Yeah, but the Germans did the same thing to them after the Franco-Prussian War. I agree it wasn’t the smartest thing to do since it just assures that the losers will be pissed enough that they’ll want revenge, but when have people (especially government officials) been smart about these things?
Fit_Sherbet9656 on
Versailles wasn’t strict enough nor did the French enforce it hard enough.
RaphyyM on
My man doesn’t know how hard Germany was against their ennemies… Russia got destroyed in 1917, France was humiliated in 1871, Germany did not get punished enough in 1919.
PM_ME_UR__ELECTRONS on
Not strict enough considering what they did to Belgium.
More to the point, the British, French, and Americans all had conflicting ideas on how to prevent a future war; the British were more for leniency, the French (quite understandably) more for reparations and the Americans more for self-determination among countries in the former German and Austrian empires. Reasonably enough, all of these powers had their say at Versailles, and parts of each of their plans were implemented, but as a result, none of their plans was able to do its job. Perhaps any one of them would have.
Not to mention that there was literally no other way to pay for the damage caused by the Germans in Belgium and northern France, as WWI had no “Marshall plan”.
Nizla73 on
Policies so strict the German could just not respect it and when the French tried to enforce it everyone loses their minds and blamed the french.
Stop regurgating pre-war german/nazi propaganda. the Versailles treaty had far more problem than just being too “strict”/”harsh” or not enough. And most of it came from a lack of commitment to it for all parties involved.
the_battle_bunny on
Versailles was so harsh it didn’t prevent Germany rearming itself and going for Round 2.
It took literal dismemberment of Germany in the aftermath of WW2 to finally kill off German militarism.
In reality, no treaty other than one acknowledging a total German victory would prevent German revanchism. That’s because German population was spoonfed propaganda about impending and certain victory. German capitulation in 1918 was sudden, unexpected and seemed completely inexplicable. After all, Germany was winning on all fronts.
Neoliberal_Nightmare on
*France: Well that was a fucking disaster. I want compensation. I want reparations. I want the Rhineland. It’s going to be 1919 all over again, fuck the inevitable backlash.*
No_Information_3818 on
France: He is too dangerous to be kept alive!
Agile-Lifeguard709 on
>!WHY DON’T YOU CENSOR FR*NCE, ARE YOU STUPID, YOUR PIPI WILL BE BLOWN UP IN 30S, RUN!<
Matrix0-0-0 on
No the most powerful factor for the rise of the nazis was the economic crisis of 29. It’s common knowledge now i think.
CryptographerFun6557 on
Not to mention the reason it was signed was that the Allies manufactured a famine after the war ended and killed hundreds of thousands of Germans through starvation. The treaty was far too harsh for the Allies never stepping foot in Germany.
Proud_Shallot_1225 on
It is simply because the United States prevented us from imposing heavier war tributes and from dismembering the German Empire in full state.
AE_Phoenix on
As with all things in history, they were a factor but not the sole cause.
Equally you could say the financial crash in 1929 of wall street was to blame.
Kajakalata2 on
Except that they didn’t cause another war
Mr_Swaggosaurus on
The Brits and Americans are pointing the gun btw
Chairman_Ender on
They should’ve either actually enforced the Versailes or replaced the economic costs with further disarmment.
17 Comments
Yeah, but the Germans did the same thing to them after the Franco-Prussian War. I agree it wasn’t the smartest thing to do since it just assures that the losers will be pissed enough that they’ll want revenge, but when have people (especially government officials) been smart about these things?
Versailles wasn’t strict enough nor did the French enforce it hard enough.
My man doesn’t know how hard Germany was against their ennemies… Russia got destroyed in 1917, France was humiliated in 1871, Germany did not get punished enough in 1919.
Not strict enough considering what they did to Belgium.
More to the point, the British, French, and Americans all had conflicting ideas on how to prevent a future war; the British were more for leniency, the French (quite understandably) more for reparations and the Americans more for self-determination among countries in the former German and Austrian empires. Reasonably enough, all of these powers had their say at Versailles, and parts of each of their plans were implemented, but as a result, none of their plans was able to do its job. Perhaps any one of them would have.
Not to mention that there was literally no other way to pay for the damage caused by the Germans in Belgium and northern France, as WWI had no “Marshall plan”.
Policies so strict the German could just not respect it and when the French tried to enforce it everyone loses their minds and blamed the french.
Stop regurgating pre-war german/nazi propaganda. the Versailles treaty had far more problem than just being too “strict”/”harsh” or not enough. And most of it came from a lack of commitment to it for all parties involved.
Versailles was so harsh it didn’t prevent Germany rearming itself and going for Round 2.
It took literal dismemberment of Germany in the aftermath of WW2 to finally kill off German militarism.
In reality, no treaty other than one acknowledging a total German victory would prevent German revanchism. That’s because German population was spoonfed propaganda about impending and certain victory. German capitulation in 1918 was sudden, unexpected and seemed completely inexplicable. After all, Germany was winning on all fronts.
*France: Well that was a fucking disaster. I want compensation. I want reparations. I want the Rhineland. It’s going to be 1919 all over again, fuck the inevitable backlash.*
France: He is too dangerous to be kept alive!
>!WHY DON’T YOU CENSOR FR*NCE, ARE YOU STUPID, YOUR PIPI WILL BE BLOWN UP IN 30S, RUN!<
No the most powerful factor for the rise of the nazis was the economic crisis of 29. It’s common knowledge now i think.
Not to mention the reason it was signed was that the Allies manufactured a famine after the war ended and killed hundreds of thousands of Germans through starvation. The treaty was far too harsh for the Allies never stepping foot in Germany.
It is simply because the United States prevented us from imposing heavier war tributes and from dismembering the German Empire in full state.
As with all things in history, they were a factor but not the sole cause.
Equally you could say the financial crash in 1929 of wall street was to blame.
Except that they didn’t cause another war
The Brits and Americans are pointing the gun btw
They should’ve either actually enforced the Versailes or replaced the economic costs with further disarmment.
I would say they just weren”t hard enough.