Definition of Treaty of Versailles

After the end of World War I the representatives of the victorious nations met in the French capital to agree on a peace lasting and, at the same time, impose sanctions on Germany, the nation loser. After six months of debate the well-known Treaty of Versailles was signed.

During the negotiations, none of the defeated countries could take part. The members of the governments of Great Britain, France, the United States and Italy were the ones who imposed the conditions of the agreement.

The Treaty of Versailles was a humiliation for Germany and this circumstance sowed a seed that ended up leading to the outbreak of World War II.

Prior to the agreements of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany found itself in a situation of economic blockade and for some months the population she was distraught while waiting to know what the sanctions imposed by the winners were going to be.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919 and it was strongly stated that Germany and its Allied countries (the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire) had been most responsible for the Great War. Germany was the great defeated, because she lost her colonies in Africa and different German territories were ceded to France, Belgium, Poland and Denmark.

In order that Germany and Austria could not create a new nation in the future, the Treaty of Versailles established the explicit prohibition of said alliance (the desire for union between Germany and Austria is known by the word "anschluss" and became a reality in 1938 when German troops they occupied the territory Austria).

Apart from territorial issues, Germany suffered harsh economic sanctions

The economic blockade and the sanctions imposed led to the economy German to a situation of collapse and hyperinflation. The economic crisis created deep resentment in broad sectors of society. In this historical context a new figure emerged politics that was going to be decisive in the course of events, Adolf Hitler.

From a strictly economic point of view, Germany was forced to pay a high fine to France and Great Britain, specifically 226,000 million gold marks. Although in the following years this sanction was partially reduced, this did not prevent the impoverishment of the whole of German society. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, one of his electoral promises was precisely the non-payment of the debt.

Photo: Fotolia - Regormark