Matthew Sieber

UWRT 1202
Professor Carty
24 November 2014
The Treaty of Versailles 1919
It is the 11th hour of November 11th, 1918 and German soldiers have been
surrendering en masse for days at this point (Adams). The Great War is drawing to a
close and after an armistice is signed to call a ceasefire, a treaty must now be
developed to create a lasting peace. Faltering in this area could most definitely lead to
continuing war and a great argument begins. In this paper I will argue that the Treaty of
Versailles 1919 is the most influential moment of the 20th century until present day.
There were many lasting impacts of the Treaty of Versailles 1919 and some had an
enormous lasting impact on the future. Mainly, it is one of the chief cause of WWII and
the Great Depression. These two events would change the world forever and spawn so
many new policies and ideas they are hard to count. The lasting impact of the Treaty of
Versailles 1919 can even be seen in our lives today as we see economic policy, as well
as, foreign policy shaped by this seemingly insignificant document
I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be
another world war if the nations of the world do not concert the method by which to
prevent it. This is a quote from President Woodrow Wilson regarding the Treaty of
Versailles 1919. He accurately predicted WWII would be caused by the treaty due to its
unfair treatment of the German people. I have heard it said the if you kick someone
while they are down, then they are more likely to stand back up. This was the exact

case in Germany. The German people hated the Allies following the signing of the
treaty. They felt they were being punished in a war they didnt feel they lost. Many
historians agree the war was practically a stalemate with neither side making any real
gain in years. The German people were open to any leader that would bring them back
to the days of a great nation and allow them to prosper and obtain revenge on those
countries who had destroyed their nation. Hitler offered such a solution to the people.
He led a campaign to rebuild the economy with military manufacturing. War and
conquest are usually a great spark for a nations economy. Hitler was able to create
jobs, bring in wealth, and get revenge on the nations that had robbed Germany and this
was all it took for many people to follow him fanatically. Hitler was pushed into power on
top of a platform that would punish those responsible for Germanys fall. In his book,
Mein Kampf, he wrote at great lengths how the greed of Jews and the Allies destroyed
Germany. These claims garnered much support for the segregation and concentration
of Jews and created a populace ready to go to war to obtain what they felt they
deserved. Germany began to annex and invade countries they felt belonged to them or
were owed to them. They continued to build a war machine and gain support from within
as they made the country more and more prosperous. When Hitler felt his army was
ready he moved west hoping to seize France, then Great Britain, the two main factors of
Germanys original downfall. The military was fighting for a cause they truly believed in
at the time and little can deter a determined enemy with superior strength. WWII would
rage on and have countless impacts all over the world. It led to a need for super
weapons like the Atomic Bomb. Jet Engines were developed during the war to gain the
upper hand. Many technological advances were significantly sped up due to a need.

Radar for example was a newer technology but the British were forced to rely on it to
save their country.
Many historians consider the Treaty of Versailles as one of the leading causes of
the Great Depression (Gill). When you pull billions of dollars worth of materials and
wealth out of a nations economy it will most likely collapse. This was the exact thing that
happened in post-WWI Germany. The economy became so inflated because Germany
was forced to print huge amounts of money to pay the Allies it would take a
wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. People burnt it instead of wood
because it was cheaper and more readily available. Children used blocks of money as
building blocks, and that is the last thing I would do with a stack of money. From the
outside looking in, many countries were pleased with how they had punished Germany
but slowly they began to realize how symbiotic their nations were. These countries were
incredibly dependant upon each other for trade. A crude example is, Snipers became
very prevalent during WWI and Germany had the best rifle scopes in the world. They
had more materials to build them and the skill to do so. They were very low on rubber
which Britain had plenty of, so they brokered a deal to trade scopes for rubber. This is a
small example of how dependant Europe was on trade. When Germany became unable
to trade other countries had less people to sell to so they lost money and became
unable to buy goods from Germany. This swept across Europe and finally made it to the
United States. As a manufacturing nation, no one could buy our goods and we sure
didnt need it all. If you increase supply, you decrease demand which means prices drop
and no one profits. Farmers were unable to sell their goods and went out of business so

