Early Unpopularity

• -TOV was signed in June 1919. The treaty was very unpopular in Germany and many Germans resented the new government for accepting its terms– not exactly a great start for the Republic.
• President Ebert signed the TOV

  -After the armistice, a peace treaty called the Treaty of Versailles was imposed on Germany

  -The terms of the treaty were mostly decided by the Allied leaders- David Lloy George(Britain), Georges Clemenceau(France) and Woodrow Wilson(USA).

  -The new German government wasn't invited to the peace conference in 1919 and had no say in the Versailles Treaty. At first, Ebert refused to sign the treaty, but in the end he had little choice– Germany was too weak to risk restarting the conflict. In June 1919, he accepted its terms and signed
• -Since the President had signed the TOV, the Weimar Republic became associated with the pain and humiliation it caused.
• The Terms of the Versailles Treaty were Severe

  -Article 231 of the treaty said Germany had to take the blame for the way- the war-guilt clause

  -Germany's armed forces were reduced to 100,000 men. They weren't allowed any armoured vehicles, aircraft or submarines, and could only have six warships

  -Germany was forced to pay 6600 million pounds in reparations– payments for the damage caused by German forces in the war. The amount was decided in 1921 but was changed later.
• The terms of the versailles treaty were severe

  -Germany lost its empire-areas around the world that used to belong to Germany were now called mandates. They were put under the control of countries on the winning side of the war by the LON– an organisation which aimed to settle international disputes peacefully

  -The German military was banned from the Rhineland– an area of Germany on its western border with France. This left Germany open to attack from the west.
• Germany felt betrayed by the Weimar Republic

  The treaty of versailles caused resentment towards the weimar republic

  -Germany called the treaty a ‘Diktat’(a treaty forced upon Germany), and many blamed Ebert for accepting its terms.
• Germany felt betrayed by the Weimar Republic-Some Germans believed the armistice was a mistake that Germany could have won the war. They felt ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Weimar politicians, who brought the TOV upon Germany unnecessarily 

  The TOV played an important part in the failure of the Weimar Republic. It harmed the Republic's popularity, and created economic and political unrest that hindered the government for years.