Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

German horror at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was the result of unrealistic expectations. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

German horror at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was the result of unrealistic expectations?. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. German horror at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 could be interpreted as equitable. President Wilson Woodrow?s Fourteen Points (a program proposing world peace) stated the importance of the right of national self-determination as a basis for a just peace however, the Germans were in fact denied this right. Millions of Germans were living in non-German states such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. Allied occupation of western Germany led to continuous friction, German nationalists were outraged as patriotic songs and festivals were banned in French areas. It can be argued that it is not an ?unrealistic expectation? for German?s to have self-determination as it is a basic right and they were unable to celebrate their own traditions after being taken over by foreign countries. ...read more.

Middle

The reparations obviously effected German citizens and it was not fair to make them suffer as Weimar Germany was seriously damaged because of this. German citizens were angry as everyone felt it would cripple the German economy and people were not ready to accept that the ?war guilt clause?. However, while Germans were horrified at the Treaty of Versailles, it could be argued that they deserved what they got after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918. The German?s had ruthlessly punished Russia, they had broken up the western part of the Russian Empire and seized lots of territory. The German war aims of 1914 again included the annexation of enemy territory to expand Germany?s colonial empire and a very severe reparations bill for the defeated allies. ...read more.

Conclusion

The expectations were clearly stated in the Fourteen Points. To conclude, I agree with this view as I think that German horror at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was the result of unrealistic expectations. Germany war aims of 1914 prove that they wanted to annihilate other countries and take over their territory and cripple the defeated allies yet the terms caused an uproar in Germany mainly due to the high reparations cost. £6.6 billion was a lot of money for Germany to pay and it was unfair on German citizens as they had to suffer however, the Germans were ruthless to Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 so it could be argued that Germany actually deserved what they got. The complaining of the severity of the Treaty of Versailles essentially reminded Germany of the harshness of Brest-Litovsk ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Modern European History, 1789-1945 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level Modern European History, 1789-1945 essays

  1. Hitlers Germany

    They blamed the Communists, who wanted a revolution that would destroy the traditional German values. They blamed big business and the economic profiteers who were ruining the middle classes. And they blamed the Jews, who allegedly stood behind Marxism, the Weimar system, much of big business, and economic profiteering.

  2. The Treaty of Versailles: Prelude to WWII

    Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations was created, but Germany was not invited to join. Before Germany had signed the Treaty of Versailles, she had read Wilson's published Fourteen Points, which had misled her into thinking she would be promised self-determination.

  1. "Kaiser Wilhelm II used to the full his authority as Kaiser of the German ...

    The cycle continued as the Kaiser gained yet more influence within the Reichstag, which enabled him to have his Bills passed more easily, giving him a sense of personal rule. However, the mere fact that Caprivi had to consult and negotiate with the Reichstag proved that without their agreement, the Kaiser could do very little.

  2. Why was public opinion so outraged by the Treaty of Versailles?

    In the minds of the German population it was evident that they had felt bitterly betrayed by the Allies, who did not use Wilson's plan as a blueprint for the settlement. In addition to this 'betrayal' the very manner of the settlement, which concluded in the Hall of Mirrors in

  1. The Treaty of Versailles was mainly intended as a punishment to cripple and humiliate ...

    The Saar was a key area for industry with natural ores and for Germany a massive contributor for their economy through trade. Taking this away reduce their trade options dramatically and made it even more unlikely for them to be able to pay off their debts.

  2. Assess the short-term significance of the Treaty of Versailles.

    In the image we can see what appears to be Philipp Scheidemann attempting to stab a German World War One soldier in the back. From this we can infer that the signing of the Treaty and the acceptance of its terms was treated as a betrayal, especially to German troops.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work