risky consequences for the rest of Europe, as well as Germany.
On the other hand, France was delighted with the reparations. The historic hatred
between France and Germany meant that France wanted to crush Germany and gain
revenge. Most of the war took place on French soil, so France needed to rebuild their
infrastructure, and therefore wanted high amounts of reparations. This meant that
France would become a stronger nation than Germany, because Germany couldn’t pay
the reparations. There was also a strong French public hatred towards Germany, which
meant that Clemenceau wanted to weaken Germany, so they couldn’t invade again, to
ensure a war like this never happened again. Therefore, France thought the reparations
were fair because of all the damage done to their country, which they had to sort out.
The Treaty of Versailles excluded Germany from the negotiations of the Treaty. The
Treaty of Versailles was a diktat, which meant that if Germany didn’t accept the treaty,
they faced an allied invasion. This meant that even if Germany were obliged sign the
treaty even if they didn’t coincide with the terms, because otherwise it would lead to
more conflict. Therefore, Germany signed the Treaty, even though they felt the treaty
was bias and unfair towards them, because they were excluded from the negotiations.
On the other hand, Britain were included in the negotiations of the treaty, and were
reasonably happy with the outcome. The British had: gained colonies on mandate
because they expanded their empire, freedom of the seas because Britain wanted to
trade with more countries, self-determination for eastern European states because it
would keep peace and the German navy was reduced because it made the British navy
the strongest. But Lloyd George thought the treaty was too harsh as Germany were
excluded from the negotiations, and he didn’t want to crush Germany. Therefore, he
thought the treaty was unfair.
On the other hand, France was also included in the negotiations. They managed to set
high reparations because it weakened Germany and would rebuild the French
infrastructure, have Alsace Lorraine returned because it also weakened Germany and
made France a stronger nation, gain the Saarland for 15 years because it was a very
good nation for industrial production, demilitarize the Rhineland and reduce the German
army because the reductions would protect France from German invasion. Therefore,
France thought the treaty was fair because they that felt weakening Germany would
balance out the rest of Europe.
On the other hand, America was also involved in the negotiations. Wilson wanted to
achieve a long lasting peace, but he didn’t think the treaty was aimed at doing so.
However Wilson did manage to achieve: the establishment of the League of Nations
from the treaty because he wanted to guarantee future peace in Europe and any conflict
to be sorted by negotiation. He also achieved freedom of the seas because this meant
the U.S.A could trade with more European countries easier, and self-determination for
some eastern European nations because it meant countries had a say in what they did,
which would keep peace in Europe. However America thought the treaty negotiations were unfair.
The Treaty of Versailles set armament reductions on the German army. The German
army was reduced to 100,000 men, conscription, tanks, aeroplanes and submarines
were forbidden, only 6 battleships were allowed and the Rhineland was demilitarized.
Germany thought that these reductions were unfair, because no other nations had any
intention of disarming or had their armies reduced, even though disarming was originally
one of Wilson’s objectives. This meant that Germany would be a weaker nation than
many countries in Europe. Therefore, Germany thought that the armament reductions were unfair, and humiliated them.
On the other hand, Britain was confirmed to have the strongest navy in Europe due to
the reductions on the German navy. This meant that Britain were seen as a powerful
nation, which meant Britain were in a strong position in Europe. Therefore, Lloyd George
felt that the armaments were fair because, not only did it benefit his navy and increased
Britain’s power, it also pleased the British public.
The Treaty of Versailles stated that under Clause 231 Germany was to accept all the
war guilt. Germany believed they weren’t the only nation responsible for the outbreak of
the war, because Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia before Germany declared war
on Russia. This meant that Germany thought it was unreasonable for them to accept all
the guilt, and be punished. Therefore, Germany felt that the treaty was unfair and bias.
On the other hand, Britain, France and America didn’t have to accept any guilt or
punishments for the outbreak of the war. All of the Big Three may not have achieved all
they wanted to achieve from the Treaty, but they all benefited from it in certain ways.
Therefore, the Big Three felt that Clause 231 was on the whole fair because they
believed Germany was responsible for the war.
The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to lose her colonies and 10% of her land in
total. Germany found this unfair because Wilson wanted to achieve self-determination in
Europe. Some nations were given this, but Germany weren’t because the treaty made
Germans live in other countries under foreign control. Germany also found it unfair that
they weren’t allowed to unite with the Austrian Germans. Therefore, Germany thought
the territorial issues were unfair and that they hadn’t been treated the same as other countries.
On the other hand, Britain, America and France gained Germany’s ex-colonies on
mandate. France gained Alsace Lorraine and the Saarland for 15 years because the
Saarland was very a useful colony for industrial production. Britain gained ex-German
colonies on mandate because they would expand the British Empire further. America
didn’t gain any colonies for themselves but the League of Nations was set up, which was
one of Wilson’s objectives. The League of Nations had several of Germany’s ex-colonies
on mandate. Therefore, on the whole the Big Three felt that taking away 10% of
Germany’s land would balance out the rest of Europe, and was a fair term.
I conclude that the Treaty of Versailles wasn’t justified because I think it was a very biased treaty against Germany because they weren’t present at the negotiations. Also, all the terms affect Germany in negative ways, whereas the majority of the decided terms affect the Big Three in positive ways. I think that because the terms were so harsh the treaty was ineffective and as a result, that was why Germany had so many problems. However, I think that the treaty was understandable because of the all damage caused during the war. But overall I think the Treaty of Versailles wasn’t justified due to the reasons stated.
