Treaty Of Versailles

Laura Locke
History 112
Diane Barefoot
December
Peace Treaty of Versailles or Not?
The Treaty of Versailles was intended to be a peace agreement between the Allies and the Germans instead it created political and economic chaos in Germany. By the end of the First World War, Germany had surrendered and signed a peace agreement. The task of forming a peace agreement was now in the hands of the Allies. In December of 1918, the Allies met in Versailles to start on the peace settlement and what seemed like an easy process only opened the door for a dictator to take control and inevitably World War II. The Treaty of Versailles is significant in history because it was supposed to represent peace when instead it represented hostility and ultimately it led to World War II and the unnecessary loss of millions of lives.
It goes without saying that the psychological profile of each nation involved with the Treaty of Versailles led the way to another world war. Shame, revenge, bigotry and greed are examples of emotions shared not only by individuals, but by the human institutions enacted by states to solve their problems, in other words can there be national shame? Yes. Can there be national interest in seeking revenge? Yes. Since warfare is brought about by conflicts over resources, values, or national security, it is natural to see countries behaving in similar fashions as individuals do in conflict. The treaty of Versailles essentially made the German people entirely responsible for the First World War. This blame that was put on Germany was one of the main factors responsible for Germany's economic and political future, leading up to World War II. Because France blamed Germany for the First World War, they forced them to pay for all of the damages that were considered their fault. This was extremely demoralizing to the economics in the country, because Germany had to basically pay for the entire war, which caused Germany to plunge deeply into debt. The unhappiness...