Describe those terms of the Versailles treaty, which caused most bitterness in Germany. Explain why.

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Describe those terms of the Versailles treaty, which caused most bitterness in Germany. Explain why.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 and was extremely harsh on Germany. This therefore created an intense bitterness as the Germans rightly felt they were hard done by. This feeling of being “stabbed in the back” therefore created bitterness on a large scale. There were a few definite terms, which built this bitterness and crippled Germany as a nation.

Possibly the crudest of the terms was the “War Guilt Clause”, this term forced Germans to accept full responsibility for the war. Therefore not only embarrassing them but also disrespecting Germany as a nation. Consequently, every German person including women, children and other non-participants had the repercussions hanging over them. The treaty punished all, no mercy was shown. The term had single handedly demoralised and embarrassed a nation, of mostly innocent people, as could be expected this enraged Germans and created a severe sense of bitterness.

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However, this was not the only absolutely uncompromising term. On top of this there were the “Reparations.” A staggering amount of compensation had to be paid back to the victorious nations. The sum of money (6.6 billion) was almost irrelevant as France and Britain were fully aware that it was a far too inflated amount. However, it created a massive affect on Germans psychologically. The German economy consequently crashed and German people were left feeling embarrassed crushed and sour, which were definitely the treaties intentions.   The bitterness therefore continued to rise, as Germany was unable to pay these ...

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