Failure to Enforce the Treaty
of Versailles/Appeasement
Nicole J, Emily W, Paige P, Aparna G
Thesis
Regardless of whether the terms were
too harsh or too lenient on Germany,
the Treaty of Versailles was a major
cause of World War II because of the
Allies' lack of enforcement.
Disarmament/Rearmament
• In the Treaty of Versailles, German forces were
restricted to 100,000 troops, 6 battleships, and no
submarines among other things.
• In 1933 Hitler began rearmament in secret, and then
publicly announced it in 1935.
• In response to this, the leading European powers did
nothing except form the Stresa Front, which was
based on an agreement to stop any future violation of
the Treaty of Versailles.
The Anglo-German Naval
Agreement
• In June 1935, Great Britain violated the terms of the
Stresa Front and made an agreement with Germany
that they could rearm their navy to have a third of the
tonnage of the British Navy.
• This gave the Germans a sense of support and that,
because the powers were not working together in
repressing their growth, they would stand more of a
chance in a war situation.
"In the case of the Treaty of Versailles,
lack of enforcement turns out to have
been a more serious defect than any
clause in the text" -Hans A. Schmitt
Reparations
• By 1921, the reparations committee agreed to
set the total payment to £6.6 million
• Also included coal and steel payments from
Germany
• Maybe
too harsh (led to hyperinflation crisis
in Germany in 1923)
• Not adequately enforced, led to further
appeasement towards Germany (learned they
could get away with it)
"What stopped the Treaty of Versailles
from ever approaching success, however,
was not the terms of the treaty... But rather
the reluctance to enforce the terms by the
Allies" -James Atkinson
Territoral Clauses
•
•
•
•
Germany had to give up more land than any other
country
Gave up control of Polish Corridor, German and
Turkish colonies, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia,and
Czechoslova
Anschluss (with Austria) was forbidden
Much more should have been taken away to make
Germany less of a threat
Rebuttal
Claim: Allies did not have the military resources or
popular want to enforce the Treaty of Versailles and
prevent German violations.
Response: Enough support against Germany, rally to
prevent another World War
Claim: Reparations too harsh to enforce
Response: Germany had enough to rearm and prepare
for war, had Allies enforced reparations, Germany
would have not had the resources for WWII
1.
Works Cited
1.
Atkinson, James. "The Treaty of Versailles and Its Consequences." Www.upf.edu. N.p., 16 Dec. 2002.
Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.upf.edu/materials/fhuma/hcu/docs/t2/art5.pdf>.
2.
"Enforcement of the Provisions of the Treaties: US Isolationism, the Retreat from the Anglo-American
Guarantee, Disarmament-Washington, London and Geneva Conferences."IB History Notes. IB Guides,
n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ibguides.com/history/notes/enforcement-of-the-provisions-ofthe-treaties-us-isolationism-the-retreat-from-the-anglo-american-guarantee-disarmament>.
3.
Schmitt, Hans A. "The Treaty of Versailles: Mirror of Europe's Postwar Agony." The Treaty of Versailles:
Mirror of Europe's Postwar Agony. N.p., 1989. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.ctevans.net/Versailles/Papers/Schmitt/Schmitt_paper.html>.