The victorious Allies believed that Germany was responsible for the outbreak of WWI. How far did their victory and the resulting settlement solve the German Problem that they believed had caused the war?

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Since the war, the have been many debates that both agree and disagree with the victorious Allies’ belief that it was Germany that was responsible for the outbreak of WWI. This Fischerist belief was that the German Problem posed serious threats to the interests of the other Empires and had great potential to extend its influence that would lead to a strong Germanic dominance. The Allies’ victory was an abrupt one, but was what the Allies had wanted in order to solve the German Problem. However, their settlement did not solve the problem, but rather addressed it. There were no final solutions and their intentions were not carried out with any finality. Instead, the problem was dealt with through treaties whose imposition did not result in what the Allies had intentionally hoped. This brings about questions about whether the Allies had taken the best path toward the settlement process. This process, due to the abrupt nature of the victory, led to a conflicting dynamic between the Allies and Germany, making the Allies’ enforcement less effective than it could, or should, be. The enforcement was further affected by Germany’s initial goals for nationalism and imperialism, which opposed the interests of the other European countries. Germany had much will of its own to fulfill her goals, thus hindering the settlement process and the enforcement of the Allies. Due to the nature of the sudden end of the war, neither winner nor loser was prepared. Germany was still in the aggressive mindset from the war and the Allies were suddenly overwhelmed with the victory that they may not have taken the most effective actions in order to solve what they believed had caused the war. The Allies’ victory had influenced their capacity for settlement, and heightened their will for revenge against the Germans.

Germany was a great Empire who threatened the goals of surrounding European countries through its government and ideals; both her will and her capacity were strong and potentially threatening. She had an aggressive and militaristic foreign policy which had strong expansionist aims at the expense of the smaller, weaker countries. This goal of nationalism led to rivalry between nations, one of them being Weltpolitik. Weltpolitik was a policy that challenged the United Kingdom to an Anglo-German naval race, which Germany eventual lost. The UK had a strong naval fleet and was the dominant in the seas, but was now under threat by Germany who may end up overtaking her. Another threat was the idea of MittelEuropa, which was a German goal to create a sphere of influence within middle Europe. This enabled Germany to create “puppet” states which she could use more efficiently for resources to aid her economy. The German government system had been the one to attempt the creation of MittelEuropa, headed by the Kaiser. Wilhelm II had no restriction imposed on him for the foreign policy, which was dangerous as he had ambitions for Germany. The aggressiveness that was dominated by the Kaiser was what made the other European powers feel threatened. Germany’s military and economic power was also strong, fuelling her will for nationalism and imperialism. Germany’s industrial strength had the capacity to prepare for, and sustain an expansionist effort, making the idea of a war attractive. Her military capacity also made such a great war possible with a reasonable chance of success. Combined, her military and economic power enabled Germany to fight the war but still come out in a comfortable state. Germany had everything that prepared and maintained her effort for war, a state which none of the other countries were safely at. For the Allies, an attack by Germany would result in their defeat as they knew that Germany was determined and a war would not be one to end soon.

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In order to deal with the German Problem, the Allies had imposed the Treaty of Versailles, which would cause territorial and military changes. US President Woodrow Wilson had also outlined his 14 Points in 1918 which was aimed at reconstructing a new Europe after the war. The Treaty of Versailles caused Germany to lose 25,000 square miles of her territory and 7 million of her pre-war population. Territories rich in resources were distributed, greatly affecting German economy and the ability to pay reparations that would be imposed on her. As a result, she had lost all her colonies, leading to a loss in markets for her industrial goods and raw materials for her industries. Wilson’s 14 Points insisted upon a “drastic universal reduction of armaments” as well as “absolute freedom of navigation on all seas both in peace and in war”. This meant that Germany was not the only country to lose her pre-war capacity. The “freedom of navigation” meant that Russia was now able to leave the Black Sea, and UK no longer had the dominant control and superiority that she had before. Through the 14 Points, Germany had also lost her territories of Alsace-Lorraine and influence in Belgium. A League of Nations was also set up “for the purpose of guaranteeing the independence of all nations”, meaning that even Germany was allowed to be a part of it. However, Germany was excluded in the end, and not given the promise of national self-determination which was promised. The 14 Points was not the best program for the Allies, especially France and the UK, as it represented a failure to achieve anything from the war. However, for Germany, it did not impose a significant loss, but instead gave her equality if she were to accept the 14 Points. These suggestions were aimed at dealing with Germany’s will and capacity in order to prevent another possible German uprising. Germany was meant to be made a weaker state, disenabling her to carry out her will. There was also a want to deal with German will by getting rid of the current government and replacing them with people who rejected the imperialist and nationalist aims.

