the treaty of versailles

• Treaty of Versailles


  Treaty signed in June 1919 that dealt a hammer blow to the fledgling Weimar Republic
• At the end of World War One no part of Germany had been invaded; there was no real sense of defeat
• League of Nations


  • First 26 articles contained the Covenant of the League of Nations
  • Permanent organisation with 45 members
  • Primary purpose was to avoid conflict through peaceful negotiation and disarmament
  • Germany not allowed to be involved at the start
• Germany's military restrictions


  • German armed forces not allowed to exceed 100,000
  • All tanks, military and naval aircraft, submarine and heavy artillery forbidden
  • Only 6 battleships permitted
• 'War Guilt Clause'


  Article 231 of the Treaty contained Germany's acceptance of responsibility for the war and made Germany liable for war damage costs
• Reparations Commission


  Set up in 1921 and fixed reparations at £6,600 million
• Territorial and colonial losses for Germany


  • Not allowed to form an Anschluss with Austria
  • Large industrialised areas removed
  • Loss of trading partners and land including Polish Corridor, Schleswig-Holstein, Memel, Danzig and Alsace
• The Treaty of Versailles was unpopular, not only with the Germans, but also with the people who had drawn it up
• In Germany the Treaty was seen as a 'diktat', a dictated peace
• The terms did not reflect Wilson's 14 Points and the principle of Self Determination was not applied properly
• Over 6 million ethnic Germans would be living in other countries, with 1.5 million ethnic Germans now living within Poland's new borders
• The military restrictions were difficult for a state with a strong military tradition to accept
• Article 231 'the war guilt clause' added further humiliation
• The Treaty was inevitably exploited by anti-Weimar parties and right wing nationalists who accused 'the November criminals' for ending the war prematurely and not protecting Germany's interests