German History (1919-1945) Part 1

The very first unit you will learn when studying German history is the 'Treaty of Versailles'.

Most of you should know that there was a war fought in the early 20th century called World War I. And most of you should know that Germany had lost the war. When they lost, they did not just get let off. They were punished. The Germans, who had lost the war, were forced to sign a treaty. This treaty was known as the

'TREATY OF VERSAILLES"

The Treaty was officially signed on June 28th, 1919 in Paris, with the victorious nations, Britain, France and the United States of America, and the nations that lost the war, Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey.

In the German history course, we only have to look at the Treaty of Versailles in the German point of view and how it explicitly 'affected' Germany. So, what were the terms of the treaty?

Well, there are so many...But here are a few major terms that you really should learn. The terms are split into four categories, General, Financial, Territorial and Military.

General

1. The Germans had to pay what we call 'reparations', also known as a fine. The sum they had to pay was astronomical. If we were to convert the amount of reparations the Germans had to pay into modern currency, it would total up to 6.6 billion pounds! This would be used to rebuilt land destroyed during the war.

2. The Germans had to accept blame for the war under Article 231.

3. A 'League of Nations' would be created to preserve world peace and prevent future wars.

Financial

The Germans lost vital industrial territory which would prevent it from rebuilding its economy. Examples include the Saar and Upper Silesia, which were vital industrial regions previously controlled by Germany.

Before the war, Germany was united with Austria. This was known as 'Anschluss'. In the 'Treaty of Versailles', the Germans were forbidden Anschluss, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

Territorial
The Germans also lost alot of land as stipulated by the 'Treaty of Versailles'.

This map shows the land Germany lost to nations represented by the country flag.

Some significant territorial loses are:

1.In 1870, Germany conquered Alsace Lorraine in France after defeating them in a war. In the 'Treaty of Versailles', Alsace Lorraine was returned to France.

2. The Rhineland, which was an important industrial section in Germany, was demilitarized, which meant no German army could operate inside.
3.North Schleswig was returned to Denmark following a plebiscite.

4. The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations.

5. Germany had knocked Russia out of the war in 1917 and signed a treaty called Brest-Litvosk Treaty, which entitled Germany to a vast amount of Russian land. The Germans had to return all this land. Some of this land was made into states such as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.

Military
Many military sanctions were also imposed on the German army.

For example:

1. The German army was reduced to a maximum of 100,000 soldiers and conscription was banned. Conscription is a fancy word for saying that one must join the army. 

2.German Naval Forces were reduced to 15,000 men, 6 cruisers,  6 battle ships, and 12 destroyers. No submarines were allowed.

3.Import and Export of weapons were banned.

4. Poison gas, armed tanks, armed planes were banned.


These are the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, well the most important ones you should know. The next part will focus mainly on why the Germans hated the Treaty, as this is a common question asked on exams, and it is a very interesting topic as the German hatred of the Treaty of Versailles is a reason why World War II eventually broke out.