The treaty was to end war with Germany. This triumphantly ended WWI, but since the negotiators were too cruel with the treaty’s demands, Adolf Hitler and the radical right wing group, aka the Nazis, were able to rise to power in Germany due to extreme desperation of the people.
First and foremost, the treaty. The treaty was comprised of 15 parts and 440 articles, although only 6 parts are of great import. Nevertheless, these 6 parts still strangled Germany, and crippled them. Part 1 was the compromise and building of the League of Nations; a peacekeeping organization with members all across the globe. Unfortunately, Germany was not able to join until later. Part 2 described the boundaries of Germany. Germany was forced to give the Saar coalfield to France, but was in German possession 15 years later. However, Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine to France for good. The Polish city of Danzig became free, too. Plus, Poland gained a corridor to the Baltic Sea. Moving on, Part 3 stated that the Rhineland could not have troops or any military in it. After, Part 4 stripped Germany of it’s colonies. Then, Part 5 obliterated the army by reducing their forces to 100,000 men, reducing their navy to only 6 ships and no submarines, and no air force. Lastly, Part 9. This part planned to force Germany to pay a total of 6,600 million pounds for reparation. They also had to give coal, animals/livestock, ships, timber, and other materials.
Secondly, the people who wrote the treaty. As you know, USA, IT, FR, and UK wrote the treaty. However, there were other countries like Japan, China, and Russia that hadn’t had much say in the negotiations. None of the defeated countries had any say at all! Germany wasn’t even invited to participate. In the end, the treaty never really satisfied any of the countries at all. France wanted to completely cripple Germany, but the views of others blocked his partially. Great Britain wanted Germany to have resources, but only for trade, not war. America just wanted peace and the League of Nations. Plus, moderate punishments, both economic and territorial, to switch Germany’s government to a democratic one. Lastly, Italy just wanted the territories it was promised in 1915.
In conclusion, the Treaty of Versailles ended WWI with the help of the USA, FR, UK, and IT. The treaty itself was extremely unfair towards the Germans, even fellow allied countries who could not negotiate, and allowed the Germans to adopt Adolf Hitler and the Nazi beliefs out of desperation for glory, revenge, and a way to live a good life again.
