Arguments For and Against the Fairness of the Versailles Settlement

Was the Versailles Settlement fair?

The Versailles Settlement was controversial when it was created and historians still disagree over whether it was just.

What was considered fair about the Versailles Settlement?

Many people over the years have argued the Treaty of Versailles was a fair peace settlement for the following reasons:

• ❖ They believed Germany only said that it was unable to meet the terms because it wanted to escape punishment.
• ❖ They thought it punished the defeated countries but gave them the opportunity to recover.
• ❖ Some people believed it wasn't harsh enough. The French, especially, were worried Germany would soon recover enough strength to challenge France again.
• ❖ In 1918 Germany itself had made a treaty with defeated Russia, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, that was much harsher than the Versailles Settlement.
• ❖ Germany had already agreed to pay reparations in the Armistice of November 1918.
• ❖ At the time, the First World War was the most devastating conflict the world had seen, and people saw it as the right thing for losing nations to be punished in this manner.
• ❖ 'History is written by the victors,' as the saying goes. In most wars it is common for the losers to agree to a harsh settlement.
• ❖ There were problems with the peace settlement, but the war had a huge impact on the geography of Europe. The peacemakers had to act quickly before the region became unstable so they did the best job they could.

What was considered unfair about the Versailles Settlement?

There were 9 significant reasons the Versailles Settlement was considered unfair.

• ❖ Some people, particularly in Germany, but also British politicians like J M Keynes, felt the Versailles Settlement was unfairly harsh for the following reasons:
• ❖ They had expected it to follow Wilson's 14 Points, but it differed from these significantly. Wilson's points were based on creating a fairer world for everyone; had they known the treaty would not be based on these principles, Germany might not have signed.
• ❖ They didn't believe Germany should accept the blame for the war. The causes of the war were complex; each leading European nation, including Britain, played a role in the tensions that led to war in 1914.
• ❖ They felt it was a revenge treaty, designed to make the Germans suffer.
• ❖ Many people feared it would lead to another war once Germany had recovered enough to take revenge.
• ❖ Six million Germans were displaced and had to live in other countries, despite Wilson's principle of self-determination. They feared persecution as they had been forced to accept responsibility for the war.
• ❖ The German people felt the treaty was a 'diktat', a dictated peace, because they were not allowed to have a say at the conference.
• ❖ German was hugely affected economically by the war and felt it would never recover from the scale of reparations.
• ❖ The Treaty of Lausanne undermined any arguments about fairness regarding the Versailles Treaty.