The German government thought that the terms of the treaty were very harsh, but had no choice but to accept them. Apart from the many harsh terms Germany had to follow they also had o pay back an extremely unrealistic amount of money, which ruined its economy. A few months after the treaty was signed, German money was practically worthless. German people had to live in very poor conditions and there was hardly any money in the country. After the shame the Treaty of Versailles caused for
A huge sum of money was being taken out of the German economy, which made it extremely difficult for Germany to compete in the trade market. This created a huge dent in the German economy and angered German citizens as they knew that they were sending huge amounts of money to the Allies. As a result of this term, there was little money left to spend on the remains of the German Military which was another hard blow. This term of the treaty was not fair at all when Germany’s existing losses are taken into account, and it really made Germany suffer during tough times. The treaty would have been far more reasonable had the reparations been made smaller.
They put restrictions on the German military, to make Germany weak and a second-rate power. Germany had huge financial losses, which brought the rise of the ultra-nationalist Nazis. They had to take acceptance of responsibility for the damage in the war even though they weren’t the only ones in the war. Germany had absolutely no say in the requirements and matters of the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles would prove to be one of the most disastrous mistakes in history.
Germany also lost all overseas colonies, and their boundaries within Europe were reduced, losing in total 13.5% of their territory, which included losing 7 million people to neighbouring countries. This left Germany humiliated, having been allowed no say in the matter, and not even being invited to the peace treaty conference at which the clauses were discussed. This humiliation angered Hitler, and he vowed to make Germany strong once more as it had been before the First World War. This was a long-term cause of Hitler becoming chancellor, as it is what first motivated Hitler to become a leader and change the way in which Germany was left
There were other factors that Germany thought that were very unfair such as their tiny army and the amount of land that was taken from them. Their army had to be reduced to 100,000 men and also they could not have any military aircraft, submarines or armored cars. This made them very vulnerable to other countries and other countries took valuable resources from Germany making their future seem even worse. All the countries who had been involved in the war had different aims in the treaty these included France who at the time president was Clemenceau who was seen as the harshest of the big three. France in the war had suffered the most so it was only right that they wanted Germany to be crippled and Clemenceau with the support of France had the aim of crushing them.
The peace settlements left a layer of bitterness specially in Germany. Germans felt that Treaty of Versailles was unjust in holding Germany alone responsible for the war because even if Germany played a vital role in causing the war, the other nations also participated in it and therefore, made a minor war into a total war. In addition, the military terms of the Treaty (army of 100,000, only 6 battleships, no submarines or aeroplanes) is another part that disappointed Germans a lot. For Germans, not to be able to send troops even to places inside Germany was a national insult.The Germans were not invited to negotiate the treaty even. The Versailles Treaty required Germany to pay stiff reparations.
When And Why Did The Second World War Turn Against Hitler And His Allies? In September 1939 the world descended into the most violent conflict in its history. This was as a result of many years of poverty stress and anger at other countries (from Germany). Hitler took this downfall of the country to become the prime minister, as he often said that if he became the leader of Germany he would sort the country of all its problems. Hitler then took away the “Power of the People” by replacing parliament with a self proclaimed dictatorship, which most Germans welcomed.
Causes of WW 11 Who, or what was to blame in causing WW 11? The Versailles Treaties have been blamed for fillnig the Germans with bitterness and the desire for revenge. The League of Nations has been for failing to secure general disarmament and collective security. The Great Depression has been mentioned because without it Hitler would never have come to power. While these factors created tension, something more was needed to create the war.
On one hand, I agree with this statement because the treaty crippled there economy and set them back in the terms of technological developments. For instance, they were made to take all the blame for the war despite the fact they weren’t the sole reason for it or the only side opposing the allies, which is unfair as the Germans are made to take the guilt of the millions of dead after the first war. Also, because of the ‘War Guilt Clause’ they were made to pay $6.6 million to France and Belgium in reparations when Germany itself needed money for it to be rebuilt after the war. Also, Germany had land taken away from it, leading to some Germans nationality to being changed. Also, Germany were restricted to an army only 100,000 strong, which lead to mass unemployment, making the lives of many Germans very difficult.
From the start there was economic instability because of the cost of World War One and there was widespread disillusion within the German people. The public did not support the Weimar, and the administrative branch of the government, including the Judiciary, also teachers did not back it up either. Mass unemployment, damages to the infrastructure also from World War One, and the demand for reparation payments put lots of pressure on the inexperienced democracy. Not only in Germany, but all over Europe, fundamental and anti-democratic movements gained support. 2.