Was the tough peace settlement imposed on Germany in 1919 necessary?

Answer 1

The peace settlement imposed on Germany via the Treaty of Versailles was rather tough and harsh. So much so the Germans saw this as a 'Diktat' or dictated peace settlement. Germany had to accept full blame for having caused the First World War. The disarmament clause was aimed at disarming Germany, the reparation clause was aimed at crippling its economy, while the clause on plebiscite enabled the German possessions in Europe to exercise self-determination so that the people could decide whether they want to be part of Germany. On top of this the treaty also aimed to end Germany as a world power by forcing her to give up her overseas colonies. Was this really necessary?

This was seen by the Big Three as necessary. Prime Minister Clemenceau of France felt that Germany must not rise as a military power again. Prime Minister Lloyd George of Britain was of the view that Germany should be punished for having caused so much of destruction. Even President Woodrow Wilson of the USA felt the need to punish Germany. Hence, the need to weaken Germany so that another destructive war of such a magnitude would not take place. A tough peace settlement will ensure that Germany became very weak economically and militarily. If Germany had to concentrate all its efforts into developing its economy it would not think of being aggressive. On top of that disarmament would make the German army weak to even consider being aggressive. Hence such a tough treaty was necessary to maintain world peace.

Besides weakening Germany, the victors also felt that the treaty was necessary to ensure that the loser i.e. Germany paid for the damages incurred by the winners. France was insistent on getting compensation for the money it had spent on the war. Britain, for example, was keen to gain overseas colonies that belonged to Germany. These countries felt that such a tough treaty was necessary to improve their situation. Plebiscite ensured that the people could decide for themselves whether they would want to be part of Germany. Wilson saw this as necessary as this gave more rights to the people.

However, it is also believed that such a tough treaty was not necessary. It not only humiliated the Germans but would also get them to resent the Treaty. The terms of the peace settlement adversely affected the livelihood of the German population. The new government had to live with the tough terms although it was not responsible for the war. The government was in the process of rebuilding the country that was destroyed by the war. Having to face such a tough treaty would not be of much help to the new German government. In view of the devastating impact the treaty would have on the Germans, such a tough settlement was unnecessary. In fact, it actually paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the subsequent aggressive policy that resulted in the Second World War. Hence, this shows that such a tough settlement was not necessary.

The tough treaty was therefore necessary only to a limited extent. Although it aimed to prevent another war, it actually caused the rise of Hitler who caused widespread destruction in Europe. Hence, such a tough treaty was not really a necessity. The Second World War could have been avoided if the peace settlement had not been that harsh.