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Signing of the Treaty of Versailles - 1919

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Signing of the Treaty of Versailles - 1919

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On November 11, 1918, Germany finally signed an armistice agreement with the Allies, ending WWI. Although it marked the ending of WWI, it was not a formal peace agreement.

2 months after, The Paris Peace Conference began, including representatives from around 30 countries. It aimed to gather leaders of these nations to negotiate the peace terms. The Big 3 (U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister David Llyod George, and French Premier Georges Clemenceau) dominated the discussions.

In March 1919, the 'Fourteen Points' idea was presented by Woodrow Wilson, which advocated for a fair and long-lasting peace. One of the significant key ideas was granting self-determination for nations, which allowed countries to freely decide what to do or choose in their own territory. Furthermore, in the presentation, it also highlighted free trade, and most importantly, the creation of the League of Nations. Although these policies seemed reasonable and practical, it contrasted with the visions of the British and the French, as they wanted harsher punishments and reparations against Germany.

The Treaty of Versailles was officially signed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on June 28, 1919, which was exactly 5 years after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. German officials and representatives unwillingly signed the treaty under massive pressure.

Germany viewed the Treaty as a Diktat (dictated peace), and many Germans felt the Dolchstoss, or the stab-in-the-back by their own government. This bitterness of the Germans would eventually continue to build up, contributing to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the beginning of World War II.

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Signing of the Treaty of Versailles - 1919

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After the Treaty of Versailles, changes were applied to Germany. One of the major terms that was applied was the return in territories that Germany had conquered and took over during WWI. Germany's territorial losses included the Alsace-Lorraine, which was returned to France. The Saar Basin was placed under the mandate of the League of Nations, with its coal mines given to France. Plus, the Polish Corridor was also given back to Poland, allowing it have access to the sea, and cut the piece of land in East Germany from the rest of it. Moreover, Germany also had to gave up all of its overseas colonials in Africa and in the Pacific. Some of the nations were given to other European countries to colonize, and some were controlled by the League of Nations.

In 1920, the Treaty of Trianon was created. It forced Hungary to surrender its huge territory to its neighbors, and finally separating it from Austria. In this treaty, Transylvania was also given to Romania, and Czech Republic and Slovakia united to form Czechoslovakia, also containing a piece of land in Ukraine Ruthenia. Furthermore, Croatia and Slovenia were given to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which later formed the nation of Yugoslavia. Overall, Hungary lost approximately 70% of its pre-war territory.

Another significant treaty was also formed in the same year as the Treaty of Trianon. The Treaty of Saint-German was formed to reduce Austria to a smaller republic. Firstly, South Tyrol and Trentino were ceded to Italy. Secondly, Galicia was transferred to Poland. Moreover, Austria was also banned from unifying with Germany by combining Anschluss with Germany.

The last treaty was signed in 1923, which formally recognized the borders of modern day Turkey due to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It was known as the Treaty of Lausanne.

In conclusion, the effects of the Territorial clauses were significant, setting the border between nations, preventing confusion and political and cultural conflicts. New nations were formed such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and the Baltic states, regaining independence.

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One of the most impactful terms in the Treaty of Versailles was reparations, particularly Articles 231-247. It demanded Germany to pay reparations for war damages. However, during the conference, the exact amount was not set immediately but was meant to compensate the Allies for the destruction from the war.

In April, 1921, the total sum of reparations Germany was required to pay was finalized. It was set at 132 billion gold marks or around 6.6 billion British pounds at the time. This further dragged the German economy down as it was already weakened by the war, which caused more instability in the country.

Since then, Germany struggled to recover from the war due to huge amount of reparations that the government had to pay. This caused hyperinflation as the government kept on printing more physical money, lowering the value of each mark, leading to a rapid increase in prices. The economic chaos disabled the German government from paying its reparation on time. From this, it prompted French and Belgian troops to take over the Ruhr region, which was Germany's main industrial land used to generate money.

Germany was desperate for help, and that was when The Dawes Plan was introduced in 1924. It restructured Germany's reparation payments by decreasing the annual amount. The loans from the U.S. gave Germany the opportunity to stabilize its economy. Although many Germans were furious about the plan, there was not much choice left for the government as their economy was already doomed.

In 1929, The Young Plan was also created to further reduce Germany's reparation by stretching a longer time for Germany to complete its payment. However, in the same year, the Great Depression hit Germany due to the Wall Street Crash in the U.S. This affected both the Dawes and Young plan as the U.S. could not provide loans as usual anymore. Germany then went back to a depression state.

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As mentioned earlier, hyperinflation reached its peak in 1923, the German mark nearly lost all of its value and prices skyrocketed. For example, a loaf of bread costed around 200 billion marks. Germans life saving money suddenly became nothing, leading to widespread poverty and famine. Although a new currency (Renten Mark) was introduced, it was only practical for a couple of months.

The Dawes and Young Plans also played a significant role in eroding faith of the German for the Weimar Republic, which was already seen as a doomed and weak government. Many citizens also agreed that the government were incapable of addressing Germany's issues.

Throughout the time period of 1920s, many Germans blamed the government for signing the Treaty of Versailles, and for the economic crisis. A lot of them felt humiliated and betrayed, and their trust for the government eventually faded away. Due to this political instability and weak coalition system of the Weimar Republic, it allowed extremist parties, such as the communists on the left wing and the conservatives/nationalists on the right wing to gain more popularity.

From the Great Depression, large groups of Germans started to seek for a new party to elect. They were sick and tired of the Weimar government and its poor system. This was when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party took the opportunity to campaign and promote their ideology. By 1933, the Nazi Party gained a significant amount of supports. Hitler was already known for his speech at the Munich Putsch and for his book Mein Kampf. Therefore it further increased the amount of fame and reputation for the Nazi Party. Hitler started to get into actions by negotiating with the Chancellor of Germany, Hindenburg. Once Hitler was in power and was appointed as the new Chancellor of Germany, he immediately demolish the democratic institutions and established a totalitarian regime in January 1933.

Adolf Hitler was ready and prepared to take revenge on the Allies after decades of suffering and suppressed by them. He began to openly resist the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, rebuilding a brand new military and aggressively expand the German territory.