One of the main parts of the Treaty of Versailles that punished Germany the most includes a number of territorial terms. This included Alsace-Lorraine being returned to France; West Posen, Upper Silesia and Posen were given to Poland; Eupen Maldemy was lost to Belgium. This meant that the land that Germany once had, which they believed showed power and wealth, had been taken away from them which was humiliating and embarrassing for them. Also, Danzig and Memel was over by the League of Nations. More and more land was restricted from the power of Germany, decreasing the ‘power’ they once had. In addition, the Saarland was taken over by the League of Nations for the next 15 years. To add to the punishment, Germany lost all of its overseas colonies. They were run by the victorious powers on behalf of the League of Nations.
Another main part of the Treaty of Versailles that punished Germany was the military terms which hindered the growth in Germany’s army. Germany was not allowed any armoured cars, tanks, aircrafts or submarines. The German army were reduced to just 100,000 men, this angered the Freikorps as they had helped the Weimar Republic, the government running Germany after WW1, produce a large army then they were told to leave purely because the Treaty forced Germany to minimize the number of people in the army. The Freikorps felt deceived and annoyed as they favoured the Weimar Republic, which made them hate the government for signing the treaty even more. Also, the Rhineland had to be demilitarised which made the people living in this area feel vulnerable to threats and attacks made by opposing colonies etc.
The further parts of the Treaty of Versailles that intensely punished Germany were the reparations and war guilt. This was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, known as the War Guilt Clause, was a statement that Germany was responsible for beginning World War I. This meant that the victorious powers could demand compensation from Germany for the damage caused by the war. This was also known as the reparations. The War Guilt Clause was added in order to get the French and Belgians to agree to reduce the sum of money that Germany would have to pay to compensate for war damage. The article was seen as a concession to the Germans by the negotiators. It was bitterly resented, however, by virtually all Germans who did not believe they were responsible for the outbreak of the war. This article was a constant thorn in the side of the Weimar leaders who tried to meet the terms of the agreement while trying to have these terms modified. Ultimately, the Reparations Commissions fixed the sum at £6.6billion, which had to be paid in annual installments.