League Of Nations Dbq

World War I and World War II both left European states in ruins, many civilians devastated, the most casualties seen in any war and the economy in shambles. Consequently, the decline of entire empires left many people with confused identities, as these countries were acquired by other countries. The wars would have also established the formation of alliances. The aftermath forced world leaders to take on the task of reconstructing what had been destroyed. These leaders knew that the peace they had sought out in the postwar era was only temporary, but little did they know that the settlements of the First Great War would lead to another war, much more destructive than the previous one. Nevertheless, the postwar settlements brought by the Treaty

Other motives for the treaty were to force Germany into paying for costs of the war, as punishment. Germany had not anticipated such harsh punishment because Wilson’s Fourteen Points had not focused on it, instead they believed they would eventually benefit from it. Using the Fourteen Points loosely as a guideline for the peace treaty, The League of Nations, which would later turn into the United Nations, emerged to settle international disputes through negotiation. Ironically, the United States would not join the League. Aside from the financial aspects, the treaty would include a Guilt Clause, which would entail Germany to admit they were at fault for the war. Reluctantly, Germany signed the armistice, after the allies threatened to invade the already weakened

To ensure that Germany would not attack France again, Clemenceau pushed for disarmament and demanded back Alsace-Lorraine and in addition to Rhineland, which had been demilitarized and served as a buffer. For fifteen years, France had also controlled territory which had rich coal mines. Poland gained land east of Germany. Germany was not allowed to unite with Austria and was required to give its colonies in Africa to Great Britain and France. The allies had also gained territory that had been given to Germany through the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Furthermore, the German military was to be reduced. The military was limited to 100,000 men and 6 battleships, however, they were not allowed to have submarines or an air force. This would wound German pride as Bismarck had stressed the importance of the military during his time.

Great Britain had hoped to leave Germany strong enough for trade. the The repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles would soon result in World War II, after the decline of the Weimar Republic and after German sentiments allowed a charismatic Hitler to rise in power, thus heightening nationalism amongst the