Source 1- a British cartoon drawn subsequent to the treaty of Versailles argues against the treaty. In it is the USA president, Italy, Britain and Clemenceau, the French Priminister. Clemenceau nicknamed Tiger, sees a child crying. Above the child is the writing ‘class of 1914’. These children would grow up to become soldiers of World War II. Hence, this cartoon indicates that the treaty of Versailles made Germany bitter and Germany would come for revenge.
Source 2, in hindsight, also argues that the treaty was a mistake. It argues that the treaty failed to create peace and failed to weaken Germany for long enough. This is shown in ‘The treaty of Versailles did not pacify Germany, still less permanently weaken her’. This is also reflected in ‘it was neither a Wilson peace nor a Clemenceau peace.’ This source argues that the treaty was a mistake and did not for fill its potential as made nor peace or war.
In comparison to source 1 and 2, source 3 agrees with the treaty. This is evident in ‘We must remember the feelings of the French and the lesser extent of the British'. This shows that it is unfair to say the treaty was a mistake because you have to think of how French were feeling after many of their men died and land was destroyed.
Source 4 also agrees with the treaty. It argues that it was the best possible solution at the time and that if France had its way it could have been much worse for Germany- ‘It could have been much worse if Clemenceau had his way. Germany would have lost the Rhineland, the Saarland and the Danzig.’ It also says that Germany had no right for arguing against the treaty, instead Germany should have been more grateful. ‘However, the Germans were not inclined to count their blessings in 1919.’ Both sources 3 and 4 agree that the treaty was not a mistake.
However, in history there is rarely one blunt straightforward answer. Sources 1,2 and, 3,4 both express different opinions and have interpreted the treaty in different ways. The explanations are varied because of who wrote the sources and when they were written. Source 1 is a British cartoon that shows the treaty as a mistake because Britain wanted a fair settlement for a powerful trade system; however, Germany did not get one. Source 2 was written after the treaty of Versailles was signed. This source was written after World War 2, in which people had been searching for the cause of World War 2. The treaty of Versailles stood out as an obvious answer, consequently resulting to the author of this source to believe that the treaty was a mistake. Source 3 and source 4 explains that it would be bias to say that the treaty of Versailles was a mistake because you would have to take in account of the people’s feelings at the time. Historians sometimes look at the substitute event and have their own individual different opinions. They try to evaluate the significance of events and debate with other historians, as they do not always have the same opinion.
In conclusion, it is easy to just make hindsight and say the treaty of Versailles was a mistake, however, you must understand the emotions of the people at the time. However, on the other hand the treaty itself had achieved nothing but World War II and the Germans to want revenge, thus the treaty itself was a mistake, but a logical answer at the time.
