Treaty of Versailles
How the Solution to WWI is the Start of WWII: by Ian Thomas
Ended World War I
The Treaty of Versailles was the official end to World War I on June 28, 1919. The treaty was negotiated by the allied powers, which had minimal participation from Germany. The treaty proposed that Germany pay their reparations to other European countries under the Dawes plan and the Young plan, which were dropped in 1932, and Hitler began to rise into power.
Negotiations
The Treaty of Versailles, was negotiated in Paris, 1919, where it was written by the allied powers, with minimal participation of the Germans. The negotiation resulted in a split between the French, who wanted to part ways with Germany to make it difficult to renew war.
Significant Parts of the Treaty
- Part I: Created the Covenant of the New League of Nations, where Germany was not allowed to join until 1926
- Part II: Revealed Germany's new country boundaries, giving Eupen-Malm[eacute]dy to Belgium, eastern districts to Poland, Memel to Lithuania, large chunks of Schleswig to Denmark, and Alsace-Lorraine back to France
- Part III: Demands a demilitarized zone and disconnected Saar from Germany for 15 years
- Part IV: Takes away all of Germany's colonies
- Part V: Limited Germany's armed forces to extremely low levels and forbid Germany from possessing weapons of mass destruction
- Part VIII: Justifies Germany's reparations as consequence for starting war
Fun Fact:
Did you know that the Treaty of Versailles has 15 parts and about 440 articles?
Territory Lost from Germany
Europe After 1919
Color Map of Germany (After Loss)
Beginning of World War II
Germany disobeyed many of the disarmament articles of Part V (See list above) during the 1920's, and later on Hitler rejected the entire treaty altogether in 1935. From March 1937 to March 1939, Hitler repealed the territorial articles of the treaty with at least the implied approval of the western powers. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland to change that boundary, as well.
After 1945, the United States government as well as the British governments avoided most of the problems caused by the Treaty of Versailles, specifically problems regarding Germany's reparations, and the segregation of Germany and the Cold War generously allowed them to rebuild the western zones and to add them into a western alliance without rising up fears of German aggression.
Works Cited
Kaiser, David. "Treaty of Versailles." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.