When the Allies claimed victory, they were keen on revenge against Germany for what they believed had caused the war. The path to settlement was a long one, and did not end the German Problem. Wilson’s 14 Points and the Treaty of Versailles were main actions that the Allies took in hoping to suppress German potential to achieve the power that she once had. The War Guilt Clause was imposed on Germany, forcing her to take complete responsibility for causing the war. This greatly angered Germany, as she did not feel this condemnation was justified and she had not been the sole cause of the war. The War Guilt Clause isolated Germany internationally, disrupting her nationalist aims, as well as imposing war crime trails. Due to resentment of the clause, resolution occurred in Germany, resulting in the overthrowing of the Kaiser on the 9th of November 1918. Germany was now replaced by a republic with a socialist government, which still consisted of the former Kaiserreich elites which used to serve the Kaiser. The Kaiser was, thus, enabled to influence the government through these members, which remained in the important sections. Furthermore, the Allies invaded and occupied the Rhineland, which was where Germany’s resources mainly came from, lessening the chance of a German uprising. Germany was also severely demilitarized through the Treaty of Versailles and Wilson’s 14 Points. A limit of 100,000 was imposed on the military that should consist of volunteers. Germany was left with what was sufficient for internal security, diminishing a chance of a German attack. Any attacking or defensive ability was depleted, opening up the chance for a French attack at any time. However, to deal with the major dismantling of her military, Germany signed the Treaty of Rapallo with Russia, enabling Germany to use Russia as a military base to have a huge unofficial army.

Huge reparations that eventually amounted to 132 billion marks were imposed on Germany, which was way beyond her ability to pay, due to her economy that was on the brink of collapse. Protests occurred reflecting people’s reactions to the Treaty, leading to revolutions, making the government invest in smaller surrounding states in order to boost the economy. The French also occupied the Ruhr, which was met by severe strikes and attacks, which were financed by the German government, increasing the cost of the French occupation. The constant strikes and revolts posed a serious threat of fragmentation of Germany, but the government was able to prevent a break-up, allowing the country to move forward in dealing with the aftermath of the war. Inflation occurred in Germany’s economy, devastating her industries, as well as causing militaristic and domestic losses. Although these losses were huge, they were insignificant compared to what she needed to pay to the Allies as compensation. Germany’s colonies were also taken away as a result of the Treaty and Wilson’s 14 Points, removing large numbers of the German population, once again decreasing Germany’s aim for nationalism. Germans were now separated outside of the country. Original German territory was also distributed to other minor states, allowing them to gain resources and land at Germany’s expense. All relations with Austria-Hungary were banned and national self-determination was disallowed, a demand of the Treaty that went against those of Wilson’s 14 Points. However, Germany was able to retain her sovereignty which allowed her to reject the Treaty of Versailles which contained the War Guilt Clause, as well as resisting paying the reparations. Despite the Allies aim to discontinue the war, a blockade was set up against Germany. This act of war by the Allies led to death and disease within Germany, which greatly affected her survival and ability to manage internal affairs.

