German Reaction to the Treaty

History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 1.3.1

Germany

The Germans despised the Treaty of Versailles.

The Germans despised the Treaty of Versailles.
The Germans felt that they had been humiliated by the loss of their land, their army and their colonies as well as having to accept full responsibility for causing the war.
The Germans had previously been very proud of their military, colonies and empire.

The Germans felt that after the Kaiser had abdicated (quit) that they had suffered enough.
Not only had he abdicated, but the government that had been set up and signed the Treaty of Versailles was too weak.
The Weimar Republic (government of Germany) was democratic, a system which the country wasn’t used to.
Also, the German people felt that they couldn’t control the country after the war, partly due to the harsh terms imposed by Versailles that the people couldn't vote on.

The German people felt that they were vulnerable to an attack from other neighbouring countries such as France.
Because they had lost most of their armed forces as a result of Versailles, they felt that they didn’t have the forces to adequately defend themselves.

The German people felt that they had been ‘stabbed in the back’ (betrayed) by the politicians who had signed the Treaty.
The German people referred to the Treaty as a ‘diktat’ which means that they thought that the terms of the peace agreed at Versailles were dictated to them and they had no say in what they were.

The German people referred to the politicians who signed the Treaty as the ‘November Criminals’.

What did the Germans hate most about the Treaty of Versailles?
What was the new government of Germany called after WWI?
What did the German people refer to the politicians who signed the Treaty of Versailles as?