Was the treaty of Versailles to harsh on Germany? Yes, I think that the treaty of Versailles was too harsh on the Germans and would make the Germans have a desire for revenge. I think that the treaty could have been a bit softer, but on the other hand at that time the treaty couldn’t have been agreed in any other way. When the treaty of Versailles was agreed it had blamed Germany as the country who lost and started the war and there for had to be punished severely. But for the Germans they did not think they were the ones who started the war and nor did they think they had lost the war.
The Germans went to the treaty of Versailles expecting to be treated as equals but they were treated the opposite ways because the allies thought they had won the war and were now superior to Germany. So the Germans had no other solution but to sign the treaty. They called the treaty of Versailles a ‘Diktat’. The treaty was devastating for Germany it had to surrender their biggest glory, their army. The German army had to be reduced to 100,000 men (all men had to be volunteered) and its navy could only have six battle ships.
It wasn’t allowed to have armored vehicles, aircraft’s and submarines. This was extremely embarrassing for a country of the size of Germany. Germany lost 10? of its land and all it overseas colonies. This meant that 12. 5? of Germanys population were now of another country. Germans who hated France now were living in France this made German people really upset. The treaty of Versailles also determined that as Germany was the one who started the war it had to pay for reparations. It was agreed that Germany had to pay 6600 million pounds until 1984.
This was an enormous figure for that time. Germanys paying conditions got even worse because 16? of its coalfields and half of its iron and steel industries were to be lost. Germans were really mad at this for they did not think they should be blamed for starting the war. And last Germany was not invited to join the League of Nations an international ‘police force’. Germany thought they were essential to this organization. But for that time the treaty couldn’t have been agreed in any other way or else things in France wouldn’t go right.
