Western civilization: historical overview and key developments

Treaty of Versailles was an important peace treaty negotiated by the victors of the First World War and imposed on a defeated Germany. Most historians hold the Treaty responsible for the rise of fascism in Germany and the eventual outbreak of the World War II. This brief essay examines its good and bad points; discusses whether it was too harsh or too conciliatory? Could it have ensured peace in Europe? And how might it have been improved?

Perhaps the most ill-conceived part of the treaty was its insistence to seek revenge from the German nation by laying the guilt of causing the war solely at Germany's doorstep and heaping further humiliation on it by imposing harsh reparations. Moreover, vital industrial territory was taken away from it, which crippled the country economically and it was unable to pay the reparations. These steps angered the Germans immensely and enabled people such as Hitler to create the myth of "stab in the back" and successfully dub the Weimar government leaders, who had been forced to sign the treaty, as the "November Criminals."

At the same time, the Treaty of Versailles was not totally devoid of merit. It created a League of Nations -- an organization of nations aimed at preserving world peace, which later evolved into the United Nations; evacuation of occupied territories by Germany such as return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, and a chance for self-determination for large numbers of people with the League of Nations taking control of Germany's overseas colonies.