How accurate is it to suggest that the Treaty of Versailles was mainly responsible for the political and economic instability in Germany 1919-23?

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How accurate is it to suggest that the Treaty of Versailles was mainly responsible for the political and economic instability in Germany 1919-23?

The 1919 Treaty of Versailles led to great political and economic instability as the government was seen by many to surrender to the dictation of Britain, France and America. Forcing the huge submission of Germany’s land, resources and military capability, the Treaty of Versailles certainly played an important role in causing the political and economic instability witnessed during 1919-23. However, the inherent weaknesses of the Weimar government, the consequences of the 1918 Armistice, the growth of opposition in the period and most importantly the consequences of Germany’s First World War policies all played a role in causing the political and economic instability of Germany from 1919-23.

Labelled a “Schmachfrieden” (a humiliatingly shameful peace) by many Germans, the Treaty of Versailles did much to cripple Germany economically in the period 1919-23. Coupled with the massive £6.6 billion in war guilt and reparations that Germany was forced to pay after WWI, the treaty also took 13% of Germany’s land, much of which included areas of industry that was economically important to Germany. Therefore, the country was left economically instable as the country was forced to begin paying reparations with even fewer resources than it had after the war ended. In fact, with the treaty taking 48% of Germany’s iron ore, 16% of its coal and 15% of its agricultural land the country was effectively plunged into economic disarray, unable to export the materials and goods that had previously seen the country thrive. With such significant losses in land and resources, and therefore her productive output, coupled with the major reparations that the treaty forced the country to pay, it is clear that the Treaty of Versailles played a large role in the economic instability of 1919-23 within Germany.

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Moreover, the Treaty of Versailles contributed greatly to the political instability that existed within Germany between 1919 and 1923. To many Germans the treaty was seen as wicked, unfair and a slave treaty, in which a significant proportion of the country’s population was to be lost to surrounding territories. Indeed, the Nationalist newspaper Deutsche Zeitung printed “Death rather than slavery” at the news that 1.5 million Germans were to live in Poland following the treaty. Political instability continued to grow at the fact that Germany’s army was to be humiliatingly scaled down: only 100,000 soldiers, no tanks, no military aircraft ...

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