The third point was disarmament. This meant that Germany could not have an army of more than 100,000, was only allowed six battleships and no submarines, tanks or planes. The Rhineland was also demilitarised and conscription was banned. Disarmament left the Germans, again angry, but also humiliated, as they had always been extremely proud of their vast, powerful army. Now they were not even being allowed to defend their own land. A small army, that even Lloyd George referred to, as “a mere police force” did not reflect an important country. Hitler wanted to restore the army to its former glory, fill the people with pride and help combat unemployment, which he did by making weapons and reintroducing conscription. The Treaty of Versailles allowed Hitler to take advantage his oratory skills as it gave him something to attack - “What would I like to do with the Treaty of Versailles. Each one of the points of the Treaty is branded in the minds and hearts of the German people… We will have weapons again”. Again he condemned the Treaty saying “sixty million men and women find their soles aflame with a feeling of rage and shame”.
The fourth point removed land from Germany. Losses include the following: Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, after a plebiscite North Schleswigg went to Denmark, the Polish corridor was created, the Saarland was to be run by the League of Nations but France had control of the coal mines for fifteen years and the German colonies became mandates of the League of Nations. Out of the mandates Britain gained Jordan and Tanganyika and France got Lebanon. The Germans bitterly resented their loss of land and they also felt desperation, as they saw no way of paying back the reparations without their prime industrial land. This was a double punishment.
The fifth point was the League of Nations. This was set up as an international “police force”. Germany had wanted to be a first rate decision-making country but was not allowed to join the “club of winners”. They deeply resented this snub.
The Treaty of Versailles left Germany feeling angry, betrayed, desperate and humiliated. As the German newspaper Deutsche Zeitung stated “VENGEANCE, GERMAN NATION! Today, in the Hall of Mirrors, the disgraceful treaty is being signed. Do not forget it. The German people will reconquer the place among the nations to which they are entitled. Then will come vengeance for the shame of 1919”. Hitler was able to use these strong feelings to his advantage. The Germans hated Ebert and his Weimar government for signing the Treaty of Versailles and they were upset by Stresemann’s willingness to accept the Treaty by continuing to pay reparations. Throughout the country, people said that the politicians had “stabbed the army in the back”. Hitler called them “a gang of wretched criminals” and began to gain popularity as the German people agreed with him. Hitler denounced the Treaty and promised to “sweep out the old gang”. As Carr states “ it was not the contents of his speeches” that drew the middle-class audiences to him but “the denunciation of the Versailles Treaty, rhetorical talk about German’s future glory and promises of tax reductions” (Carr: The 20th Century). Hitler was a great orator and leader and his oratory skills are linked to how the Treaty of Versailles contributed to his rise in power as without them he would not have been fully able to express his feelings and opinions to the people.
The Treaty of Versailles gave Hitler ammunition. It led directly to the invasion of the Ruhr (as it allowed France to) and hence to hyperinflation. As Walsh states “The Treaty of Versailles destabilised Germany politically but the German’s also blamed it for another problem - economic chaos”. The Treaty imposed reparations, which the German’s did not pay. The lack of repayment led the French into invading the Ruhr to confiscate raw materials and goods. The strikes that followed directly led to hyperinflation. As MacKichan states “the causes of hyperinflation were varied and complex but the German’s did not see it that way. They blamed reparations and the Weimar Republic”. The Treaty also therefore emphasised the weakness within the Weimar government.
