Treaty of Versailles

• the treaty ended WW1
• had a profound impact on the political culture of the Weimar Republic
• imposed a series of harsh conditions on Germany, which they had to accept as further military conflict would've destroyed the nation
• signed in June 1919
• Signing the treaty robbed the new democracy of its legitimacy
• from the beginning it was associated with the treaty, which most Germans viewed as betrayal of the country, or as outright treachery.