The following reasons were all equally important reasons why Germany was dissatisfied with the Treaty. 1) The reduction in armed forces, the loss of territory and the imposing of war guilt and reparations. How far do you agree with this statement?

Because Germany could not pay these reparations, they lost a great deal of territory. Germany was forbidden Anschluss with Austria, German-speaking people were divided and hived off into new countries, to be ruled by non-German people. Germany lost key industrial areas, such as the Saar and Upper Silesia, which produced much of their coal and iron output, leading to a loss of over 16% of its coalfields and over half of its iron and steel industry. The British and the French increased their empires by taking control of the Middle Eastern German territories, Germany lost all of its colonies, and the Polish Corridor. Losing the Polish Corridor split Germany into two, and part of their sovereign state, East Prussia was separated from them. The loss of territory was a huge blow to German pride, and a further blow to the economy.

Because Germany was blamed for the war, and, perhaps more importantly, because it had lost the war, the Allies felt they had the right to disarm Germany, and did so in the treaty, by placing many reductions on their armed forces. Germany was not allowed any tanks, submarines, air force or conscription. Their navy was limited to 15,000, the size of their ships was limited, and their army was limited to 100,000 men. This made it impossible for them to be aggressive, and whilst other countries such as Britain and France increased their navies and empires, Germany felt powerless, as they could not enlarge or move forward with their empire, which had practically been taken away from them.

As a result of Versailles, Germany lost its ability to defend or expand its territory and therefore lost territory, and with that lost territory and the reparations it had to pay went its economic growth and stability. If the Allies had imposed a less punishing agreement, Germany might have been more stable financially and politically, might not have found the reasons it did to rearm and the second world war may have been avoided.

In conclusion, Germany felt that the treaty was a punitive and dictated peace. The nation felt outraged by the supposedly unfair demands made by the Treaty of Versailles, particularly, and equally upset about the particular points 1-3 in the question title. I therefore agree with the statement strongly, as the treaty had taken away important pillars of the German nation’s pride, their fighting capability, their territory and their economic independence and saddled them with the guilt of the war.