Positives & Negatives
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 1.4.1
The Treaty of Versailles: Positives
Many people at the time felt that as the ones who lost the war, it was only fair that the Germans were punished as they were.
Leniency
- Some historians believe that the Treaty could have been even harsher than it was and in fact, believe that if Germany had won the war, it would have been even harsher on the Allies.
- The Treaty was still more lenient than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918).
- In this treaty, Germany forced Russia to give up huge amounts of land and resources.
Fair
- Many people at the time felt that as the ones who lost the war, it was only fair that the Germans were punished as they were.
Ottoman Empire
- By creating lots of new states, the Allies were happy that the Ottoman Empire (a really powerful Empire) had been broken apart.
- They also felt that creating lots of smaller countries in Eastern Europe would act as a ‘buffer zone’ against the USSR.
The USSR and communism
- The USSR was Communist.
- The Allies were petrified that this would spread to the Western countries and cause chaos.
The best solution possible
- Some historians feel that the Allies did the best they could with the Treaty of Versailles.
- After the war, Europe was in a real mess.
- Millions of people had died.
- There were new countries, poverty was common and cleaning up after the war was an unsolvable problem.
The Treaty of Versailles: Negatives
Some people at the time, and many people with hindsight, have concluded that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany and is, in part, to blame for WWII.
Responsibility
- The Germans felt humiliated for having to say the war was their fault; the German men were only fighting in response to government orders, just like any other country.
Borders
- Lots of families were ripped apart as the German borders were all re-defined.
- 6 million Germans now lived in land that was no longer classed as German.
Revenge
- Some historians think that people felt that because the Treaty of Versailles was so harsh, there could be another war as Germany would seek revenge.
- The German people felt weak and vulnerable to attack by Allied countries. This may have led them to support measures to build up the German military.
Civil war
- The creation of new borders would mean that there would be a lot of potential disagreements across Europe.
- In fact, the people in these countries didn’t want new borders so over time many civil wars were fought.
- Yugoslavia, a country that was created as a result of the Treaty, no longer exists because of civil war.