Rebecca Roberts
3552
Center #U008
Syllabus: 041617
Coursework
The Significance of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany 1919-1939
In order to consider the significance of the Treaty of Versailles, we must consider the different ways in which the Treaty of Versailles was significant. The treaty was primarily significant for the German people and the Allies. The treaty was a very significant event. The impact was mainly on Germany and her allies. Over time, the significance of the Treaty of Versailles changed in the following way: it paled in comparison to the Depression and the government’s way of handling the Depression.
The German people weren’t happy with the Weimar Republic before the Treaty of Versailles was introduced. They had problems with the government being democratic and with the way they dealt with WW1. Many felt their surrender made them look weak and they did not like that. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles just amplified the negative emotions. This gave extremist parties a chance to win over the hearts and minds of the divided people. There were all types of riots throughout Germany, though most notably were the ones in Berlin.
Two of the main problems the German people had with the Treaty of Versailles were the reparation payments and the Treaty’s terms. When the Treaty of Versailles was drafted in 1919, it originally stated that Germany would have to pay 1 billion pounds in compensation. In 1920, it was increased to 4 and a half billion pounds and increased again to 12 and a half billion pounds later on that year. It was updated a final time in 1921 to 6.6 billion pounds. The German people were also led to believe that the Treaty of Versailles would be based on Wilson’s 14 points. When they finally saw the Treaty and realized that it wasn’t, it caused outrage. So much outrage, in fact, that the Treaty of Versailles was called diktat by much of Germany’s population.
The Sparticist Revolt, which happened in January of 1919, was an armed uprising lead by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg against the Weimar Republic. The government sent in the Free Corps to quell the uprising. The ex-soldiers crushed the Revolt and murdered Liebknecht and Luxemburg. Soon after, The Free Corps started the Kapp Putsch, which was lead by Wolfgang Kapp. During this event, the Free Corps tried to seize control of Berlin in response to an attempt to ban them in the early 1920’s. The revolt failed, however, when the workers of Berlin went on strike. The failure of the Kapp Putsch resulted in many of the Free Corps turning to assassinating politicians who agreed with the Treaty of Versailles. Between 1919 and 1923 there were over 400 political murders, the most notable of which was Walter Rathenau, the foreign minister who believed Germany should obey the rules set by the Treaty of Versailles.
The Invasion of the Ruhr happened in 1922 when France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr after Germany failed to meet a reparation installment. The German government ordered the workers in the Ruhr to take up a passive resistance against the French, causing the economy to grind to a halt. The workers, however, were still getting paid even though they were producing nothing. These payments lead to hyperinflation. By late 1923, paper money was worthless, the workers’ wages could not keep up with prices, living standards fell, and people went hungry. Those on fixed incomes (such as pensions, or those who had savings) suffered the most while foreigners benefitted from the ordeal, seeing as the value of their currency rose against that of the mark. The ordeal came to an end with a new government, which was led by Gustav Stresemann, in September of 1923.
The Wall Street Crash (also known as the Depression) happened in 1929 when the American economy collapsed, causing a global shockwave. Almost the entire world was affected by the Depression, but its effect on Germany was arguably one of the worst since she had been relying on American loans to get her economy back up. By 1933, 6 million Germans were out of work and between 1928 and 1930 rose from 2.5 billion to 4 million. The government couldn’t cope with the problems, causing people to look to extremist parties for help. In 1930 the Communists increased their seats from 54 to 77 in the Reichstag. Between 1928 and 1930 the Nazi seats rose from 12 to 107. This, however, wasn’t all that was happening.
The coalition government collapsed in 1930, causing Germany to be ruled by emergency degrees signed by President Hindenburg as no one political party could control the parliament. Hitler tried for Presidency in 1932 with an end total of 13 million votes to Hindenburg’s 19 million. The Nazis soon became the largest party in the Reichstag in July of 1932. President Hindenburg later invited Hitler to be Chancellor in January of 1933. Hitler now had a position to achieve his objective of destroying the Weimar Republic.
When the Treaty of Versailles was first proposed, the Germans thought the terms would be based off of Wilson’s 14 points. This, however, was not what Britain and France had in mind. The leaders of the two countries wanted to punish Germany (France more so than Britain) and make the Germans accept blame for causing the war. They also wanted to make sure Germany wouldn’t be able to start another war. These terms included (but were not limited to): making Germany pay reparations, making Germany accept blame for the war, and basically reducing Germany’s army to such an extent that the Allies believed Germany wouldn’t be able to start a war with the meager supply.
The Versailles Treaty affected all the Germans, but the main ones were the politicians. The Free Corps turned to killing the politicians who agreed with the Versailles Treaty and wanted Germany to follow its demands after the Kapp Putsch failed. During the period between 1919 and 1923, 400 politicians had been killed, as previously stated. The Treaty of Versailles was important/significant to Germany as a whole because they were having to pay off the reparations while also trying to pay their workers, it made the Germans look weak (in the nationalists’ point of view), and Germany would have no way to defend herself from attacks should anyone decide to since her army was cut down so much.
The Treaty of Versailles was the most significant thing from 1919-1923. It had just been introduced and, after the recent loss of WW1, it was at the front of almost every German’s mind. Almost every single problem during this time period could be traced back to some part of the Treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was still very significant from 1924-1929, but it would soon fall from the front of German minds when the Depression hits. After the Depression hit (1929-1939), the Treaty of Versailles isn’t very significant, though it is mentioned from time to time.
As time goes on, ideals change and certain events are seen in a different light by a different generation. When the Treaty was first introduced and for many years after, it had a significant change on Germany. However, as time wears on, its significance starts to be questioned. The Treaty impacted many lives in Germany and even a few beyond, but there were darker things in the works. Most didn’t see these things as they were focused on the Treaty instead of seeing the bigger picture.
Versailles did have long-term effects because of the reparation payments. When the Depression hit, American called back their loan and it nearly crippled Germany’s economy. The Depression was another major event to happen to not only Germany but also the world. It crippled Germany’s economy and nearly did the same to many others. The Depression and the Treaty of Versailles are pretty much on par with each other significance wise.
I believe that the Depression had more of an impact on Germany in a short-term view, but the Treaty of Versailles had a bigger impact long-term. The Depression affected the Germany people for 10-15 years while the Treaty of Versailles lasted for over 20 years. This might be because the Depression wasn’t directed at anyone and affected everyone while the Treaty of Versailles was made primarily for Germany and only negatively affected the German people.
The Treaty of Versailles affected Germany’s relations with the other countries as well. In 1936, the summers Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. This meant that while the Nazis were pushing foreigners out of Germany’s borders, they were also allowing other foreigners from all over the world with all types of beliefs in. Relations between Germany and the other countries were strained as it was, and the Nazis’ anti-Jewish ways made it even more so, seeing as competitors on almost every side had at least one Jew on their team.
Overall, the Treaty of Versailles had a very significant impact on Germany because of its effect on the German people. From the Sparticist Revolt to the Wall Street Crash, the Treaty of Versailles has had a certain importance to the people of Germany, no matter what else was going on. While the Treaty is not as important today as it once was, it obviously had a special place in Germans’ minds during its time.