The Germans were absolutely outraged by the Treaty of Versailles! Let's look at why they were upset:
- War Guilt Clause: They had to accept all the blame for starting the war.
- Compensation: 6.6 billion pounds to the Allies.
- Disarmament: 100,000 soldiers. 6 battleships. No armoured vehicles and aircrafts.
- Loss of European Land: Danzig --> Poland. North Schleswig --> Denmark. Alsace-Lorraine --> France. Some land I don't remember the name of --> Czechoslovakia.
- Loss of Colonies: Overseas empire was given to France and Britain as an act of Self-Determination, one of Wilson's 14 points, but the colonies merely swapped owners.
The German people felt 3 things when hit by the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans felt misled by the Kaiser. He started the war and then as they were looking like they might not win, he fled to Holland. The Germans were also annoyed at the way in which they were represented at the signing of the treaty of Versailles. After this the Germans went into a state of depression. Most Germans were forced to either pay the higher taxes or give up their land which depressed most of them and left some homeless. The treaty of Versailles sucked the Germans dry and in my opinion, they deserved it.
What caused even more resentment than the Treaty of Versailles itself were attempts to go beyond it. In 1921, before the plebiscite in Upper Silesia, Polish paramilitaries tried to seize the area by force. They were encouraged by the Polish and French governments. Then, in 1923, French (and Belgian) troops occupied the Ruhr, claiming that Germany had defaulted on reparations. The intention of the French government at the time was to split off the Ruhr and the Rhineland and turn it into a satellite state. Yet another cause of resentment was the continuation of the British blockade of Germany between the armistice and the signing of the peace treaty. The German economy went through a rough patch in 1923-24 when the currency was stablized, but there was no major depression till Germany was hit by the shock waves of the Great Crash late in 1929.
The immediate German reaction to the treaty of Versailles was one of shock and anger. The Chancellor at the time , Scheidemann announced the government would not accept it.
Though the anger and emotions that the news of the terms of the treaty bought to Germany, the reality was that the German people had little choice other than to accept the treaty. The allied powers threatened to resume war if it was not signed. The allies were also keeping a bloackade of Germany at this time, which ultimately caused the deaths of 70,000 people.
The Germans were absolutely outraged by the Treaty of Versailles! Let's look at why they were upset:
- War Guilt Clause: They had to accept all the blame for starting the war.
- Compensation: 6.6 billion pounds to the Allies.
- Disarmament: 100,000 soldiers. 6 battleships. No armoured vehicles and aircrafts.
- Loss of European Land: Danzig --> Poland. North Schleswig --> Denmark. Alsace-Lorraine --> France. Some land I don't remember the name of --> Czechoslovakia.
- Loss of Colonies: Overseas empire was given to France and Britain as an act of Self-Determination, one of Wilson's 14 points, but the colonies merely swapped owners.
To establish a Leage of Nations
Many Americans opposed the treaty, which they believed was unjust and imperfect. The main debate was over the League of Nations-the only of Wilson's Fourteen Points contained in the treaty.
Before the German Unification, what is now Germany was divided into many separate, small nations. The German Unification was a treaty that was signed on January 18th, 1871 at the Palace of Versailles famous "Hall of Mirrors." In the treaty, the small German nations united to form the German Empire under Emperor Wilhelm, previously the Emperor of Prussia, one of the German nations that was part of the Unification. Due to several major religious, cultural, and linguistic differences, however, it took some time before the country would actually feel united.
Both were designed to make peace in Europe after World War I. The Treaty of Versailles included the fourteenth point from the Fourteen Points, which called for the creation of a League of Nations. Other than those to things, the two had nothing in common... unless you feel like counting that both were not approved by the American people.
The first reason as to why Hitler did not like the Treaty of Versailles was because he saw it as a disgrace to the German people. In Hitler's view, it was an embarrassment to the country, suffering the consequences of the decisions made by politicians. He blamed the German politicians for the signing of the treaty, believing that Germany could have avoided its current situation. In his biography, Mein Kampf, written by Hitler during his time spent in prison, he called it "the greatest villainy of the century", and he called the German politicians who signed it "miserable and degenerate criminals". The treaty of Versailles was also the reason why German faced a lot of hardships during that time. It was the treaty in the first place that caused hyperinflation and that forced the country into bankruptcy. It took Germanys land, its industry and most of its military, which added to the humiliation. This affected many of the Germany people, making daily life a struggle. But one of the main reasons of Hitler's hatred of the treaty of Versailles was because it meant that many of the efforts of Germany in World War One were wasted. Hitler had previously served in the Bavarian Infantry regiment in the First World War, and narrowly surviving a gas attack. So to him, his time spent fighting, and the injuries he suffered from it were pointless. In his biography he states that, "And so it had all been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privations, in vain the hours in which, with mortal fear clutching at our hearts, we nevertheless did our duty; and in vain the death of two millions who died." However, it was because of the Treaty of Versailles that Adolf Hitler came in to power. He took advantage of effects that the Treaty brought to Germany and used the fear of the Public to rise to power. Promising a better Germany compared to the economically wrecked country as the current time. Hitler may be very expressive about his hatred towards it, but without it, he would not have gotten to the position that he did.
