USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

TREATY OF VERSAILLES

[SOURCES]
How did the majority of Germans feel about the treaty’s restrictions?

(A) ** The strongly resented them.

(B) They were ok with them.

(C) They loved them.

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -The war guilt clause, huge reparation payments, and limitations on the German military seemed particularly oppressive to most Germans. To many Germans, the treaty seemed to contradict the the very first of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which called for transparency in peace negotiations and diplomacy.

Concept note-2: -No one in Germany was happy with the settlement, and the Allies threatened Germans with military invasion to get them to sign the treaty. After four years of war and sacrifice, German citizens felt humiliated to accept blame for the war and territorial loss.

Concept note-3: -One of the most controversial terms of the treaty was the War Guilt clause, which explicitly and directly blamed Germany for the outbreak of hostilities. The treaty forced Germany to disarm, to make territorial concessions, and to pay reparations to the Allied powers in the staggering amount of $5 billion.

Concept note-4: -Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany.

Concept note-5: -The main reasons why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles was because they thought it was unfair. Germany had not taken part in the Conference. The terms were imposed upon Germany – when Germany disagreed, the Allies threatened to go to war again.