Why did the Germans hate the treaty of Versailles?
Why did the Germans hate the treaty of Versailles? Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles because they did not understand they were responsible for starting the war neither they felt as they had lost. Another reason that the German hated the treaty was the terms of the treaty, which created political and economic problems. This includes territorial restriction on Germany, military Restrictions on Germany, territorial losses, reparations, League of Nations etc. As a result, a piece of land was split in centre of Germany for Poland to have a coastline, which weaken Germany from East Prussia (East Prussia had been a source of great revenue and the political elite for Germany). Another territorial restriction on Germany that the Germans did not expect was that the Saar coal fields were to be given to France for fifteen years. This was a great source of coal for the Germans and losing it meant that the Germans didn't have a supply of coal and raw materials for its industries. There are many more reasons that the Germans hated the treaty of Versailles. When the treaty was announced on the 7th May 1919, Germans were horrified. One of the reasons why they were horrified was Germany had been blamed unfairly for starting the war. However, the allies could blame Bosnia for killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo. Germany was not allowed to
Why Did The First World War Break Out in 1914?
Why Did The First World War Break Out in 1914? The First World War was the most terrible war ever known due to the number of deaths that took place each day on the gory battlefields of the war. Altogether eight million soldiers lost their lives fighting in the trenches. The system of trenches stretched across Europe from the English Channel to Switzerland and soldiers faced their foe across a few hundred metres of churned up ground with barbed wire known as 'No Man's Land'. The grounds in and around the trenches were turned into a huge ocean of mud because of the rain and exploding bullets. It was impossible to attack the other side's trenches effectively because they were so greatly secured. Twenty million people were wounded and there was an extensive destruction, which ravaged cities and their civilian populations. The First World War lasted for four whole years and broke out in 1914 due to a number of reasons. The reasons that led the nations of Europe and later the world to go to war in 1914 are complex, and it is impossible to say the war started because of one single cause. There are a series of events, which derived in the early 19th century, which engulfed most of Europe by 4th August 1914. Some causes of the war were long-term whereas others were short term. One reason for the outbreak of the war in 1914 was the competition for colonies between the European
To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles fair to Germany?
To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles fair to Germany? The Treaty of Versailles was created to cripple Germany so that they could not start another war. One side of the argument is that the Treaty was extremely unfair to Germany, as it took away some of her most valuable assets and fuelled nationalism. However, the other side of the argument is that as Germany caused a lot of damage, she deserved to be punished and prevented from stirring up more trouble. The military clause was the harshest and most damaging clause, and was greatly disapproved of by Germany. The size and power of the German army was one of her greatest assets. By restricting her to an army of only 100,000 volunteers, the Treaty left her defenceless and vulnerable. For such a large country, an army of 100,000 men was just big enough to keep order within Germany, but was not large enough to defend Germany from other invading powers. The army was a symbol of German pride and an important political source of nationalism. Having almost half of it taken away ruined Germany's Great Power status, and made her an easy target for other countries. In addition, the Rhineland became a demilitarised zone, meaning that Germany was open to attack by France. On the other hand, some groups believe that the military clause was fair, as it punished Germany as well as giving the smaller countries of Europe a chance to
Why was the Treaty of Versailles so in Germany?
"Why was the Treaty of Versaille so in Germany?" The Treaty of Versaille was a document drawn up by the League of Nations, the main influential countries being Britain France and the U.S.A. after the 1st World War. The Treaty restricted what Germany could do with regards to the Economy, the Military, and lands that Germany claimed to own. The Treaty was very strict with the Germans as it was a way of discouraging Germany from attacking and it was also a way for the British, French and American to have a little bit of revenge. One feature of the Treaty that would have made it unpopular was the fact that Germany was made to pay reparations of £6600 million to the countries that they had been at war with and for all the damage caused even that that had been caused by the Allies bombs. This massive bill caused the German economy to go into a stage of Hyper-inflation were the value of one German mark dropped from 4 marks being equivalent to $1 an 1914 to an all time low of 4.2 billion marks being the equivalent to $1 in 1923. This meant that Germany's economical stability was destabilising and Germany couldn't see why they had to pay for all the damage and that the countries that they were forced to give money to were as guilty as they were and therefore should pay as well. The Treaty said that Germany could keep it's army but on the condition that it was restricted to only
Was The Treaty Of Versailles Justified?
Was The Treaty Of Versailles Justified? The Treaty Of Versailles was an agreement between 32 nations deciding the fate of Germany. It was needed badly as war torn Europe was in turmoil. France had been devastated by the effects of war and sought to cripple Germany. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, realised the severe implications that this could have and so wanted a more lenient peace treaty. The American public had little interest in Post War Europe but their President, Woodrow Wilson, wanted a Germany that would make a good neighbour in Europe, hence his fourteen points. To reach a compromise a meeting was needed at the small palace of Versailles, not far from the French capital, Paris. Here the leaders of 'The Big Four', Orlando, Clemenceau, Wilson and George, representing Italy, France, Britain and America respectively, tried to find a lasting peace for Europe. This meeting was intended to bring stability ad peace into a crippled Europe. The date set was June 28th, 1919 and the members of 32 nations met up, in a council of 10, to agree on terms of peace for Germany, however none of the defeated nations were present at this meeting including Russia whose Government was not acknowledged by the Allies. The treaty was to last for 12 months and was to be a long and arduous task, even impeding Wilson's health, but what was the outcome and was the treaty justified?
