Germany 6mark questions Karsten Mok

Why did many Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?

There are two main reasons why many Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. First of all,
The Germans thought the Treaty was unfair. The Germans were never a part of the
conference. And when Germans disagree to the terms, the allies threatened to go to war
again. Germany was treated like a defeated country yet the Germans could not believe that
they have lost the war. Since no actual war has been fought on German land, and victory
seemed near in the Spring offensive, people were surprise that they have lost the World
War, let alone the fact that they have to accept the term of the Treaty of Versailles. They
signed the armistice in 1918 thinking they were accepting Wilson’s 14 points, yet very few
of them went into the actual Treaty. That is why the Germans hated the Treaty.
Secondly, the Germans were triggered by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The
harsh limitation of the army to 100000 men and have only 6 battleships along with the
demilitarization of Rhineland not only meant that they were defenseless, but also led to the
unemployment of many. The reparations were also ridiculously high. Having to pay
6.6billion pounds, many Germans thought it was impossible for them to have caused this
much damage, they thought it was a plan to destroy the German economy and starve them.
They were most furious about Clause 231, the war-guilt clause. They thought they were not
the only one responsible for the war, but this clause gave all the rights the allies to punish
Germany.

Why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in 1923?

There are two main reasons why France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr in 1923. Firstly,
the obvious reason, or excuse rather, was that Germany was unable to pay the reparations
required stated in the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. It was feared by the allies that might
abuse the treaty if they got away that time. French leader Poincaré argued that the
reparations themselves were not the key issue, but rather allowing Germany to defy the
part of the Treaty could lead to further attempt to undermine the Treaty later on.
Secondly, France was never satisfied on the Treaty of Versailles. French people thought the
treaty was too easy on Germany and wanted to punish them ever harder. Most of the
fighting happened on French land and a lot of them were devastated. Moreover, French
wanted revenge from the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 where the Germans took Alsace-
Lorraine from them. Since Ruhr was abundant of raw material such as coal, the inability to
pay reparation was merely an excuse for France to take revenge and mine their resources to
cripple their economy. This also proved to be effective with the hyperinflation in Germany
in 1923.

The Germans couldn’t fight the French

But they can get the workers to go on strike and go on passive resistance
The French find it very hard to extract anything
If the government tells workers to go out on strike, the gov has to pay them dole money
Tax revenue for government from the Ruhr and they have to pay dole money
The government resorts to printing more money but it creates hyperinflation
Stesemann becomes chancellor in the middle of 1923
Calls off passive resistance
Brave move, possibility to be accused as traitor and get killed
The Dawes plan was introduced
Rescheduled reparation payments and arranges for American banks to lend large sums to
German banks
Young negotiates a reduction in the total reparations bill
Due to be paid off by 1999
Hitler is a superb speaker
Hates Jews, communist, and Treaty of Versailles
Hitler’s collaborators: Kahr and Ludendorff, go to Berlin and seize power
Hitler has a private army (the S.A.)
Ludendorff accused of treason but the Judge is a secret nazi supervision and hitler get the
least possible sentence 9 months and used the trial to preach his message“I am resolved to
be the destroyer of Marxism”
Mein Kampf in prison: autobiography, blueprint of taking control of Germany
Get power by votes (big change of strategy)