Exam (elaborations)
‘German horror in response to the Treaty of Versailles was justified’. Assess the validity of this view. (25 marks).
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Charlotte Corrigan‘German horror in response to the Treaty of Versailles was justified’. Assess the validity of
this view. (25 marks).
German horror in response to the Treaty of Versailles was justified as a result of the punitive
terms which were used to ‘squeeze Germany until the pips squeak’. The militaristic,
territorial and War Guilt clauses contributed to the horror of the treaty and diminished
German morale. This German horror seemed to stem from the oppressive terms introduced
by the League of Nations and these clauses were unilateral further adding to the German
anger which appears justified. Territorial Losses seemed to be the main reason for the anger
experienced by the Germans. Germany lost over 13% of their territory and overseas
colonies. Additionally, Alsace-Lorraine, previously owned by Germany, was returned to
France; Eupen and Malmedy were given to Belgium and most of Posen, West Prussia and
the Polish corridor were given to Poland. The Germans lost over 7 million people and
incredibly valuable industrial land due to the Wilsonian principle of self-determination. The
loss of this land was arguably the real reason for German anger as the land contained
valuable resources such as iron, which encouraged Germany’s trade with other countries
and boosted the German empire. Germany lost 75% of its iron ore, 68% of its zinc ore, 26%
of its coal and 15% of farming land. The high statistic inevitably caused German anger at The
Treaty of Versailles due to the reduction of land and resources which enabled Germany to
be a higher power and compete with rival countries for trade. But whilst Germany did lose
Alsace-Lorraine and other key areas, Germany occupied the Polish corridor despite being
owned by Poland. This contradicted the policy introduced by the League of Nations which
stated that Germans should be ruled by Poles. This contradiction between the policies
implemented and the actual actions of other countries further heightened the anger of
Germany providing a just reason for the overwhelming anger extolled by Germany. The
Treaty of Versailles seemed to facilitate the anger of the Germans through the loss of land
and the major contradictions in the treaty.
Notably, Article 231, the War Guilt Clause, is arguably another of the most important factors
contributing to ‘German horror’. This clause stated that Germany would have to accept full
responsibility for stating the war and Germany would be liable to pay back the huge
reparation fees of £6.6 billion to cover the costs of the damage of the war. Furthermore, the
anger felt by Germany was heightened as they had to hand over their shipping fleet, railway
locomotives and patents over to its Allies. This would have inevitably added to the sense of
German horror as a result of Germany being forced to accept full responsibility for the First
World War as morale further decreased and cultivated a sense of vulnerability on behalf of
the German public. However, it could be argued that the Germans found The Treaty of
Versailles and its terms horrific as a result of the economic impact it had upon the Germans,
it seemed to perhaps lead to the Ruhr invasion in 1923 and problematic hyperinflation that
very same year. The universal condemnation of the Treaty’s terms dramatically undermined
the support of the Weimar Democracy which damaged the Republic further contributing to
German horror and confusion.
Additionally, the disarmament of Germany seemed to also add to German ‘horror’. This in
turn contributed to the instability of German society which resulted in confusion and horror.
The Treaty of Versailles said that Germany had to surrender all of their ‘heavy weapons’ and
demilitarise the Rhineland. It also stated that conscription was forbidden and the German
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