The treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th 1919 and marked the end of World War One. The big three, France, Britain and US, dominated the Paris conferences regarding the treaty, whilst Germany were declined any input regarding the terms in the treaty. The treaty reflects the punishment given to Germany after their defeat in the war. The repercussions of this treaty are still being debated today. In this essay I will be analysing the context of this peace treaty and its significance in the study of power in world history.
World war one had devastating outcomes for all countries. Millions of soldiers of the Allied Powers were killed, wounded, or missing.
Not only soldiers but millions of civilians were largely impacted with people’s home being destroyed and lands being demolished.
Even though France was victorious, the country’s land did suffer consequences with many areas being reduced to rubble, explaining the harsh terms implemented in the treaty. The Big Three wanted to punish Germany in retaliation to the impact of the war. The document reflects this as some of the terms show how the Big Three wanted to undermine Germany as a country.
For example Article 231, the ‘guilt clause’ states ‘Germany is responsible for causing all the loss and damage caused by the war’, where they shifted the blame upon Germany, allowing them to be guilt-free. By shifting the blame of the war on to Germany, this enabled them to implicate certain terms which would downgrade Germany’s power.
Although legitimacy and power are never used in the source, they are the main concepts that run through the treaty. The fact that France, Britain and the US won the war this gave them a sense of legitimacy to implement these terms as they were the most successful. By giving them this power enables them to add clauses that benefit their country so they have an advantage.
The fact that Germany was not permitted to even join these conferences meant they could not voice their opinions on terms they had to follow.
For the people of Germany, this treaty destroyed their country. From a nationalistic point of view, Germany’s morale was shattered and the country needed to restore its pride in order to function properly. Hitler offered this solution. He
The long term impact of this treaty was the rise of Hitler.
To further understand the context of this treaty…
The balance of power is a theme that reflects the context of this treaty. The fact that three major powers had to come together and decide what to implement meant that conflict and imbalance was inevitable. The treaty is just a reflection of what these countries wanted in response to the damage done by the war. This allowed them to look out for their own interests in order to restore their country by any means necessary. This is stated by…
Patrick Karl O’Brien states – During negotiations at Versailles, the United States rejected the ancien regime, based upon the balance of power, in favour of national self-determination and embraced disarmament, open trading and a gradual end to colonialism.
This argument indicates
The treaty of Versailles marked the end of World War I and was signed on 28th June 1919. It was a peace treaty agreed upon by the Allies, France, Britain and US. These victorious powers ensured they had benefited from the terms enclosed within the treaty due to the aftermath the war had on their country. Whereas Germany was given nothing but harsh terms they were forced to fulfil, despite the fact that their country was already in a state of despair after the war.
The treaty of Versailles marked the end of World War I (WW1). It was signed on 28th June 1919 and its terms were heavily dominated by the Allied powers of France, Britain and US. The war had a devasting number of deaths, where both soldiers and civilians were significantly impacted. This peace treaty aimed to prevent further wars from occurring. Overall this treaty clearly indicates that the Allies wanted to punish Germany for the defeat of the war but at the same time wanted their own country to benefit from it. This treaty has great significance in the study of world history and also consists of key political concepts such as; the balance of power, war and legitimacy.
WW1 had severe consequences for all that were involved; there were over 37 million casualties, with 16 million dead and 20 million wounded. Despite the fact that France was victorious in the war, majority of their land had been reduced to rubble, including people’s homes being destroyed, which portrays the intense scale of the war.
Considering the context of this treaty will help to understand it further. The big three powers dominated the Paris conferences, meaning conflict regarding interests was inevitable. French was represented by Clemenceau who wanted to crush Germany. Lloyd George was representing Britain who wanted to restore Germany as a country and end any future conflict. Lastly the US, represented by Wilson wanted economic prosperity so they wanted a new source of money.
Despite their individual interests, they all wanted Germany to undergo some form of revenge and punishment.
they had to compromise to form a successful treaty
Waltz argues that ‘all competing states are striving relentlessly to increase their power’ (1979) which mirrors what this treaty was. It was a way in which these countries could use their victory in the war to increase their power, by decreasing the power of those considered a threat.
Keynes argued that the ‘treaty of Versailles was a Carthaginian Peace’ which is the imposition of a brutal peace and is gained by crushing the enemy. This strongly mirrors the ‘peace’ treaty as Germany was left unable to function due to the terms they were forced to sign.