Diplomacy: To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles a fair and reasonable peace?

Question 1

Intro/thesis

Answer 1

• There is some evidence that the Treaty was too harsh, such as the fact that Germany was not solely responsible for the outbreak and events of WW1, as Germany encouraged Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, but it was ultimately Austria-Hungary, not Germany, that first declared the war, and Germany only declared war later in August.
• However, when considering the actions of Germany in WW1 and their effect on other European countries, as well as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, it can be seen that the Treaty of Versailles was not too harsh.
• Most importantly, however, Germany faced an economic crisis in 1923 not simply because of reparations, but rather the government’s response to them.

Question 2

Paragraphs

Answer 2

• Unfair and unreasonable due to blame and effect on Germany
• Reasonable, considering Germany’s actions during the war and (?) contribution to the outbreak of the war
• Reasonable- effects on Germany were largely due to the WR’s actions (examine interconnections with ToV)

Question 3

Unfair/unreasonable- examples

Answer 3

• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
• Reparations sum of £6.6 billion
• Germany lost 10% of its lands and 50% of its iron and steel industries.
• The ‘war guilt’ clause provided justification for Allied demands for reparations.
• They were angry that they had not been allowed to negotiate. They called Versailles a diktat or dictated peace.
• Wilson’s 14 points

Question 4

Unfair/unreasonable- explanation & historiography

Answer 4

• Germany suffered economically because of the loss of Alsace Lorraine because of its valuable iron ore deposits.
• The purpose of the treaty was to crush and humiliate Germany, and the peacemakers were influenced by the effect that Germany had had on their countries during the war.
• In this way, the treaty can be considered unfair as it placed an unreasonable economic burden on Germany, ultimately harming the rest of Europe (Keynes).
• Economist Keynes: “The treaty ignores the economic solidarity of Europe and by aiming at the destruction of the economic life of Germany it threatens the health and prosperity of the Allies themselves.”

Question 5

Reasonable, considering Germany’s actions during the war- examples

Answer 5

• France lost 1.3 million soldiers in the war, and large parts of northeastern France, the nation’s most advanced industrial and agricultural area, were devastated.
• In France, industrial production had fallen to 60 percent of the prewar level; economic growth had been set back by a decade. The enormous cost of the war seriously undermined the franc and foreshadowed many years of currency fluctuation.
• The treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed by Germany and Russia in March of 1918, was very severe, with Russia losing territories inhabited by more than 1/4 of its citizens and providing more than 1/3 of its grain harvest.

Question 6

Reasonable, considering Germany’s actions during the war- explanation & historiography

Answer 6

• Germany had not been invaded and so its farmland and industries, therefore, remained intact. Therefore, other EU states (France & Br) felt that they deserved economic compensation to rebuild.
• The huge demands of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk also indicate that Germany would have sought huge areas of land from the Allies had it won.
• Ruth Henig points out that in comparison to the Brest Litovsk treaty, the ToV was moderate.

Question 7

Reasonable- effects on Germany were largely due to the WR’s actions- examples

Answer 7

• After France and Belgium’s occupation of the Ruhr in January 1923, the Weimar government instructed workers to follow a policy of ‘passive resistance’ – refusing to cooperate with the foreign troops, in return for the government continuing to pay their wages.
• To pay the workers, the Weimar government decided to print more money, contributing to hyperinflation.
• The workers went on strike, and the Weimar government decided to support this strike by continuing to pay striking workers by printing more banknotes, a measure that was intended to be temporary, but it was continued and eventually led to extreme hyperinflation.

Question 8

Reasonable- effects on Germany were largely due to the WR’s actions- explanation & historiography

Answer 8

• Although some will argue that the reparations caused the economic crisis that Germany faced in the early 1920s, this was in fact due to the actions of the Weimar government in issuing banknotes. In fact, many historians have argued that Germany could have paid the 7.2% of its national income that the Reparations Schedule required if it had reformed its financial system or raised its taxation to British levels.
• This would have been unpopular with the people, and as a new government, the Weimar Republic wanted to maintain popular support.
• However, this hyperinflation was caused by the government’s inability to pay back reparations. Fault of the ToV or irresponsibility of government? Nevertheless, can be traced back to ToV.
• Ruth Henig: The fact that the ToV did not survive the 1920s intact stemmed not so much from the terms of the peace treaties themselves, but rather from the failure of Weimar leaders to enforce them.