Treaty of Versailles and the outcome of the First World War

The Treaty of Versailles, the agreement that concluded the First World War, was signed on June 28, 1919 in the suburb of Paris, in the former royal residence.

The armistice, the actual end to the bloody war, was concluded on November 11, 1918, but it took the heads of the belligerent states about six months to work out the main provisions of the peace treaty together. The Treaty of Versailles was concluded between the victorious countries (the USA, France, Great Britain) and the defeated Germany. Russia, which was also a member of the coalition of anti-German states, had previously concluded a separate peace with Germany in 1918 (according to the Brest Peace Treaty), therefore it did not participate either in the Paris Peace Conference or in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It is for this reason that Russia, which suffered huge human losses in the First World War, not only received no compensation (indemnities), but also lost part of its original territory (some regions of Ukraine and Belarus).

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles

The main provision of the Versailles Treaty is the unconditional admission of Germany's guilt in "causing war". In other words, full responsibility for inciting the global European conflict fell on Germany. As a consequence of this, unprecedented sanctions were imposed. The sum of the cumulative contributions paid by the German side to the victorious powers amounted to 132 million marks in gold (at the prices of 1919). The last payments were made in 2010, so Germany was able to pay off completely on the "debts" of the First World War only 92 years later.

Germany suffered very painful territorial losses. All German colonies were divided between the countries of the Entente (the anti-German coalition). Some of the original continental German lands were also lost: Lorraine and Alsace moved to France, East Prussia to Poland, Gdansk (Danzig) was recognized as a free city.

The Treaty of Versailles contained detailed requirements aimed at demilitarizing Germany, preventing the re-incitement of a military conflict. The German army significantly decreased (up to 100,000 people). The German military industry actually had to cease to exist. In addition, there was a separate requirement for the demilitarization of the Rhine zone-Germany was forbidden to concentrate troops and military equipment there. The Treaty of Versailles included an item on the creation of the League of Nations, an international organization similar in function to the modern United Nations.

The influence of the Versailles Treaty on the German economy and society

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were unjustifiably harsh and severe, the German economy was unable to withstand them. A direct consequence of the draconian requirements of the treaty was the complete destruction of the German industry, total impoverishment of the population and monstrous hyperinflation.

In addition, an insulting peace agreement touched such a sensitive, albeit insubstantial substance, as a national identity. The Germans felt themselves not only devastated and generalized, but also wounded, unjustly punished and offended. German society readily accepted the most extreme nationalist and revanchist ideas; In this - one of the reasons that the country, only 20 years ago with grief in half ended one global military conflict, easily got involved in the next. But the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which was supposed to prevent potential conflicts, not only failed to fulfill its mission, but also contributed to some kind of incitement to the Second World War.