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

    It reinforced his lack of personal rule as he was forced to submit to the whims of the Reichstag by promising to moderate his conduct in the future, and proved that the Kaiser was both reliant upon, and limited by, the Reichstag.

  2. Hitlers Germany

    Somewhat awkwardly expressed, a sign in German at the Strasbourg bridge connecting France and Germany read in the mid-1950s: "You are leaving Europe-You remain in Europe." The economic order was changing, blurring old linguistic and ethnic borders. Goods and people could move across them with greater freedom.

  1. The Treaty of Versailles: Prelude to WWII

    She later found out that many Germans were now under foreign rule, as seen in the example of the Sudetenland which was given to Czechoslovakia despite its vast German population. Later on, this German displacement would give Hitler reason to invade countries 'in search of self-determination'.

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

    It is thus clear that on the most part Germany believed that they would not be punished harshly for their actions. This however proved no more than a myth and it was clear that the Allies were ardent on ensuring that Germany was to be punished accordingly to their actions.

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

    Many of the articles of the Treaty of Versailles were territorial. For example, Alsace-Lorraine was given to France. West Prussia and Upper Silesia were given to Poland while the Saar, Danzig and Memel under the control of the League of Nations.

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

    Britain?s main aim was to take this away and this was listened to. The navy Germany was proud of was reduced, their air force completely destroyed and their army reduced to a pitiful 100,000 men.

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