1. Treaty of Versailles
Effects on Germany

2. Background Paris Peace Conference Germany did not participate
Allies dominated the meeting
France and Britain wanted to punish Germany
Treaty signed on June 28, 1919
The terms were harsh and put severe limits on Germany

3. Political Effects
War Guilt Clause: Germany forced to accept blame for damages caused by World War I
Loss of power and status
Territorial losses:
Alsace-Lorraine went back to France
Danzig (Polish Corridor) given to Poland
Land lost to Belgium, Denmark & Czechoslovakia
Lost colonies in Africa and Asia
Weimar Republic was weak:
Germans blamed this government for the country’s defeat and the humiliation of the treaty

4. Political Effects Threats of revolution by monarchists and communists
Kapp Putsch (1920) - was a 1920 coup attempt during the German revolution aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic. Based on opposition to the Treaty of Versailles imposed at the end of World War I
Beer Hall Putsch (1923) - a failed attempt at revolution that occurred on Nov. 8 and 9, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff, and others unsuccessfully tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany.
Hitler’s Attitude Toward the Treaty:
Said it was an outrage
Wanted to overturn it

5. Political Effects Hitler’s Political Goals:
Lebensraum (Living space); get it by invading eastern Europe and Russia
Regaining lost lands
Combating communism

6. Social Effects Treaty viewed as attempt to punish Germany
John Maynard Keynes said it reduced them to servitude, degraded their lives and deprived them of happiness
Germans want revenge for treaty
It took away German pride
Was seen as a slap in the face
Change in borders causes loss of population and national identity
Inflation has direct impact on people’s lives
Poverty and despair
Disease (tuberculosis)

7. Social Effects Anti-Semitism in Germany Rise of Hitler and Nazism
Germans blamed Jews for losing the war and the economic problems in Germany
Rise of Hitler and Nazism
Belief that Aryans are the master race
Goal was to kill all Jews and “inferior races”

8. Economic Effects
Reparations: $33 Billion to France and Great Britain over 30 years
Loss of resources, tax base, and industry
Severe inflation:
Government printed money to pay war debts and reparations
This devalued the mark
People directly affected
Unemployed or overworked

9. Economic Effects
Costs of war and the terms of the treaty led to the collapse of German economy
Dawes Plan (1924):
$200 million loan from U.S. slowed inflation and stabilized German economy
Germans dependent on U.S. support