CONSEQUENCES/EFFECTS OF THE VERSAILLES TREATY ON GERMANY

The Versailles treaty of 1919 that Germany was forced to sign is one of the most unrealistic treaties that have ever existed in the history of mankind. The terms were carefully and skillfully manipulated to punish Germany plus her allies and reward the victorious powers. It therefore had negative impact on the social, economical and political developments of Germany. This is what made Germany to reject the Versailles treaty in the later years which objection was justified basing on the unrealistic terms of the settlement.
i) The Versailles framers/makers forced Germany to renounce war and accept defeat. This was done by the Weimer Republic that was hurriedly set up after the abdication of the troublesome Kaiser William II. However, this made the Weimer Republic unpopular to the majority of the Germans led by Hitler who blamed the government for accepting the Versailles settlement.
ii) The reparations which Germany was forced to pay crippled Germany's economy and led to the great economic depression of 1929 - 1933 in Europe. It left Germany too poor to fight unemployment, inflation and poverty. This is why Germany had the worst inflation in the history of the world between 1930-1933.
iii) Germany was weakened militarily by the settlement. She was disarmed and allowed to maintain an army of 100,000 just to maintain law and order. This left the Weimer Republic weak since even the 100,000 troops could not maintain law and order in time of political disturbance. The 100,000 soldiers could not even defend the territorial integrity and independence of the government.
iv) Germany was deprived of her colonies in Africa and Europe. They were given to Britain, France, Belgium, Austria, Japan and South Africa as mandate slates. This undermined Germany's external trade opportunities which would have strengthened Germany's economy.
v) Germany was forced to hand back Schleswig to Denmark which she had forcefully annexed (from Denmark) in 1864. She was also forced to give back to France the mineralized provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. This seriously affected Germany's economic recovery since these territories were the richest in minerals e.g. iron and coal deposits.
vi) The settlement scattered the Germans under the newly created states. For example, 2.5 million Germans were given to Poland, 3 million to Czechoslovakia and 2 million to Yugoslavia. The new state of Poland was provided with a corridor that passed through Germany to the port of Danzig in the Baltic Sea. This created restlessness in the Germans who were only liberated by Hitler's aggressive foreign policy.
vii) The treaty demilitarized the Rhinelands. Germany was forbidden from maintaining an army and constructing forts on the banks of the Rhine. The fortifications that Germany had done were destroyed. This made it very hard for the Germans to maneuver and invade her neighbours in her quest for revenge.
NB. The allied troops were to occupy the Rhinelands for 15 years.
viii) Germany was forced to cancel the treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest signed with Russia and Rumania respectively. By the treaty of Brest Litovsk, Russia had surrendered to Germany western part of her territory that included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. These were the wealthiest part of Russia that Germany was forced to hand back to her.
ix) The Versailles treaty of 1919 contributed to political instability in Germany. The Weimer Republican leaders who accepted it were denounced by the Germans for signing the unrealistic treaty. This created internal opposition to the government, which made it unstable up to when it collapsed in 1934.
Hitler and Nazism exploited these circumstances to rise to power by 1934.