Treaty of Versailles, was it fair?

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Treaty of Versailles, was it fair?

By Edward Smirnov

After world war one, Germany was forced to sign a treaty by the Allies in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles on June 28, 1919. The Germans saw this treaty as very humiliating as their land, people and colonies were taken away from her but the Allies kept theirs, also they were not aloud to actively participate in the council as they were communicated via written notes with no oral discussion. In addition to that they received what they thought harsh demands from the Allies where they were not aloud an army more than 100,000, no U-boats neither aircrafts and only 6 battleships, not to mention the huge amounts of money they had to pay out as compensation for the damages of the war to Britain and especially France (over 36,000 million pounds). They had no choice but to sign as they had lost the war and the Allies threatened to invade Berlin. Germany sworn her vengeance for the shame of the treaty of 1919 and was the treaty fair?

The Germans claimed it was not fair because of all the extreme demands like their limited arms and army and especially the cost demanded for compensation of the war, and from my opinion they had very right to do so. This is because countries such as France probably knew that Germany could not possible pay out that kind of a sum like the one they demanded (30,000 million pounds) in a short amount of time, not even in a reasonably long one. This means that Germany’s future generation of what then were children should have the heavy burden on their shoulders of paying the prise of something they have neither experienced, participated nor knew about. Although France did loose a lot of buildings (factories, churches, schools), forest was destructed and a great loss of human life, it seems very unfair on Germany from the revenge hungry French who all the time were waiting for this possibility of wounding Germany deep and long lasting from the time Alsace and Lorraine were taken away from them during the unification of Germany. Although the German finance minister had made it plain that if the German won, the Allies would be made to pay for the costs of the war, I would say that kind of a sum would be a little too long lasting and very unfair for the innocent children of Germany. Instead of that sum, I would think it would be more fair for France to demand a sum of 2 billion from Germany, if we take all the other facts of what Germany was forced to do and what have been taken away from them (territory, land, colonies and people) into consideration.

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        Although they felt they were humiliated in the way that they were not aloud to effectively participate in the council I think that is fair on them because of them starting the war, there for having the war guilt upon them (as many historians say they have) and loosing it. That is something they had to accept.

        I also think that their talk about their great territory loss of 13% (including 10% of her population, 14% of her farmland and 75% of her iron ore resources) was their way to say something against the treaty and not accept it ...

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