Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?
The treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty signed by Germany at the end of the First World War, some historians would say that the treaty was fair and that Germany got what they deserved but others would argue that it was far too harsh on Germany, and contributed to starting the Second World War.
In some ways the treaty of Versailles was fair; it punished Germany for their actions in the First World War. It also forced Germany to recognise that they were wrong to have started the war, and they were the ones to blame, as well as preventing a further war. The reparations Germany were made to pay were reasonable, they helped to rebuild the things that Germany had destroyed in the war, and made Germanys economy struggle without completely destroying it. This showed Germany that Britain, France and America were strong countries, and discouraged them from attacking again. The war guilt clause was a clause that stated that Germany should accept all blame for the war; this was fair in a way because Germany had been the main country to start the war, and other countries joined to defend themselves or to support Germany. The treaty, although not successful, did a good job of trying to prevent a second war. It limited German troops to 100,000, and banned conscription this meant that if Germany did attack, its attack would be weak and therefore less likely to cause a full blown world war. The Treaty of Versailles also said that the Rhineland should become a demilitarised zone; this was the area that Germany attacked from initially in the war, the fact that it belonged to Germany was a big problem for Belgium because it left them vulnerable to attack. The treaty was very fair to both Germany and Belgium in this decision, because it did not take the land from Germany but kept Belgium happy because it meant they could not be attacked by Germany. It may have been quite harsh, but it was Germanys own fault for losing the trust of...