Why did the Treaty of Versailles not work?

Answer 1

Oh, it was designed to produce exactly that. By impoverishing Germany it would deny the Germans the necessary economic muscle to wage war. Germany in particular was to be so heavily penalised that any economic wealth generation and militarisation would be closely monitored. It was not considered that this was manifestly unfair on ordinary people who lived in Germany, they were to be humbled and dispossessed and reduced to poverty. This needs to be taken in consideration of the experiences of the French & Prussians: Both in Napoleonic times, post 1806, and in terms of the war of 1870/71, in which Prussia crushed the French. France was the dominating power in terms of Versailles. But what the treaty ensured, particularly in terms of the Great Depression and its effects, was that Germany became a fertile breeding ground for resentment. Of course Hitler was able to focus upon this in his quest for power & he uses the feelings of people to his own advantage. In this respect Hitler used foreign intervention to his own ends and until the tide of WW2 changed, say 1942, I suppose most Germans would still believe that he was doing good for Germany. How wrong can you be ?

Answer 2

Basically it Blamed most of the problems on Germany, So all countries Made Germany pay back for it (harsh punishments) Which made Germany very mad, So Germans looked to the military to solve their problems (Rise of Nazis) which led to WW11

Answer 3

The Treaty of Versailles did very little to actually weaken Germany but a tremendous amount to humiliate the country. It also disregarded areas such as Russia and Vietnam. The Treaty actually contributed to a lot of global animosity.

Answer 4

What stopped the Treaty of Versailles from ever approaching success was not the terms of the treaty, but rather the reluctance to enforce the terms by the Allies (France and Britain).