Why Did the Treaty of Versailles Cause so Much Bitterness in Germany?
Why did the treaty of Versailles cause so much bitterness in Germany?
The Treaty of Versailles caused so much bitterness in Germany because they thought that the treaty was harsh. One of the reasons was because they didn’t feel that they should take the majority of the blame for starting the war (clause 231) Germany had to accept blame ‘for causing all the loss and damage’ of the war. They also had to accept the loss of territories and colonies; this was a major blow to Germany’s pride and to its economy. The treaty was dictated to them giving them no choice but to sign it. The Germans had to accept the blame even though it wasn’t their fault. Also she wasn’t invited to join the League of Nations, which made her furious.
Germany had to pay huge amounts in reparations (£6,600 million in instalments until 1984) even though their own country had been damaged and were already in huge debt. The reparations also starved German children, the high reparations lead to inflation and hyperinflation.
The French were successful in arguing that there should be strict limits on the armed forces of Germany. The army was their pride and joy and was drastically reduced. There was no longer a German air force and they were banned from using tanks and armoured cars. They were also no longer allowed to use submarines and only 6 battleships and the Rhineland that had to be de-militarised, this reduction in their armed forces meant many Germans felt that they would not be able to defend themselves against the its neighbouring states and small countries, e.g The Dunger Volker – The Dung people. The army was limited to no more than 100,000 men.
In Northern Europe new states were set up. Clemenceau was keen to ensure that Poland was large and powerful (West Prussia & Upper Silesia were given to Poland). He hoped that if Poland was now strong that it would weaken Germany. Germany resented the loss of land to Poland as Germany was now split in 2 by the Polish Corridor. German
The Treaty of Versailles caused so much bitterness in Germany because they thought that the treaty was harsh. One of the reasons was because they didn’t feel that they should take the majority of the blame for starting the war (clause 231) Germany had to accept blame ‘for causing all the loss and damage’ of the war. They also had to accept the loss of territories and colonies; this was a major blow to Germany’s pride and to its economy. The treaty was dictated to them giving them no choice but to sign it. The Germans had to accept the blame even though it wasn’t their fault. Also she wasn’t invited to join the League of Nations, which made her furious.
Germany had to pay huge amounts in reparations (£6,600 million in instalments until 1984) even though their own country had been damaged and were already in huge debt. The reparations also starved German children, the high reparations lead to inflation and hyperinflation.
The French were successful in arguing that there should be strict limits on the armed forces of Germany. The army was their pride and joy and was drastically reduced. There was no longer a German air force and they were banned from using tanks and armoured cars. They were also no longer allowed to use submarines and only 6 battleships and the Rhineland that had to be de-militarised, this reduction in their armed forces meant many Germans felt that they would not be able to defend themselves against the its neighbouring states and small countries, e.g The Dunger Volker – The Dung people. The army was limited to no more than 100,000 men.
In Northern Europe new states were set up. Clemenceau was keen to ensure that Poland was large and powerful (West Prussia & Upper Silesia were given to Poland). He hoped that if Poland was now strong that it would weaken Germany. Germany resented the loss of land to Poland as Germany was now split in 2 by the Polish Corridor. German