Treaty of Versailles Was Signed

Treaty of Versailles was signed after World War One was over to bring peace, however it was in the shadow of the Russian Revolution along with other events in Russia. "The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies. The three most important politicians there were David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson. The Versailles Palace was considered the most appropriate venue simply because of its size - many hundreds of people were involved in the process and the final signing ceremony in the Hall of Mirrors could accommodate hundreds of dignitaries. Many wanted Germany, now led by Friedrich Ebert, smashed - others, like Lloyd George, were privately more cautious" (the Treaty of Versailles). From there, the intention of this treaty was to bring peace by taking matters under controlled so that the people could have a sense of normalcy.

History

From there, the treaty limited the German army in what they could accomplish because this document promised peace to the land and people. Furthermore, this treaty gave them a certain time limit to sign.

The war was over and people wanted to move on with their lives without any consequences (Versailles Treaty

The outstanding figures in the negotiations leading to the treaty were Woodrow Wilson for the United States, Georges Clemenceau for France, David Lloyd George for England, and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando for Italy -- the so-called Big Four. Germany, as the defeated power, was not included in the consultation. Among the chief causes of Allied dissension was Wilson's refusal to recognize the secret agreements reached by the Allies in the course of the war; Italy's refusal to forgo the territorial gains promised (1915) by the secret Treaty of London; and French insistence on the harsh treatment of Germany. Wilson's Fourteen Points were, to a large extent, sacrificed, but his main objectives, the creation of states based on the principle of national self-determination and the formation of the League of Nations, were embodied in the treaty. However, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and the United States merely declared the war with Germany at an end in 1921 (in World War I).

From there, the intention of the treaty was to keep peace even though the context of it was very forceful on Germany since the blame was put on them for the trouble. Forcing a country to make peace will not bring immediate peace.

The German government was given three weeks to accept the terms of the treaty (which it had not seen prior to delivery). Its initial response was a lengthy list of complaints, most of which were simply ignored. The treaty was perceived by many as too great a departure from U.S. President Wilson's Fourteen Points; and by the British as too harsh in its treatment of Germany. The Versailles treaty deprived Germany of around 13.5% of its 1914 territory (some seven million people) and all of its overseas possessions. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, and Belgium was enlarged in the east with the addition of the formerly German border areas of Eupen and Malmedy (Primary Documents: Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919-2001).

As it is stated above, the German army was limited to where they could go and what resources they could have. Nobody wanted any wars to occur anymore and in order to not let that happen, the German army had to be retrained because they were one of the sources of the problem. Since German army craved control to have power over the people, they had to be controlled and limited in order to maintain peace (28 June, 1919: The Peace Treaty of Versailles).

The German army was limited to a maximum of 100,000 men, and a ban placed upon the use of heavy artillery, gas, tanks and aircraft. The German navy was similarly restricted to shipping under 10,000 tons, with a ban on submarines. (1) by a date which must not be later than March 31, 1920, the German Army must not comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry. After that date the total number of effectives in the Army of the States constituting Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including officers and establishments of depots. The Army shall be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of order within the territory and to the control of the frontiers (Primary Documents: Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919-2001).

Germany's requirement

In this treaty, it states the following concerning the German army so that peace can be maintained.

The officers, or persons in the position of officers, in the Ministries of War in the different States in Germany and in the Administrations attached to them, must not exceed three hundred in number and are included in the maximum strength of four thousand laid down in the third sub-paragraph of paragraph (1) of this Articl. At the expiration of this period, and at the end of each subsequent period of three months, a Conference of military experts of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers will fix the reductions to be made in the ensuing three months, so that by March 31, 1920, at the latest the total number of German effectives does not exceed the maximum number of l00,000 men laid down in Article 160. In these successive reductions the same ratio between the number of officers and of men, and between the various kinds of units, shall be maintained as is laid down in that Article (Primary Documents: Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919-2001).

Furthermore, the German army had to be admitted as a member of the League of Nations the German Army must not possess an armament greater than the amounts fixed in Table No. II (Primary Documents: Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919-2001).

The number and calibre of the guns constituting at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty the armament of the fortified works, fortresses, and any land or coast forts which Germany is allowed to retain must be notified immediately by the German Government to the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and will constitute maximum amounts which may not be exceeded. The number and calibre of the guns constituting at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty the armament of the fortified works, fortresses, and any land or coast forts which Germany is allowed to retain must be notified immediately by the German Government to the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and will constitute maximum amounts which may not be exceeded (Primary Documents: Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919-2001).

Germany's reaction

Along with that, it has been known the treaty seemed too harsh to keep the peace with the Germany and its army. "It has seemed that the treaty was either to harsh or too mild. It was too harsh to reconcile Germany with its former war enemies and to integrate it into a lasting peaceful postwar order, and it was too mild to weaken Germany so as to make it impossible for it to ever again become a great power. The picture that emerges today after more intensive research is more complex and differentiated than that, but Versailles nevertheless remains both a highly ambivalent and crucial station in German history. The actual peace terms harshly disappointed the Germans, who felt that they radically contradicted the promises Wilson had made to the prerevolutionary German governments. The Germans, for right or wrong, felt betrayed by Wilson and the United States" (D: The Weimar Republic). From there, even though the treaty's purpose was too keep peace, it is difficult to determine that was its outcome because it had many restrictions and requirements for Germany. Every event in history has not been perfect due human error in judgment even if it was in good intentions.

