The Impact of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the Peace Settlement between the Allies and Germany at the
end of the First World War. The German authorities had little choice but to accept the terms
of the Treaty presented by 'the Big Three'. This section looks at some of the implications of
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
The Physical impact of the Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles radically altered the Geography of Europe. The Treaty had clauses
that resulted in areas of land being taken from Germany.
The following maps illustrate the scale of these losses:
From these maps it is clear that Germany suffered large territorial losses. The provinces of
Alsace and Lorraine returned to France; parts of Schleswig were ceded to Denmark; to the
east, new countries were created to roughly match the ethnic balance of the area and
finally, 'The Polish Corridor' was created which gave the Poles a broad strip of land that
connected it to the sea - and consequently separated Eastern Prussia from the rest of
Germany. It was not just in Europe that German suffered territorial losses. All of Germany's
overseas colonies were annexed by the Allies, either to become colonies or areas that were
managed until independence could be maintained autonomously. In total, Germany lost
over one millions square miles of land (28,000 of which had previously formed part of
European Germany) and 6 million subjects.
The financial impact of the Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the First World War. As a result of this
Germany was also held accountable for the cost of the war and the Treaty dictated that
compensation would have to be paid to the Allies. These payments, called reparations,
would be paid monthly and would total some £6,600 million (This figure was agreed by the
Allies in 1921). It is important not to take this figure in isolation though. Remember that the
economic might of Germany had been stretched to the limits during the war, and she would
have to reconstruct her own economy at the same time as paying Reparations. In addition,
Germany had lost some of her most precious sources of Raw materials as her colonies, and
some of the areas ceded to other countries, were rich sources of income. These factors
would make it harder for the German economy to cope. Further to this it is important to
note the casualties suffered during the war. Germany lost some 1.7 million men during the
war, and a further 4.2 million are listed as being wounded.
The Political Impact of the Treaty
The Treaty triggered a number of political reactions. Firstly the government of the day
resigned, having refused to sign it. The incoming government had no choice but to sign the
Treaty but was accused by some, General Ludendorff for example, of stabbing the Germany
people in the back. This Theory grew in popularity as the economy suffered and many,
former soldiers in particular, believed that the politicians had lost the war rather than the
army. (For some it was hard to accept that they could have lost the war whilst troops were
still stationed in France, having not lost the ground that they had taken in 1914.) This,
amongst other things, led to a growth in the number of people who distrusted the Weimar
Republic and were unwilling to support it. This manifests itself in uprisings such as the Kapp
Putsch and the Munich Putsch, though there are other factors which led to these uprisings.
The Treaty also called for the trial of the former Kaiser. This never happened as the Dutch
government refused to hand him over, but this effectively stopped any chance of a
restoration of the monarchy in Germany. In Western Europe the Treaty signaled the
beginning of a period of isolation for Germany. She became an outcast in international
politics and was feared and distrusted by the Allies. This had a significant impact on the role
that Germany would, and potentially could, play in European and World affairs in the early
post war climate. However, whilst it is evident that Germany became politically isolated in
the West, some historians would point out that their isolation has been exaggerated by
Westerners. The Treaty of Rapello for example shows that there was scope for Germany to
develop relations in the east, in this case with the Soviet Union, and, they would point out,
the newly formed nations were in need of economic partners - with Germany being a likely
dominant partner in that sphere.