Treaty of Versailles

One of the major faults of the Treaty of Versailles was to put Germany in such a bad economic situation.  The victorious allies forced the Germans to pay massive reparations in war debts and they also “placed severe restrictions on Germany’s right to rebuild its industries and its armies. By 1930, Germany was suffering from widespread unemployment, runaway inflation, and a national currency that was just about worthless” (Terrill).  The Treaty’s destruction of the German economy was one of the reasons that the Weimar Republic failed and also the reason for the Nazi party’s rise to power.  If the treaty had not damaged the German economy to such an extent, then the Weimar Republic might have succeeded, and World War II could have been avoided.

Factors that were not directly the fault of the treaty can still be indirectly traced back to the roots of the treaty.  For instance, the remilitarization of the Rhineland was due to France’s inability to act, however, if the treaty had been more thorough, then it would have put more than just France in charge of keeping the German military out of the Rhineland.  Also the peacemakers should have given the German people the facts about war guilt rather than assume that the German people would be told by their government.

If the Treaty of Versailles had been more thorough and if there had not been as many flaws, then it would have been able to prevent the outbreak of World War II.  The Treaty of Versailles was unsuccessful at redrawing the map of Europe, setting up workable political systems for new and old nations (especially Germany), and at creating economic stability.  The treaty was the root cause of World War II, because it contained many mistakes that were the direct or indirect cause of new conflicts that would eventually lead to the next World War.