What Is The Significance Of The Treaty Of Versailles

This source is Article 231 from The Treaty of Versailles, written by the “allied and associated governments” (Treaty of Versailles, Article 231). The Treaty was signed after World War 1, by Vittorio Orlando, an Italian Premier; David Lloyd George, The British Prime Minister; Georges Clemenceau, The French Prime Minister; and Woodrow Wilson, The American President (Interpretation: Treaty of Versailles 2014). It was basically signed in order to solve all the unsolved problems left after the war, including the returning of territories, namely Alsace-Lorraine back to France. Also, The Treaty was said to be very harsh upon Germany with the army reduced, and reparations had to be paid due to their involvement in the war.

The First World War was devastating …show more content…
The reason for this is simply because Germany felt aggrieved by the cruelty and harshness of the terms of the treaty, and wanted revenge to seek out their dignity (World War II - Causes). Therefore, it could be said that The War Guilt Clause, in the Treaty of Versailles as Article 231, acted as a huge catalyst to the upcoming of The Second World War. The German people felt as if they were being punished for the wrong-doings of their own government, and the people who signed it, were later known as ‘The November Criminals’ (The Treaty of Versailles). Another source which had a similar view to that The German people felt wrong done by, is that many historians believe that The Treaty of Versailles only left Germany with the probability of creating even more trouble in the future - which as we all know did occur. On the other hand, some historians tend to agree with peace makers of The Paris Peace Conference, with many stating that the land taken away from Germany was land belonging to that of the native people, for example the Poles (The Second World War, adapted by Dr Jack McGowan