What were the negative effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

The treaty of Versailles had negative effects not only to Germany, but the entire world as well. To begin with, the treaty significantly deviated from the “Fourteen Points” proposed by President Woodrow Wilson causing Germany to develop a negative attitude towards it from the very onset. The terms of the treaty were very punitive and adversely impacted Germany socially, economically and politically.

The “war-guilt” clause and reparation measures of the treaty elicited such resentment on the Germans towards the other nations and in particular France and Britain. Even though the Germans were affected by a deep-seated resentment, their nationalism bond grew stronger. Economically, Germany was crippled and social-politically, the Hitler led Nazi party caused epic distraction as exemplified by the Holocaust. The treaty also had a weakness in its disarmament policy and this ambiguity left room for Germany to maneuver and strengthen itself. In addition to the above, the Allies disagreed in almost all matters with regard to the treaty and so its full implementation was a flop. As a result, Germany had the opportunity to recoup economically and politically, contrary to what the treaty hoped for in its quest for everlasting peace and stability. Eventually, Germany, fueled by resentment of the Versailles treaty impacts, sought vengeance by attacking Poland paving way for the Second World War whose effects were more profound compared to the First World War.  

The biggest negative effect of the Treaty of Versailles was on Germany.  The treaty helped lead to German problems in at least two ways.  Economically, it saddled Germany with a huge debt in the form of war reparations.  This forced Germany to borrow money from the United States in order to pay.  The debt was to cripple the German economy when the Great Depression hit.

The treaty also hurt Germany psychologically.  Its terms, such as the war guilt clause and the terms that robbed Germany of territory and the right to have a true military, angered Germans.  Their anger, when combined with the economic impact of the reparations, was to help allow Hitler to come to power in 1933.

What were the lasting effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

The Treaty of Versailles was essentially an attempt to weaken German's industrial and military machine following their attempted conquest in World War 1. The harsh sanctions and impositions put in place by the Treaty enraged the nation of Germany and eventually led to Hitler's uprising. Hitler used what he and the majority of Germany considered the harsh and unfair penalties levied against Germany to galvanize the nation and direct their ire towards the Allied nations and the Jewish people.

The Treaty eventually led to World War 2, but that was in large part due to inaction on the part of the Allies. The lackadaisical attitude towards Germany's efforts to repair and rebuild their navy, as well as their industrial complex, allowed them to get a significant head start on creating a new military, and they eventually invaded and captured Poland before the Allies did anything to seriously prevent their expansion. By that time it was too late, and World War 2 broke out.

The lasting effect of the Treaty of Versailles was World War II.  This was the most important effect that this treaty had.

The treaty led very directly to WWII because it made Germany very unhappy.  Germans were angry because they had been made to claim all the guilt for the war and because they had territory taken away from them.  They were angry because they were prohibited from having a strong military.  These things made the Germans bitter and resentful.  Then, added to this, there were the reparations the Germans were forced to pay.  This helped cause economic hardship in Germany.

All of these things led to a situation in which a person like Hitler could come to power.  Hitler promised to avenge the wrongs done to Germany and Germans were willing to listen because of how unhappy they were with the treaty.  In this way, the Treaty of Versailles led to WWII.

What were the negative effects of World War I?

The previous post was very strong.  I would add that from an intellectual standpoint, one of the most profound effects of World War I was the embrace of fragmentation or disunity that embraced so much of the world outside of the First World War.  The war was something where nothing really substantial positive or productive emerged.  Europe was completely crippled from the emotional, political, and psychological costs of the War.  Each nation was forced to rebuild from virtually nothing.  At the same time, there was very little that was reaffirmed from the war.  A conflict that was predicated upon nationalism, patriotism, and any other "-ism" that was seen as a form of structure was completely undermined by the destructive and brutal nature of the war.  In the end, this psychological malaise was something that could be seen as a negative effect from WWI.

In my opinion, by far the most negative effect of WWI was WWII.  The first war led pretty directly to the second.

The First World War led to a situation in which Germany (especially) felt the need for revenge and the need to upset the status quo.  The Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI took much of Germany's territory away from it and imposed crushing financial reparations on it.  These led to a desire for revenge.  Germany also wanted to put an end to aspects of the treaty that prevented it from having a serious military.

By punishing Germany harshly, the Treaty of Versailles led Germany to have a motive for starting WWII.  This makes WWII the main negative effect of WWI.