Woodrow Wilson had helped to win the war and end the massacre. The U.S emerged as a new Great Power in the world and Wilson would be the one most responsible for shaping the peace. The people of Europe had high expectations for the “American Prophet.” Wilson’s brainchild was the Treaty of Versailles, based on his Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points were a series of points that Wilson believed would prevent another war on such a massive scale. One of these points saw to the creation of the League of Nations, an alliance between nations that was based on a system called, Collective Security.
The pact was the final cause of war as Hitler could now invade Poland without any interference from Stalin. Britain and France had declared war on Germany as they guaranteed Poland’s independence. However, the policy of appeasement in the 1930’s also played a big role in causing the Second World War. Appeasement had led Hitler to believe that Britain and France were weak. Britain and France gave Germany the Rhineland, the Sudetenland and they were allowed to have an Anschluss with Austria.
How far was the Treaty of Versailles justified at the time? The Treaty of Versailles was an agreement between 32 nations deciding the fate of Germany. It was needed badly as war torn Europe was in turmoil. France had been devastated by the effects of war and sought to cripple Germany. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, realised the severe implications that this could have and so wanted a more lenient peace treaty.
Germany proposed an alliance by saying, "That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost terrority in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona..." According to Arthur Zimmerman, their alliance with Mexico would be beneficial to Mexico and themselves. Germany wanted America to stay neutral, but Great Britain interfered.A final reason why the United States changed their position regarding involvement in World War One was President
As President, Wilson had campaigned against corruption in politics and business. He concentrated on keeping the USA out of the war. Once the USA had joined the war, he drew up his Fourteen Point Plan as the basis for ending the war fairly, so that future wars could be avoided. Wilson wanted a 'fair and lasting peace', and he wanted the armed forces of all nations reduced, not just the losers, and a League of Nations created to ensure peace. His plan affected the Treaty of Versailles as some of the terms in that treaty came from Wilson’s Fourteen Points, including German troops leaving Russia and free trade between all countries.
An example of this was the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936. Britain and France allowed him to do this and the British released a statement saying Hitler was simply, ‘marching into his back yard.’ This policy taught Hitler that aggression paid off. More importantly, Appeasement scared Stalin. Stalin was the dictator in the U.S.S.R. His army were not advanced enough to stand a chance against even a small German army and he feared Britain and France would not help the Soviets if the Germans invaded them. This therefore led to him signing the Nazi-Soviet pact.
It can be argued that the ’Weimar Republic’ , the outcome of the revolution was a facade of the old authoritarian regime, carrying out change under false pretences of a democratic institution, with the Right Wing Conservatives still in control. This essay will look at the revolutionary movement and to what prevail they fought their battle for a more democratic Germany. Some would dismiss M.Hughes claim as they believe the German revolution ultimately resulted in a shift of power. The years of Autocracy were over and the dynasty of Kaisers would no longer be at the head of German politics. William Carr states ‘ A revolutionary situation did exist in 1918 as long as the people were no longer prepared to obey the old rulers’ This highlights the disruption amongst the people, an awareness that there was a shift of power but whether this new awareness constitutes a revolution can be questioned.
The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty, which was signed at the end of World War One (WWI). Germany had lost the war, therefore the Allies, who had won the war, decided to hold a conference in Paris. This conference was called the Paris Peace Conference and it was to decide what everyone involved should do after the war. A fair treaty is a treaty where everyone’s concerns are addressed clearly, everyone having an equal amount of benefits and everyone must agree to the terms in the treaty. Different countries had different aims and motivations when they drafted the treaty.
In 1919 Germany was handed a diktat by the ‘Big Four’, a treaty that they had no option but to sign. Germany originally signed the Treaty of Versailles with the belief that it would be based around President Wilson’s fourteen points, however it soon became clear to them that this was not in fact the case. Germany felt that the Treaty had cheated them and there was much outrage across Germany. The principle complaint Germany had was that they felt the War Guilt Clause, referring to article 231 of the Treaty, was totally unjust. Germany was forced to take all the blame for damages received by the allies.
To what extent did Britain achieve its foreign policy aims in the Great War and via the post war treaties? World War I was to be the ‘the war that ended all wars’ and by 1919 there was a strong British sentiment that another war should be avoided at all costs and this belief shaped British foreign policy in the following post war years. Although Britain largely wanted to withdraw from Europe its main aim was to maintain its status as a ‘great power’ across the globe. Invariably this meant Britain was linked to Europe as from this stemmed other aims; to ensure no single power would dominate Europe, to avoid getting involved in European wars, to avoid long term alliances or creating long term enemies (as this would make war more likely) and to maintain naval domination. These aims were achieved to varying degrees of success.