Despite the initial intention to make Germany repay for causing the war, the Allies were not able to enforce their demands efficiently and their plan fell apart as time grew. The members of the Allied forces had disagreed from the beginning about aspects of the Treaty and what was to be expected from Germany in order to satisfy their self-interests. Both the US and the UK refused to accept the Treaty of Versailles due to distrust of many of the territorial provisions in the treaty. However, the French were determined to impose every part of the Treaty onto Germany, in the hope of benefiting from the situation. France had occupied the Ruhr, but the operation had ended unproductive, and instead was seen as an attempt to “bully” Germany by the British and the Americans. The French proposals were rejected by the US, leaving France dependent on German reparations for her economic recovery. However, in 1920, the US refused to ratify the Treaty, withdrawing any military commitments in Europe. The UK, whose alliance was tied to American involvement felt obliges to leave as a result, leaving France isolated in her aim to impose the Treaty. France was now weaker than ever before and in a vulnerable position, having suffered great damage during the war as well as during her occupation of the Ruhr and her invasions of the Rhineland. The collapse of the alliance and their total failure to work together had made any enforcement unsuccessful. However, in the interests of the Allies, Germany can be argued as a “needed” Empire. She was located in Eastern Europe, between the central regions of Europe and Russia, a huge communist threat. Thus, Germany was the barrier against the western spread of communism from the East. This created a need for Germany; the defeated enemy was now a desired partner.

The huge reparations and demands that the Allies had imposed on Germany were too great for her to handle, especially after all that she was left with after the war. Thus, in order to get the reparations that Germany owed, the Allies helped Germany get back on track by supplying her with aid. The Dawes Plan was introduced in 1924, modifying the method of repayment of reparations for the Germans. This plan enabled Germany to pay the reparations in stages and US loans were made available as well, in order to get the economy in a comfortable state. Although the German business improved, it was still evident that she was not able to continue paying the huge annual repayments for long. Thus, the Young Plan was established in 1929, extending the deadline of the reparations. The annual payment was then separated into a conditional payment, which had to be paid annually, and a postponable payment, which made up two-thirds of the sum. Although Germany was promised not to be pressed by immediate payments, she still faced banking crisis, leading to the Lausanne Agreement which cancelled all the outstanding war debts. This plan fell through and eventually, Germany ended up paying one-eighth of the total reparations. Through these plans, Germany was able to bring itself out of severe economic crisis and to do business at a level which was able to reasonably sustain her activities. For their own interests, the Allies had formed a partnership with Germany, in a hope that this would help the settlement to work. It was impossible to demand reparation from a country that was economically stricken. This aid benefited Germany in the long run, one could argue, at the expense of the Allies, as the Allies did not receive much of the money which they had loaned. This was the same for the territories and personal gains that the Allies were hoping to achieve. Personal interests were not fulfilled but severe damage was received.

With knowledge of the lead-up and nature of WWII, the settlement process of the German Problem was a failure. Through the Treaty of Versailles and Wilson’s 14 Points, Germany had lost most of its capacity to attack as she was severely demilitarized and territories were removed. But the original country still existed, just without the Kaiser’s physical position. The government still received his influence, leading to the ability to rebuild this capacity as the will was still in tact. In the end, Germany’s loss was not significant as she was able to retain most of her pre-war status; she was even left with sovereignty. The supposedly defeated enemy was in fact stronger than a member of the Allied forces, who had suffered greatly while trying to gain the most she could. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that it was the Allies who had indeed suffered most of the losses, and did not receive much credit for winning the war. The threats of a possible German uprising still existed, which is what eventually led to WWII thirty years later. The settlement did not solve the German Problem, merely dealing with several aspects of it in minor detail. The war had a surprise ending for the Allies and this greatly influenced their approach to what they expected of Germany and the outcome of the settlement process. Although the Allies had great intentions at the beginning as a result of their belief, their lack of will and determination eventually led to a collapse, leaving the settlement process incomplete.

Samantha Mak

11 JHa