Woodrow Wilson the President of the USA also had ideas of his own by putting forward his fourteen points which he hoped would cause peace and self determination.
Territorial Changes
There were many territorial changes included in the treaty. I am going to analyse the fair points and unfair points of the treaty.
Alsace and Lorraine was returned to France. This is fair is it once belonged to France and was lost in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. The French President wanted to retrieve land so this was put in the treaty. This clause was satisfactory for all of the Big 3. Eupen and Malmedy were awarded to Belgium. This is also a fair point as Germany after losing the war was going to lose land. It has also gone to a country which was affected by the war when Germany travelled through Belgium to get to France. Posen and W. Prussia was awarded to the new state of Poland. This however is an unfair clause as Poland is a new state and does not deserve to gain land. Removing land from Germany shows how they have been forced into a little country with no power. Another part of Germany called Memel was awarded to Lithuania. This again is an unfair point as it s just reducing German land and destroying the country. France would be for this as they wanted revenge but this would not be in the ideals of Wilson as he wanted peace and self determination and Lloyd George wanted to keep Germany stable.
The other Territorial changes included the plebiscites. The plebiscites occurred in several areas where a vote by the whole population determined who the area would go to.
North Schleswig was voted to return to Denmark. This again is a fair point as it was once a part of Denmark and in returning to Denmark it agrees with Wilson’s point of self determination. It is land which was lost in 1863 and has been fairly returned to Denmark by voting. Upper Silesia was voted to become part of Poland. This is unfair and fair. It is unfair as it is part of Germany and is a key industrial area and it’s unfair for it to go to the new state of Poland. It is fair in the way that it has been voted to go to Poland by the people who live there. Southern East Prussia was voted to remain German. I see this as fair as the people want it to remain German and it is rightfully German land. This would be ideal for USA and Britain but not for France as they wanted revenge.
The Saarland which is another key industrial area was awarded to Germany for 15 years and under a plebiscite to return to Germany in 1935. Germany having lost should pay so losing this land is fair for the amount of time as they will regain the land. But it is unfair as they are losing all there industrial areas and were forced to pay reparations so this would make it hard for them to make money and pay. Danzig is put under suspension of the League of Nations. It was used by the polish as a harbour and is vital as it gives them access to the sea. This stops German access and this means they cannot build their navy. It is fair as Poland need an area for trade by sea but unfair as the majority of people are German so this goes against the ideas of Woodrow Wilson. The colonies were awarded as mandates under the suspension of League of Nations. This is unfair as Germany should have a right to their colonies but fair as they are awarded as mandates. Other clauses include the demilitarisation of the Rhineland which ensured Germany was unable to attack France on the border and Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany. These are fair as it is something which will stop Germany growing in power and starting another war.
Naval and Military Clauses
In this section I will briefly analyse the points included in the military clauses and whether they are fair or unfair.
The German army was cut to about 100,000 men. I think this is fair as it has reduced Germany’s ability to fight so they will not start another war. This also means their economical potential has been limited so they cannot grow in power. Germany was not allowed an air force, tanks or heavy artillery. I see this as fair because they cannot possibly become a threat but they should be allowed some sort of army to be able to defend themselves. Their navy has also been reduced so they cannot attack from the seas. Some unfair points are that they have huge lines to defend and 100,000 is not enough, the air force would allow mobility and this is denied, and their navy lacks defence in conflict this could destroy Germany.
War guilt and Reparations
I will look at all the war guilt and reparations clauses and show which are fair and unfair.
Clause 231 states that Germany is held responsible for the war and is guilty of starting it. It is fair to say this as Germany was a large source of casualties during the war. Another fair point was their readiness to back up Austro-Hungary during conflict. Had they not been involved there may not have been a war. Another fair reason is that it only seems natural that the losing side receives the blame. There are also reasons why Germany should not have received the blame when they did. These are the unfair points about this clause. It is Unfair to put the blame on Germany as it was Austro-Hungary who declared war on Serbia. It was all under the influence of Wilhelm who after the war was exiled from Germany and had to face no punishment. Another reason which makes it unfair is before the war started Britain had not declared their status. Germany was unsure what Britain was going to do if they attacked France. It was because of this they attacked and Britain joined the war. Had Germany known that Britain would get involved they may not have proceeded to attack France.
Germany was then forced to pay reparations of at least 24 billion dollars which was later reduced to 6.6 billion dollars. This can be seen as fair as there was a massive damage to be paid for because of all the destruction. It can also be seen as fair as it is no more than Germany would have imposed if they had won which is evident in the treaty they imposed on Russia. Another reason which shows fairness is the reduction from 24 billion to 6.6 billion. There are also unfair points which include that these reparations are affecting the people not just the rulers and this is causing them extensive economic damage for something they may not have believed in. Germany also receives no support with reparations. They have also had major industrial areas taken away so it is harder to earn money. They have lost their industrial areas and have to pay reparations.
Conclusion
In conclusion I feel there have been many points included that were unfair to impose on Germany and better clauses could have been included in the treaty. There were some good clauses which would stop Germany starting another war but did not completely wipe them out which was a possibility. The treaty can be seen as fair because it is no more than what Germany would have imposed but many points can be seen as unfair in the situation. i.e. Germany paying reparations on top of losing industrial areas. Overall I feel the treaty is slightly unfair as they Germans felt it was rather harsh and many points included were unfair to impose on Germany. The treaty was not able to guarantee that another war would not start and the Germans felt that it would lead to another war shown in many of the German cartoons. The treaty was viewed as harsh by the Germans and was not ideal in the eyes on the Big 3 so how could this treaty be seen as fair or successful. It is for this reason I feel the Treaty of Versailles was unfair.
Will the treaty lead to war?