Student Question
Why does the Treaty of Versailles contain its specific terms?
Quick answer:
The Treaty of Versailles contained specific terms to reflect the priorities of the victorious Allied powers. The U.S. aimed for a lenient peace promoting a new world order, leading to the inclusion of the League of Nations. Conversely, Britain and France sought to punish Germany and prevent future aggression, resulting in harsh reparations, territorial losses, and military restrictions. These terms were negotiated among the victors to ensure their interests and security concerns were addressed.
The Treaty of Versailles contained what it did because those provisions were what the victorious powers wanted. The Americans, the British, and the French in particular put in provisions that they wanted.
The provisions of the treaty were the result of negotiations between the victors. The US, for example, wanted a very lenient peace. They wanted a new world order that would be more conducive to peace. This resulted, for example, in the inclusion of the League of Nations in the treaty.
However, the French and the British were not willing to be so lenient. They wanted to punish the Germans and to ensure that Germany would not be able to threaten them again. Therefore, the treaty included such things as the large reparations that Germany had to pay. It included things like the demilitarization of the Rhineland and the tough restrictions on Germany's military.
In these ways, the Treaty...
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of Versailles contained what it did because that is what was agreed upon by the victors in consultation with one another.
Why was the Treaty of Versailles created?
The Treaty of Versailles was designed to bring peace to Europe after World War I and to punish Germany for starting the conflict.
In very broad terms, the Treaty took land away from Germany, which was held solely responsible for starting the War; Alsace-Lorraine was given to France and the rich farmlands of Posen in Prussia awarded to Poland. The Treaty also put in place a number of measures to prevent Germany from starting another war. This involved severely limiting the size of Germany's armed forces. The German Army was to be restricted to 100,000 men, and the German navy reduced to just six battleships and no submarines.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the German government was forced to pay compensation—or reparations, as they were called—for the enormous economic damage caused by the War. The total amount that the Germans would have to pay eventually came to 132 billion gold marks, a phenomenal sum that would wreak further damage on an already shattered economy.