Summary of the Treaty of Versailles (Wilde, 2016)
Blame: The clause 231 of the Treaty of Versailles blamed German for instigating he war and causing immense loss and damages.
Repartations: Germans were forced to admit full responsibility for starting World War 1. In addition, they were to pay all the material damages amounting to £ 6,600 million until 1984
Army: The army was restricted to a total of 100, 000 personnel. The presence of any army was removed from the territory of Rhineland that Germany had. Additionally, the army in Germany was left with 6 battleships, no aeroplanes and submarines.
Territory: Germany lost 12% of their population as they were given independence and sovereignty with the setting of the boundaries. In addition, they lost their colonies in overseas territories. Moreover, their lost 10% of productive land that had coalfields, iron and steel industry.
Areas of strength/weakness in the original treaty
The treaty provided an opportunity for the creation of an international organization to maintain peace in Europe called the League of Nations. Secondly, the treaty provided the nations with sovereignty by instituting boundaries. Thirdly, the treaty resulted in de-militarization of Germany which ensured that there was peace and stability in the region. Lastly, the treaty provided Poland, Hungary and Czeschoslovakia independence and 45 countries participated in the treaty, hence enforcing its legality.
On the other hand, the weakness in the treaty is that the League of Nations was incapacitated when it came to implementing their decisions. They lacked a military section that could help them enforce their authority in the member countries. Secondly, countries like Japan and Italy were against the treaty as they felt they did not get sufficient reward as Allies. Thirdly, the exclusion of USA, Russia and Germany from the treaty weakened the League of Nations. Lastly, the treaty weakened the Germans who felt that they were unfairly treated, hence resented the treaty.
Make a prediction of how the original treaty of Versailles could lead to future conflict in Europe
The treaty of Versailles infuriated the Germans and the disadvantaged parties. The Germans were loaded with debt and the unemployment situation in the country worsened. This provided a suitable environment for regrouping and formation of an army against the European nations. This lead to world war 2.
TREATY OF JUSTICE
The aim of the treaty was to ensure peace and prevent the reoccurrence of another world war. In addition, the treaty was supposed to punish the guilty parties and decapitate them from ever rising. The treaty is being written to provide the world with a new era where the nations will be able to relate in a friendly manner to foster trade and peace.
Restrictions/Punishment
- The payment of penalties amounting to £ 6,600 by the guilty parties after a period of one year of the signing of the contract and until 1990.
- The reallocation of the overseas territories that the instigators controlled fairly to the Allied nations
- Any nations that will form any form of alliance with respect to equipping their military will also be stripped of their overseas colonies.
- The provision of independence to the countries that wanted to defect from the instigators of the war. Boundaries will be set in place and support to strengthen their identity.
- Strict monitoring of their operations by setting up an international organization, League of Nations, to oversee the operations of the instigator.
Conclusion
The Treaty of Justice is focused to ensure that the peace was restored in the world and that the guilty parties were punished. The punishment is set in a manner that it will be fair to all the parties involved to reduce hostility. Moreover, the punishments are just to ensure that the instigators are able to support their economy and the innocent citizens. The violation of the treaty will result in the nations being stripped of their sovereignty. This will result in the nation being controlled and governed by the League of Nations the international organization mandate to maintain peace.
Date: 28th July 1919
List of Signing countries/representatives
Reference
Wilde, R. (2016). The Treaty of Versailles- An Overview. About Education.
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