WHICH ALLIANCE SYSTEM WAS THE STRONGEST IN 1914
WHICH ALLIANCE SYSTEM WAS THE STRONGEST IN 1914? In 1914, the six most powerful countries in Europe became two opposing alliances. The Central Powers (Triple alliance) consisted of a contracted pact between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882, of which was followed, 25 years later, by the Triple Entente pact between Britain, France and Russia. Each country was notorious for their advanced and mass military, and the initial Central Powers alliance had installed sufficient fear and suspicion to form an Entente. Many argue there is certain evidence that The Central Powers alliance was stronger than the Triple Entente. In 1870, Germany gain hold of the flourishing Alsace-Lorraine industrial area in France, so that in 1914 German industry was the 2nd most successful in the world to U.S.A: we can therefore assume that Germany found this economically gratifying as well as having access to advanced technological machinery. As a whole, The Central Power's soldiers in army count of 3.76 million (approx. 60% from Germany) exceeded that of the T.E's (Triple Entente) 3.25 million- securing victory for The Central Powers on that front. Furthermore, Germany, itself, had an impressive amount of warships (85 and 23 submarines) in naval rivalry to Britain (122 warships and 64 submarines) proving a harsh contender with a vast and dynamic military. From a defence view, the geographical
Were the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 fair?
Were the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 fair? Introduction After World War I various peace treaties were made, the most important and well known being the Treaty of Versailles. At the Treaty of Versailles there was disagreement, France wanted Germany to be punished as severely as possible whereas Britain and the USA realized that punishing Germany too harshly would only cause far worse problems later on. Britain and France both wanted to capitalize on World War I and gain German and Turkish colonies, the USA was against this and considered this kind of behaviour imperialistic however a compromise was reached and the colonies were divided among the winning powers and ran on behalf of the League of Nations. Meanwhile in Eastern Europe various other treaties were being signed - The Treaty of Neuilly, The Treaty of Trianon, The Treaty of Saint-Germain, The Treaty of Sèvres and finally the Treaty of Lausanne. Although none of these treaties were as important as Versailles they would all affect peace in Europe in the years following the First World War. Were the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 fair? Argument agreeing with the fairness of the Treaties of 1919 - 1923: I think that the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 were fair. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany pay for the terrible damage it had caused. France had suffered devastating losses due to Germany's actions in World War
Was the treaty of Versailles too harsh on Germany?
Was the treaty of Versailles to harsh on Germany? Yes, I think that the treaty of Versailles was too harsh on the Germans and would make the Germans have a desire for revenge. I think that the treaty could have been a bit softer, but on the other hand at that time the treaty couldn't have been agreed in any other way. When the treaty of Versailles was agreed it had blamed Germany as the country who lost and started the war and there for had to be punished severely. But for the Germans they did not think they were the ones who started the war and nor did they think they had lost the war. The Germans went to the treaty of Versailles expecting to be treated as equals but they were treated the opposite ways because the allies thought they had won the war and were now superior to Germany. So the Germans had no other solution but to sign the treaty. They called the treaty of Versailles a 'Diktat'. The treaty was devastating for Germany it had to surrender their biggest glory, their army. The German army had to be reduced to 100,000 men (all men had to be volunteered) and its navy could only have six battle ships. It wasn't allowed to have armored vehicles, aircraft's and submarines. This was extremely embarrassing for a country of the size of Germany. Germany lost 10? of its land and all it overseas colonies. This meant that 12.5? of Germanys population were now of another
Why did the treaty of versailles provoke widespread hostility among Germans?
"WHY DID THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES PROVOKE WIDESPREAD HOSTILITY AMONG GERMANS? Following the end of the war and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on the 28th June 1919 the German people reacted badly. Although, it is important to note that the widespread hostility among Germans had also preceded the signing of the treaty. A reason for this hostility, as A.J. Nicholls points out, was that the Germans had always been told they were fighting a defensive war and therefore did not regard themselves as responsible for the disaster, which had befallen Europe. After the terms of the treaty were accepted this reinforced the belief that the German people had been stabbed in the back as the army were seen as undefeated heroes. The Germans would demand for the terms to be modified. As J.W. Hiden stated in his book "The Weimar Republic": "The enforced signature of the treaty confirmed the worst of existing fears and confirmed the need for a more long-term and cautious running campaign to modify the peace terms." In this essay it is necessary to examine the mean reasons why the Treaty of Versailles did provoke such widespread hostility among Germans. Firstly, an important reason why the Treaty of Versailles provoked widespread hostility among Germans was that they felt the treaty was a 'Diktat' forced on them rather than a negotiated settlement. As A.J Nicholls argues, the Germans
Who was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914?
Who was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914? Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria and the next heir to the throne of the vast Austria-hungry Empire. He was a well-respected man with all of life's riches handed to him while he was a young boy at the age of twelve when his father Archduke Karl Ludwig died leaving him with the majority of his wealth. In 1895 he married Countess Sophie Chotek and after this he felt quite high of himself believing that he did not need security even though associations such as the Black Hand who wanted to make all Serbs free from the Austrian empire and were out to kill him. He believed that God would protect him from the evils that the world had put before him. Franz went to Sarajevo to celebrate his 19th anniversary with his wife and took an opened roofed tour around the town. Many people came to admire the Archduke but among these people were members of the Black Hand. Due to a wrong turn made by the driver they were forced to turn around and that was when Gavrilo princip fired 2 shots, both hitting their target. This was an assassination but who was the one to blame? Some historians believe that it was due to poor security. Others say that it was a planned plot by well-trained assassins. In this essay I will analyse all of the sources related to the topic and state, what key factor was their to blame for