Question

What were the fundamental mistakes of the negotiators at Paris who drew up the Treaty of Versailles? Were they doomed from the start? Was World War II inevitable?

Answer 1

The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was a peace treaty signed by the European powers that officially ended the First World War.

After six months of negotiations in Paris, the treaty was signed as a continuation of the November 1918 armistice in Compiègne, which had put an end to the clashes. The main point of the treaty was that Germany should accept all responsibilities for causing the war and that, under the terms of articles 231-247, it should make reparations to a number of nations of the Triple Entente.

However, Germany was not the only one to blame for the establishment of war, so we can conclude that the Versailles treaty erred in blaming only one country. This created a strong grudge in Germany and although the second war was preventable, that feeling of grudge influenced a new war to take place.

Answer 2

The treaty exacted revenge on Germany and blamed Germany for starting the war. The treaty did not reconcile the victors and Germany. German hatred of the "unfair" treaty was one of the causes of WWII.

If the motive was revenge, the treaty did not dismember Germany or reorganize it to the Allies' liking. e.g. After WWII, Japan was occupied and remade.

In short, the treaty did not permanently destroy or weaken Germany. It only made the Germans bitter. And caused enough chaos to help the Nazis gain power.

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