Treaty Of Versailles Dbq

The Treaty of Versailles was the main factor in the start of WW2. War reparations and the blaming and demilitarization of Germany are just a few examples of how the Treaty caused tension in Europe.

The war reparations paid by Germany after WW1 crippled the German economy during the great depression, The Treaty of Versailles article 232 states ¨Germany… will make compensation for all damage done to the civilian population of the allied and associated powers.¨ (Document C). Germany was forced to pay reparations for the damage caused to civilian populations by the Allied powers during WWI. Article 233 states ¨The amount of [reparations] to be made by Germany shall be determined by an Inter-Allied Commission.” (document C). Germany was forced to

Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles it is stated “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected.¨ (Document D). The Allied powers blamed Germany and its allies for the start of WW1, the German people however felt this was humiliating, leaving them with anger towards the Allied powers. Laurence V. Moyer stated “The Allies continued... To regard the [Versailles] Treaty as an international contract… most Germans saw it as an atrocious injustice, an evil thing which must be destroyed.¨ (Document D). The German people thought of the Treaty as a document used to humiliate them by the Allies, and thus wanted to destroy it, even though the Allies thought of it as an international document. Laurence also states¨Nations, as with individuals, do not like to be made to feel disgraced and cast off.¨ Germany was sectioned off from the rest of the Western world, surrounded by large armies that opposed them the German people demanded