about us the halo of some divine mission .
We must be alert, stern, righteous and acetic for we were bent on doing
great permanent and noble things1

This quote would become one of irony due to the events that the famed
Treaty of Versailles would incur. Details of the treaty were lead mainly by the
Big Three: U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, French Prime Minister,
Georges Clemenceau, and British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George .
Although all the representatives for the many countries that traveled to Paris
had intentions of coming to a peaceful agreement to end the first world war, all
came with their own agendas. Many of them were very unwilling to negotiate
on the conditions of the treaty. The U.S. wanted a way to make sure that a war
such as the first world war would never happen again. This is where Woodrow
Wilsons idea for the League of Nations came about. France wanted nothing
less than to see Germany brought to its knees to prevent her from ever

becoming a threat again. Lloyd George of Britain, being a politician needed

the support of the British people, therefor he needed to give them what it was
that they wanted: to make Germany pay for the war. Secretly, though, he was
also aware of the spread of communism and, with Germany being the barrier
to keep it from spreading into western Europe, saw the need to keep Germany
in a well enough state that she wouldnt see the need to turn to communism .
All of these individual agendas would cause the meetings to go on for months
and ultimately end in shortcomings for almost every country involved .
However, when the treaty was finalized and ready for signatures, no country
suffered more of a loss than Germany had. With 15 parts and 440 articles the
Treaty of Versailles took away much from the Germans including territory and
colonies, military, economic stability, and even the countrys pride and dignity .
Ultimately, the treaty that was being drawn up to create and maintain peace
and prevent another world war, was exactly what caused the flame for the
second world war.

Loss of Territory and Colonies

To satisfy the Big Three, mainly France and Britain, a large amount
of Germanys land was taken and given mostly to countries that were with the
Allied Powers (The United States, Britain, and France) . The territory of
Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France after having been taken 40 years

prior. Eupen and Malmedy was given to Belgium. Northern Schleswig was
given to Denmark. Hultschin was given to Czechoslovakia. And West Prussia,
Posen and Upper Silesia was given to Poland. Germany also had to return land
that was taken from Russia that was then used to make up several new
countries and part of Poland. 2 The loss of so much land put many people in
countries that they had no say in becoming citizens of. This infuriated and
confused many people who had considered themselves to be German citizens
who were now forced to live in another country simply because of the seizure
of land from Germany. Along with the loss of territory, all of Germanys
overseas colonies were taken by the League of Nations, which is what
Woodrow Wilson had brought to the treaty.

Demilitarization

Germany was almost completely unarmed by the treaty. The country

was required to diminish its army of about 4 and a half million 3 at the start of
the war in 1914 to only 100,000. They were given limitations on the weaponry
they were allowed. Tanks were out of question as well as other important
branches of military such as an air force and a very small naval force .2 The
zone of Rhineland was completely demilitarized except for the west bank of
Rhine occupied by an army placed there by the Allies for the next 15 years .

This obviously posed a large threat to German national security . Had they
been attacked anytime shortly after the signing of the treaty, they would have
surely fallen with little to no fight. This was a constant fear that loomed above
the heads of German officials as well as German citizens. Without a military
force, they were left in fear of the worst which ultimately lead to the
resentment of those who imposed the demilitarization .

Compensation

Clause 231, that placed the entire blame for the war on Germany,
therefor the entire cost of the war for all countries, caused Germany to become
entirely broke. The amount that was set for her to repay was not initially set in
the treaty. It was stated that Germany must pay reparations for the damages
caused to the infrastructure of France and Belgium. Germany was told to write
a blank check which would later be filled out for 6,600 million .2 This was a
debt that was impossible for Germany to pay. Although some of the debt was
paid with liquid assets such as gold, a lot of it had to be newly printed money,
which skyrocketed inflation and left Germany crippled . Later, Adolf Hitler
would claim that the sum was an attempt to crush the German spirit and the
German economy.4 Hed use this to fuel the anger of the German people and
later refuse to pay any more, thus leading to the second world war .

Article 231

In reference to the loss of German pride and dignity, article 231 of the
treaty states:

The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany

accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the
loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and
their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war
imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies ."5

This article, commonly called the War Guilt Clause places the entire
blame for the first world war on Germany. This raised the price that Germany
would have to pay in compensation of the war, as well as morally demeaned
the country by making them take full responsibility for a war that was started
among many countries. This caused a great sense of German Nationalism
which, combined with other factors, lead to the desperate need for a radical
leader (Adolf Hitler) and brought upon the outbreak of the second world war;
exactly the opposite of what the treaty was drawn up to achieve .

Failed Peace

This treaty was mostly written up by the Big Three with no input
from the German state. Having no say in the conditions of the treaty angered
the Germans greatly, but they were in no position, physically and financially,
to continue the war. Once the Germans were presented with the document,
they were told that had two weeks to decide to sign or not . There were only
two options: 1. Sign the Treaty or 2. Be invaded by the Allies. The latter was
considered to be far worse than the former . By signing the treaty, however, it
crippled Germany in many ways that would cause feelings of fear, anger, and
discontent, which would ultimately lead to the start of the second world war . A
war that would result in mass genocide, irreparable damages to the many
countries involved, and long-lasting strains in the relationships of countries .
The Treaty of Versailles was supposed to be a document that would prevent the
world from falling into another devastating war such as the first world war .
Woodrow Wilson and others failed at achieving this goal . And although the
intentions for peace were there, the means for peace were not .

Works Cited
1. The Peacemakers. Produced by David Postlethwaite. BBC: Treaty of
Versailles. March 1, 2016. Accessed December 9, 2016.
2. Trueman, C. N. "The Treaty of Versailles." History Learning Site.
March 17, 2015. Accessed December 9, 2016.
3. Simkin, John. "Armies 1914." Spartacus Educational. August 2014.
Accessed December 9, 2016.

4. Swift, Dean. "Treaty of Versailles: Facts, Causes and Effects." General

History. October 18, 2010. Accessed December 9, 2016.

5. "Treaty of Versailles: The War Guilt Clause." Facing History and

Ourselves. Accessed December 9, 2016.