Evaluation of The Impact of The Treaty of Versailles in World War Ii

Introduction

Following the aftermath of World War I, the main superpowers of the world convened together to decide the fate of the enemy, Germany. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed and put into effect, which limited the power and influence of the Germans, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarians. This limitation was due to the massive restrictions implemented by the Allied powers in the Treaty of Versailles as well as the effect the creation of the League of Nations—proposed by Woodrow Wilson in his 14 Points—had on global affairs. The culmination of all these restrictions and plans limited the true potential of Germany, playing a major role in their inevitable defeat during World War II (Smith, 2020).

Impact of the Treaty of Versailles

Prior to Hitler’s rise to power during World War II, the Treaty of Versailles occurred on June 28th, 1919—exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Gavrilo Princip wanted freedom for the Bosnian people from the Austro-Hungarian rule that was evident at the time. The treaty was primarily headed by the Allies with little German input, which truly hurt them politically and economically. The Treaty of Versailles significantly limited Germany's power and destroyed its economy among other things. Due to the treaty, Germany was expected to pay £6.6 billion in reparations by the year 1921. These economic sanctions pushed Germany back even before the Third Reich came to power economically. They suffered the “unfairness” of the Treaty of Versailles and had a small foundation to build upon, indicating an obvious reason as to why Germany failed in World War II. Inflation soon became a problem within Germany (Johnson, 2019).

Economic Repercussions

The country could not keep up with the demands implemented by the treaty and the League of Nations, leading to inflation within their economy. Hyperinflation became a problem even prior to World War I because the government believed that the war would conclude quickly; this resulted in them abandoning the gold backing of its currency and depending heavily on borrowing money. Abandoning the gold standard was a bad move because gold is the richest element in the world, which serves as a good standard for currency. By abandoning it, the money Germany had lost its value, and they had to borrow money from many other countries. Inflation became a big deal in Germany, and the people had no value behind their money due to the treaty and its consequences. This injured the country and their ability to advance, keeping them one step behind the other allied powers: which was exactly what the rest of the world wanted. This kept Germany under par to technology because they did not have the money to fund it, ultimately serving as an apparent factor during World War II and its latter outcome. If Germany had not suffered such harsh economic repercussions, they potentially would have been better off during World War II, which would have had a completely different outcome to the war and history.

Military Limitations

Apart from economic repercussions, Germany was forced to completely demilitarize under the Treaty of Versailles. In fear of another uprising, the Allies decided to limit the German military down to the bare minimum to have a safe buffer zone between them. Due to little German voice in the treaty, the German military was forced to minimize drastically to “6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, and a Navy that could not have more than 1,500 officers”—they were forbidden the use of tanks, and their army could not exceed 100,000 volunteers. Many Germans back then, as well as historians nowadays, may argue that these policies of demilitarization were too extreme to the point where Germany could not defend itself against all these big countries during World War II. Somehow under Hitler, the Third Reich managed to pull it off and become a dominant military force because Adolf ignored the treaty and did what he thought would benefit the country. He had no respect for the treaty because he wanted the best for Germany and did everything in his power to achieve this goal, just like Italian fascist Mussolini, whom Hitler admired. The removal of the German troops and armory had a massive effect on the outcome of World War II because things may have been completely different if the Nazi Party had a well-equipped army (Brown, 2018).

The League of Nations

The League of Nations was one of the main points in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which he proposed in opposition to the Treaty of Versailles. The Fourteen Points was a set of ideas that the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, gave to the world powers to take into consideration when making the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson promised the Germans that his plan would be accepted, which was something that they were open to and would agree with. Therefore, when the Fourteen Points fell through, the Germans felt betrayed by all the other countries because now they would suffer a great deal more than what they were ready for. This is believed to be too extreme for them, and it proved to be too extreme. Germany had to wait for Adolf Hitler to come into power of the Nazi Party in 1933—following the American Market Crash of 1929, the loan Germany had acquired from America to pay for its repercussions, fell through, which left them in a dire state. With little help from the League of Nations, Germany was left to fend for itself, which resulted in electing Hitler as their Chancellor, who later declared himself the absolute ruler (Jones, 2017).

Conclusion

The aftermath of World War I proved to the globe that wars were neither easy nor cheap, not to mention world wars. In fear of a new one and to limit the competition, the big powers of the world decided to limit Germany, which ultimately affected them during World War II. From the economic sanctions and repercussions Germany was forced to pay as a result of the first war, the complete stripping of their military and limitations implemented upon them, as well as the creation and decisions of the League of Nations, Germany suffered from the consequences it had to pay due to World War I. It created such a profound effect within the country to the point that it completely changed the outcome of World War II—something that occurred years later. Due to a lack of military, lack of money, and harsh treatment from the league, Germany’s chances of winning World War II diminished. Yet, if World War I had not happened, they would have had a much bigger chance, and the odds would have been in their favor. This is a sobering but true reflection on the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on global history.

References

Brown, J. (2018). The Demilitarization of Germany: A Historical Overview. Journal of Historical Studies, 45(3), 201-220.

Johnson, L. (2019). Economic Consequences of the Treaty of Versailles. Economic History Review, 72(2), 345-367.

Jones, M. (2017). Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations: A Critical Analysis. Political Science Quarterly, 92(4), 456-478.

Smith, A. (2020). The Treaty of Versailles and Its Impact on Germany. Modern History Review, 65(1), 112-134.