Describe the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles and explain why Germans resented them so deeply

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to describe the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and to explain why Germans resented it so bitterly, seeing it as a harsh and unfair "diktat" (a dictated peace). You should be able to group the terms clearly (territory, military, reparations and war guilt), explain how the aims of the victorious powers shaped the treaty, and explain the German reaction. The task combines description of the terms with explanation of why they caused such deep resentment, which is the link to the later rise of extremism in Germany.

The answer

The aims of the Big Three

The treaty was negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 by the victorious powers, led by the "Big Three": Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of Britain and Wilson of the United States. They did not agree. Clemenceau wanted to punish Germany severely and make it too weak ever to attack France again, because France had suffered terrible damage. Wilson wanted a fairer peace based on his "Fourteen Points", including self-determination and a League of Nations to keep future peace. Lloyd George took a middle position: he wanted Germany punished but not so crushed that it turned to revolution or could never trade with Britain again. The treaty was a compromise that fully satisfied none of them, and Germany was not allowed to take part in the talks.

The territorial terms

Germany lost a great deal of land. Alsace-Lorraine, taken from France in 1871, was returned to France. Land in the east was given to the newly recreated state of Poland, including the "Polish Corridor" that cut East Prussia off from the rest of Germany. The Saar, a rich coalfield, was placed under international control for fifteen years. Germany also lost all of its overseas colonies, which were shared out among the Allies. In total Germany lost about 13 per cent of its territory and millions of its people.

The military terms

The treaty greatly reduced Germany's armed forces so it could not threaten its neighbours. The army was limited to 100,000 men, conscription was banned, and Germany was forbidden tanks, submarines and an air force. The navy was cut to a small number of ships. The Rhineland, the German region bordering France, was demilitarised, meaning Germany could keep no troops or fortifications there. These limits left Germans feeling defenceless and humiliated.

Reparations and the War Guilt Clause

The two terms Germans hated most concerned blame and money. Article 231, the War Guilt Clause, stated that Germany accepted responsibility for causing the war. On the basis of this guilt, Germany was forced to pay reparations: huge payments to the Allies to make up for the damage of the war, eventually fixed at a sum so large it seemed impossible. Germans felt it was unjust to blame them alone for a war they believed had many causes, and the reparations threatened to cripple their economy for decades.

Why Germans called it a diktat

Germans were outraged by the treaty for several linked reasons. They were not allowed to negotiate, but were simply presented with the terms and told to sign or face renewed war, so they called it a "diktat", a dictated peace. The War Guilt Clause forced them to accept sole blame, which they felt was unfair. The loss of territory and the reparations were seen as cruel and impossible. Many Germans also clung to the false belief that their army had never really been beaten but had been "stabbed in the back" by politicians who signed the armistice, so they saw the treaty as a betrayal. This deep resentment poisoned German politics in the 1920s and was later exploited by Adolf Hitler.

Examples in context

Example 1. The War Guilt Clause as the root of German anger. Of all the terms, Article 231 caused the deepest resentment because it forced Germany to accept that the war was its fault alone. Germans pointed out that the war had many causes and that all the great powers had played a part. Because reparations were justified by this clause, attacking Article 231 became a way of attacking the whole treaty, and politicians who promised to overturn it (most dangerously the Nazis) gained support.

Example 2. The Polish Corridor and divided Germany. To give the new Poland access to the sea, the treaty created a strip of land, the Polish Corridor, that physically separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. Germans living in or near the corridor resented being cut off, and the issue remained a grievance throughout the 1920s and 1930s. It later became one of the flashpoints, around the city of Danzig, that Hitler used in the lead-up to the Second World War.

Try this

Q1. What did Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles state? [3 marks]

• Cue. It was the War Guilt Clause: Germany had to accept responsibility for causing the war, which was used to justify reparations.

Q2. Explain why Germans called the Treaty of Versailles a "diktat". [5 marks]

• Cue. Germany was not allowed to negotiate but was told to sign or face renewed war; combined with the War Guilt Clause and harsh terms, this made Germans feel the peace had been dictated to them unjustly.

Q3. "The Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany." How far do you agree? [13 marks]

• Cue. Argue it was harsh (diktat, war guilt, territory, reparations) but weigh against the French view that it was justified after invasion, and note Germany's own harsh treaty on Russia; then judge.