food shortages became prevalent along with money shortages. The Great Depression
was in full swing and if it wasnt for WWII, would have lasted many many years.
WWII and the Great Depression alone were so greatly influential on the modern
world but they may have never happened if the Allied Nations had simply adopted
President Wilsons Fourteen Points. These points outlined what Wilson felt would create
a lasting peace between the great nations of Europe. And after he correctly predicted
WWII, who can argue that it couldnt have worked. These points sought to break down
barriers that cause tensions between nations. They called for open trade and military
reduction to the minimum needed to maintain safety. Most importantly, he called for a
League of Nations to work together and govern these neighboring countries together
(Wilson). The remnants of Wilsons Fourteen Points can be seen in the world today. We
have NATO, which is a treaty of mutual protection and support from many North Atlantic
nations, the United States included. This treaty makes nearly every Western European
Nation and ally which both protects them and prevents them from fighting. More directly
related to the League of Nations, is the United Nations. They govern and discuss many
things involving nations across the globe. They discuss civil rights, warfare, and
economic policy to help promote cooperation throughout the world. The UN provides aid
and support to dozens of nations in need as well as military/peacekeeping support
where needed. Seeing the UN today it begs the question, would the League of Nations
have become this great? The world is going through a great period of general peace
and prosperity (when compared to the rest of history). What if the League of Nations did
the same thing and millions of people never had to die in WWII, superpowers wouldnt

have been established causing a cold war and a power struggle for decades. This all
could have been different if people has listened to Woodrow Wilson
The Treaty of Versailles is also one of the last examples of Conditional Surrender
in Warfare. At this time war was still considered a very honor bound idea, all about the
sport and fairness of the game. This meant countries would often see when a nation
was defeated and allow them to negotiate a surrender that left them their dignity and
most of their country. Conditional surrenders rely on the honor of both sides to follow
the agreement and control their own military size. Hitler laughed in the face of this
principle and rebuilt his military and the Allied nations in their respective countries were
unable to stop it. This proved true again, when in 1991, Coalition Forces led by the US
removed Saddam Hussein and his armies from Kuwait and simply allowed them to
return to their own country with little to no punishment. This would eventually lead to the
US returning to Iraq about 10 years later to remove the dictator. The Conditional
surrender proved to be ineffective when warfare became based on deception and lies
rather than honor. This would begin to lead to a newer idea of Unconditional
Surrenders. This is where one army will completely defeat the other and usually occupy
that country until that country is deemed able to stand on its own again and not be a
threat. This policy was adopted in WWII when the Allies occupied both Germany and
Japan (even to this day, though it is as allies) for years. The Allied militaries checked
any idea of rising up and going to war again like in the past. This idea works well
because it doesnt rely on the word of a hostile nation to be peaceful and not try to exact
revenge upon you. It allows one country near total control over another country to
establish governments and ideas that can be lasting. The Allied occupation of West

Germany was able to bring most of Germany away from the idea of communism which
took over many surrounding nations during the Cold War. In Asia, the United States was
able to establish a vital link for operations in Asia. As well as, a vital ally against not so
friendly countries like China and North Korea. The unconditional surrender was
important because it led to nations imposing their will more effectively upon defeated
nations and preventing further wars.
I believe the Treaty of Versailles 1919 is the most influential moment of the 20th
century to the present due to many factors. It was the chief cause of WWII and all of the
technology and policy that still exists today because of that war. It is also a cause of the
Great Depression because it destroyed the delicate ecosystem that is the world
economy. It showed the interdependence of all countries that requires us to work
together to thrive. It also led to policy change that brought about the end of conditional
surrenders and led to unconditional surrenders that has led to the United States
occupying many countries in the last 75 years and these occupations have touched the
lives of everyone in this country. Especially, Iraq and Afghanistan, when many of us
students have grown up seeing what has happened there for ten plus years. The lasting
influence of the Treaty of Versailles is truly unfathomable and that is why I believe it to
be the most influential moment in history from the 20th century to the present.

Citations
Adams, Simon, and Andy Crawford. World War I. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2001. Print.

Gill, Kathy. "5 Possible Causes of the Great Depression." About.com. About, n.d. Web. 14 Oct.
2014. <http://uspolitics.about.com/od/economy/tp/what_caused_great_depression.htm>.

Wilson, Woodrow. "President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points." Avalon Project - President
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. Yale Law School, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/wilson14.asp>.

Atkinson, James J. "The Treaty of Versailles and Its Consequences." Jimmy Atkinson. N.p.,
2004. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://jimmyatkinson.com/papers/the-treaty-of-versailles-and-itsconsequences/>.