The War Ends...At a Price
The Treaty of Versailles formally ended World War I. Unfortunately, it failed to solve any of the long-lasting problems which started the conflict (MANIA). Essentially, the Central Powers lost the war, but for a number of reasons. After 4 long years of battle, the German people were starving, and running desperately low on supplies. Even though the French and British were not much better off (Remember that Russia had left), the Allies were given a boost when the Unites States declared war on Germany in response to Unrestricted Submarine Warfare. Fresh supplies and troops from the United States made fighting on the Western Front a losing battle for the Central Powers. Eventually, they were forced to sue for peace, and Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down as the leader of Germany. Representatives met at the Palace of Versailles (the old palace used by the last monarchs of France), and drafted a peace treaty...which punished Germany.
What was supposed to happen?Well, the Treaty of Versailles was supposed to stop this kind of conflict from ever happening again. The major powers were devastated by the war, had lost millions of soldiers, and were almost entirely bankrupt. Economically, almost every country started to fall into a depression not long after the war (This was a lead up to the Great Depression 10 years later). They sought to create a lasting peace, and find better solutions to their problems.
The Fourteen PointsU.S. President Woodrow Wilson actually attended the conference, and drafted a 14 point list to bring Europe together and foster a sense of community, rather than rivalry. Among other things, Wilson said that there needed to be:
|
What actually happened though?The issue was that the 14 Points were a fantastic idea, but putting them in place proved nearly impossible. President Wilson tried to fix a European problem with American solutions, which would have worked if Europeans were willing to commit to these new ideas. Wilson, however, did not fully take into account how deep their differences and rivalries went.
Europe had a long-lasting history of conflict and competition, and there was a certain level of happiness to be taken from a victory over an enemy. As a result, the Allies went about punishing Germany for the entire war, even though it was not their fault. Germany was forced to sign a treaty which stated that:
|
The League of Nations Formed...Sort OfEuropean leaders did like the idea of a coalition to stop future wars from happening by working together, so the League of Nations was actually created, but the country who started the idea, and who would have made it work, did not join. The United States wanted to return to a more isolationist place in the world (stay out of things), and did not want to get involved in European affairs to begin with. President Wilson created the idea, but was unable to convince the U.S. to join the League.
As a result, the League of Nations would prove to be an almost complete failure. It did attempt to keep the peace in the coming years, but its job was impossible, because it was formed by a treaty which planted the seeds for a future war. |
What does all of this lead to?Germany was not even invited to the Treaty of Versailles, and the Central Powers were forced to sign the treaty whether they wanted to or not. Germans were furious, and felt that the peace was unfair, and placed complete blame on them, when they did not deserve it. It was an "Unhappy Compromise," to say the least.
In the coming years, Germans did everything they could to ignore the Treaty of Versailles, and this hostility helped lead to the rise of Totalitarianism in Germany and other countries throughout Europe. Using frustration over the treaty, anger over the governments of Britain and France, and the failure of democracy to bring any change or fix underlying problems, a politician named Adolf Hitler began to rise in Germany. The Nazi Party soon gained power in the country, and would ultimately do whatever was necessary to make Germany great again. Ironically, the Treaty of Versailles was supposed to prevent another war, but ultimately helped cause the Great War's sequel, World War II. This treaty more or less continued the ongoing theme of short-term solutions, to long-term problems. |