Germany felt betrayed by the treaty because it sucked
To establish a Leage of Nations
because the separation of powers and the treaty of Versailles had everyone thinking different than what was actually happening
Many Americans opposed the treaty, which they believed was unjust and imperfect. The main debate was over the League of Nations-the only of Wilson's Fourteen Points contained in the treaty.
Before the German Unification, what is now Germany was divided into many separate, small nations. The German Unification was a treaty that was signed on January 18th, 1871 at the Palace of Versailles famous "Hall of Mirrors." In the treaty, the small German nations united to form the German Empire under Emperor Wilhelm, previously the Emperor of Prussia, one of the German nations that was part of the Unification. Due to several major religious, cultural, and linguistic differences, however, it took some time before the country would actually feel united.
Both were designed to make peace in Europe after World War I. The Treaty of Versailles included the fourteenth point from the Fourteen Points, which called for the creation of a League of Nations. Other than those to things, the two had nothing in common... unless you feel like counting that both were not approved by the American people.
THe German people didn't feel that they were responsible for the war, which started as a local dispute in the Balkans. The German people also didn't feel that they had lost the war because the fighting didn't really take place in Germany, to them they could have won the war if they had not surrendered when they did.
The first reason as to why Hitler did not like the Treaty of Versailles was because he saw it as a disgrace to the German people. In Hitler's view, it was an embarrassment to the country, suffering the consequences of the decisions made by politicians. He blamed the German politicians for the signing of the treaty, believing that Germany could have avoided its current situation. In his biography, Mein Kampf, written by Hitler during his time spent in prison, he called it "the greatest villainy of the century", and he called the German politicians who signed it "miserable and degenerate criminals". The treaty of Versailles was also the reason why German faced a lot of hardships during that time. It was the treaty in the first place that caused hyperinflation and that forced the country into bankruptcy. It took Germanys land, its industry and most of its military, which added to the humiliation. This affected many of the Germany people, making daily life a struggle. But one of the main reasons of Hitler's hatred of the treaty of Versailles was because it meant that many of the efforts of Germany in World War One were wasted. Hitler had previously served in the Bavarian Infantry regiment in the First World War, and narrowly surviving a gas attack. So to him, his time spent fighting, and the injuries he suffered from it were pointless. In his biography he states that, "And so it had all been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privations, in vain the hours in which, with mortal fear clutching at our hearts, we nevertheless did our duty; and in vain the death of two millions who died." However, it was because of the Treaty of Versailles that Adolf Hitler came in to power. He took advantage of effects that the Treaty brought to Germany and used the fear of the Public to rise to power. Promising a better Germany compared to the economically wrecked country as the current time. Hitler may be very expressive about his hatred towards it, but without it, he would not have gotten to the position that he did.
Germany left and The Treaty of Versailles as a whole started questioning and brought Germany in, for questioning.
there were many reasons for the outbreak of WWII in 1939 including. Conscription and rearmament- this was when Hitler disobeyed the ruling of the Treaty of Versailles by Reintroducing conscription and massively rearming the german armed forces past the limit of 100,000 men which was set by the Treaty of Versailles. this made the British government feel uneasy but Neville Chamberlain decide to follow a policy of appeasement, and allowed this. Remilitarization of the Rhineland this was also against the Treaty of Versailles and as above Neville chamberlain appeased this. Anschluss with Austria this was when Germany joined with Austria this was brought about by uproar in Austria caused by German Austrians who wanted to be reunited with the fatherland. Germany also called for a referendum which resulted with a vote 99.7 in favor of Anschluss. this was again against the Treaty of Versailles but again Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler. Munich agreement- this was when Hitler decided he wanted the Sudetenland (a very industrious land in Czechoslovakia). this was also against the Treaty of Versailles but Chamberlain continued to appease Hitler. Czechoslovakia- this was Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia. After a great success with the Munich agreement Hitler decided that he wanted all of Czechoslovakia. he immediately marched his troops into Prague. still against the Treaty of Versailles but Chamberlain still appeased Hitler USSR-NAZI non aggression pact. this was when Germany signed a treaty with the USSR to enable them to acquire Poland without any trouble. they decided to split their colonies equally. this really enraged the British government so much that Neville Chamberlain threatened to Declare war on Germany if they invaded poland Poland- this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Germany and the USSR sent their troops to Warsaw on the 1st of September 1939. after this Chamberlain sent the notice to the British diplomatic representatives in Germany to issue a declaration of war. in conclusion you could say that there was many reasons for the outbreak of war in 1939 and no, one reason was the most important.
Many countries felt bitter and cheated as a result of the Versailles Treaty because of the war guilt that left behind hatred, ignored desire for other nation's independence, and unfair distribution of resources.
Many countries felt bitter and cheated as a result of the Versailles Treaty because of the war guilt that left behind hatred, ignored desire for other nation's independence, and unfair distribution of resources.