The Treaty of Versailles
To what extent do you think the treaties of the Peace of Paris were fair? Most parts of the treaties of the Peace of Paris, particularly in the treaty of Versailles were a cruel bastardisation of justice. The victorious powers placed outrageous demands on Germany that went far beyond simple justice. The Treaty of Versailles was an exceedingly vindictive document. Particularly harsh was the insinuation of 'war guilt' placed solely on the shoulders of Germany. Germany was required to accept the allegations from the Allies that it was solely to blame for the war. How could Germany be the only country to blame for the war? After all, it had started when a Serbian shot an Austrian.Right from the beginning of the Peace conferences there was uncertainty about what should be done. Some felt the aim was to punish Germany, others felt it was necessary to cripple Germany to the point that it would never be able to start up another war. Some felt the treaties should reward the winning side and yet others (although these seem to number less than the alternative viewpoints) felt that the point of the treaties was to establish a lasting peace. Germany was not invited to participate.Before the announcement of the peace treaties on t
I would hypothesis however, that Germany was not preparing to begin a war but rather that they were preparing for the possibility of war. The war came about because of the mismanagement of a crisis; the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, a Serbian shooting an Austrian. The French representative in the 'Big Three', Clemenceau was an uncompromising politician and clearly displays this attitude of rigid vengefulness. With the German economy already crippled and tattered due to the war, Germany was in no shape to pay the excessive reparations demanded. he 7th of May 1920, the Germans believed that it would be unpleasant but not unfair to the degree that it was. Wilson's 14 point plan was largely ignored and Germany was not to be allowed what should have been a given; true self-determination. Perhaps some of them felt they would not remain in power unless they demanded the ruthless penalties they thought their countrymen wanted. Germany was expected to pay damages of L6,600,000,000, approximately 33 billion US dollars. However, because of the popular feeling widespread in some of the Entente countries, it is doubtful whether a formal and legal revision is as yet practicable. The Versailles Treaty is ethically flawed and was thought to be so by leading historians not long after the end of the war. After the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, the French were still out looking for revenge. However, Germany was so weakened that it could not possibly win or even continue and so the impoverished state of the nation forced the German leader, Ebert into signing the treaty. Germany's policies of naval and military expansion are often seen as a sign that Germany was preparing to begin a war.
Common topics in this essay:
Air Force,
Germany Germany,
Treaty Germany,
Lloyd George,
Peace Paris,
Treaty Versailles,
Three' Clemenceau,
Versailles Treaty,
Fay Harvard,
blame war,
Ferdinand Serbian,
war germany,
treaties peace paris,
lloyd george,
treaty versailles,
versailles treaty,
begin war,
preparing begin,
germany preparing,
treaties peace,
germany preparing begin,
preparing begin war,
peace paris,
|
Acceptance Essays