If we compare German expectations and the terms of Versailles, we cannot overlook sharp discrepancies. Instead of a negotiated peace in which Germany would be a significant, if not equal, partner, the treaty gave practically no room for German input and resembled more a dictate than a real peace settlement. Instead of admitting the new democratic Germany into the community of democratic nations, the Allies ostracized the vanquished nation. They even took pains to humiliate its national consciousness. Germany was -- for the time being -- not allowed to join the newly founded League of Nations and remained a pariah in the postwar order. Instead of a peace of reconciliation the Germans received a peace of submission and punishment. The principle of national self-determination, instead of being respected as a general rule, was always applied if it weakened Germany and its former allies but never where it would have benefited them (D: The Weimar Republic).

Along with that, it is apparent that Germany was held responsible for the misery that the war cause on the people. This is why the treaty was very restrict and required them to abide by many aspects of political and military stand points.

The treaty formally placed the responsibility for the war on Germany and its allies and imposed on Germany the burden of the reparations payments. The chief territorial clauses were those restoring Alsace and Lorraine to France; placing the former German colonies under League of Nations mandates; awarding most of West Prussia, including Poznan and the Polish Corridor, to Poland; establishing Danzig (see Gda-sk) as a free city; and providing for plebiscites, which resulted in the transfer of Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium, of N. Schleswig to Denmark, and of parts of Upper Silesia to Poland. The Saar Territory (see Saarland) was placed under French administration for 15 years; the Rhineland was to be occupied by the Allies for an equal period; and the right bank of the Rhine was to be permanently demilitarized. The German army was reduced to a maximum of 100,000 soldiers, the German navy was similarly reduced, and Germany was forbidden to build major weapons of aggression. Germany, after futile protests, accepted the treaty, which became effective in Jan., 1920 (in World War I).

As it has been discussed throughout history, the demands that the treaty put on Germany may have contributed to the National Socialism and the Nazi movements because the German people were not satisfy with what they were required to do. "Later German dissatisfaction with the terms of the treaty traditionally has been thought to have played an important part in the rise of National Socialism, or the Nazi movement. While Gustav Stresemann was German foreign minister, Germany by a policy of fulfillment succeeded in having some of the treaty terms eased. Reparations payments, the most ruinous part of the treaty, were suspended in 1931 and were never resumed. In 1935 Chancellor Adolf Hitler unilaterally canceled the military clauses of the treaty, which in practice became a dead letter; in 1936 he began the remilitarization of the Rhineland. A vast literature has been written on the Paris Peace Conference and on the Treaty of Versailles, and controversy continues as to whether the treaty was just, too harsh, or not harsh enough" (in World War I). Within a society, the statements that are made by the government authorities are true because they are the power among people, which gives them more control and the authority to define what is right and wrong. By using this power, the government thought that they could have upper hand on Germany due to the fact that people become intimidated those who have a power over them. In other words, the treaty was made for the government to gain and maintain a power over German society. When people believe there is a power that can restrain them, the government believed that they had more self-control in order to avoid others who look down on them and embarrassment.

Furthermore, the treaty was made to give German society structure, however it backed fired.

After agreeing to the Armistice in November 1918, the Germans had been convinced that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. This did not happen and the Germans were in no position to continue the war as her army had all but disintegrated. Though this lack of consultation angered them, there was nothing they could do about it. Therefore, the first time that the German representatives saw the terms of the Treaty was just weeks before they were due to sign it in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on June 28th 1919. There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public. The Treaty became known as a Diktat - as it was being forced on them and the Germans had no choice but to sign it. Many in Germany did not want the Treaty signed, but the representatives there knew that they had no choice as German was incapable of restarting the war again (the Treaty of Versailles).

By forcing German to sign, the following consequences occurred, which caused more adverse events.

The Treaty seemed to satisfy the "Big Three" as in their eyes it was a just peace as it kept Germany weak yet strong enough to stop the spread of communism; kept the French border with Germany safe from another German attack and created the organisation, the League of Nations, that would end warfare throughout the world (the Treaty of Versailles).

However, it left a mood of anger throughout Germany as it was felt that as a nation Germany had been unfairly treated (the Treaty of Versailles).

Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties the treaty was bound to impose on Germany. Those who signed it (though effectively they had no choice) became known as the "November Criminals" (the Treaty of Versailles).

Many German citizens felt that they were being punished for the mistakes of the German government in August 1914 as it was the government that had declared war not the people (the Treaty of Versailles).

Even though this treaty's purpose was reduce terrorism threats by Germany, it made them want to side step it and create their rules. Unfortunately, as a society, a government needs that empowerment so that they can feel a little imitation when they are faced by them. This did not work because society as a whole need have some freedom. Governments can be more effective because people are extremely self-aware when being watched and will behave when they know they are being indirectly controlled. From there, knowledge is power and power is made for the government in order to have structure in society. However, this theory did not work for the German people and unfortunately the following consequences occurred.

Germany's army had to be reduced to 100,000 men. On paper this happened. The fact that Germany side-stepped the rule did not mean that she literally broke it - though what she did was a deliberate attempt to break this term. German soldiers in the 1920's were signed on for a short contract of service and then put in the reserves once their time had finished. Therefore, Germany never had more than 100,000 soldiers serving at any one time though she certainly had substantial reserve soldiers which boosted Hitler when he renounced the clauses of Versailles (the Treaty of Versailles).