FP4: Could the ToV be justified at the time?

Other Post-War Treaties

Treaty

Similarities to ToV

St Germain

(Austria)

  • war guilt clause

  • reparations- never ended up paying

  • disarmament terms

    • army limited to 30,000 troops

  • territory losses

  • Anschluss forbidden

  • recognition of League of Nations

Trianon

(Hungary)

  • war guilt clause

  • reparations- never paid as economy collapsed

  • disarmament terms

    • army limited to 35,000 troops

  • recognition of League of Nations

Neuilly

(Bulgaria)

  • war guilt clause

  • reparations- £100 million

  • disarmament terms

    • army to 20,000 troops

  • recognition of League of Nations

Sevres

(Ottoman E.)

(later renegotiated to Treaty of Lausanne- undermining the fairness of all the treaties)

  • war guilt clause

  • reparations

  • disarmament terms

    • no air force

    • army limited to 50,000 troops

  • recognition of League of Nations

ToV was fair

ToV wasn’t fair

other nations were also punished + punished

  • not uniquely punished

Austria + Hungary’s reparation cancelled after economic crash

Germany’s payments reduced, but not stopped.

  • adequate punishment

  • with opportunity to recover

Some British politicians + journalists

  • worried the terms would spark another war

French claimed

  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was harsher to USSR than ToV was to Germany

Treaty of Lausanne undermined the integrity of the Allies.

The revision of a treaty indicated the Allied politicians knew settlements were unfair.

Politicians in USA

  • ToV was best solution given the political context

Aims and motives

  • the focus was on the Allies achieving their aims

  • rather than a fair treaty

Some people in Britain + France

  • believed Treaty should have been harsher

  • Germany’s mere existence was a threat to world peace

Isolation of German people

  • forcing them to live under foreign rule

  • and excluding from LoN

  • isolated them

  • which increased extremist support