Post+WWII+Treaties

**Post WWI Treaties** World War I was meant to be the war to end all wars. The damage that the war caused across Europe was extreme. Not only the physical damage to the cities, but the mental damage to the families was overwhelming. Many of the treaties passed after the First World War were meant to rebuild Europe and help prevent another horrible war. The Treaty of Versailles, Locarno Treaties, and the Dawes Plan all affected Europe after the First World War and up to 1929. First, the Treaty of Versailles was passed as a harsh punishment from the Allied powers to the Entente Powers, Germany in particular. Passed on June 28, 1919 at the Paris Peace conference, the Treaty of Versailles was forced upon Germany, they had to accept its terms. Some of these things they were forced to accept were almost un-payable war reparations, which eventually became a large factor of the German economy falling apart. [i1 Another term was that the West bank of the Rhine River was demilitarized, an attempt to help prevent future conflicts within Europe. [ii2 A negative aspect of the Versailles Treaties on Germany was that its military was reduced immensely. [iii3 This was one of France’s main goals coming into the Paris Peace conference. France feared Germany, and the power they controlled in Europe. Their belief was that if they could cripple Germany than they would never have the military forces to invade, and ultimately defeat France. “The big four, especially Clemenceau, wanted to make sure that Germany would never again pose a military threat to the rest of Europe.” 4[iv Through the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost a lot of land, land that was very useful. “France received Alsace Lorraine, and with them two million people and three-quarters of Germany’s iron resources.” [v5 This loss of resources and the reparations led many Germans to believe that the cause of Germany’s Great Inflation was “a result of the Treaty of Versailles and particularly the reparations.” [vi6 As an intention to prevent future wars throughout the world, the United States President, Woodrow Wilson presented the Fourteen Points, the final point being the The League of Nations. The purpose of this committee was that countries would come together to talk about conflicts, rather than going to war immediately. Almost all European countries joined the League with the exception of Germany, and also the United States. Many Germans at the time believed the treaty was way too harsh and unfair, and rightfully so. The general public came to know the treaty as “The Diktat” which described their negative feelings of the treaty and the Allied powers as a whole. This would fuel future aggression between Germany and the Allied Powers, specifically France. The Treaty of Versailles was first passed as an effort to prevent future wars but turned out to have negative effects across Europe, and specifically Germany, crippling their economy and ultimately leading to tensions that hurt all of Europe in the long run. The second key treaty that affected Europe up to 1929 was the Locarno Treaties. Signed on Dec 1, 1925, the Locarno Treaties were a “series of agreements whereby Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in Western Europe.” [vii7 These treaties looked at first as though Europe was finally coming together, and recovering from World War One. These border agreements highly favored Germany, with its weak and frail military forces. This treaty could have been passed partly due to the fact that Germany was so poorly treated after WWI. The Allied Powers came to the realization that Germany did not completely deserve the harsh punishment of the Treaty of Versailles. These treaties promised “that Germany, Belgium, and France would never attack each other except in ‘legitimate defense’” and that “they would settle their disputes by pacific means.” [viii8 This treaty helped both Germany and France in different ways. First, France, who had feared Germany ever since the beginning of WWI, was able to feel safe knowing Germany could not attack without consequence. Germany benefited from the fact that they were given time; time to rebuild their military knowing that a frontal attack would not be upon them. Immediately after WWI, Germany’s military was reduced immensely, to the point that they were in no position to defend themselves militarily. The treaties helped all of Europe economically. “It must also be remembered that the Locarno spirit was closely tied to the economic health of Europe that prevailed reparations to be paid.” 9 [ix Although the Locarno treaties did help to strengthen the borders west of Germany, they did not help the borders to the east. “But how much Locarno really accomplished towards a permanent peace must be looked at more critically, in view of the fact that the League [of Nations] was not strengthened and the principle of collective security remained uncertain in its practical application to meeting Europe’s long term security needs. Germany did not agree to accept her eastern border which is of great significance.” 10[x Although the Locarno treaties did help to strengthen some of the demands of the Treaty of Versailles, it failed to accomplish all the goals. The treaties helped Europe economically and helped “political extremism to disappear and a sense of international co-operation to flourish.” [xi11 This was the first post WWI sign of all of Europe coming together to achieve a common goal, the immediate safety of each nation. The third major treaty that affected Europe up to 1929 was the Dawes Plan. The Dawes Plan was proposed by an American named Charles Dawes, a prominent U.S businessman. [xii12 This treaty provided loans from the U.S to Germany in order to help pay off the reparations. However “the Dawes Plan left the actual sum to be paid unchanged,” it just provided support for the German economy. [xiii13 Short term this helped Germany a lot, not only did it help pull Germany out of the Great Inflation; it strengthened the relationship between France and Germany. [xiv14 France was satisfied that Germany was paying the reparations even if it was by loan of the United States. Another aspect to Germany that the Dawes Plan brought along was the change of currency. The new currency, the Rentenmark, was established to help pull Germany out of their economic troubles. Although the Dawes Plan at first seemed great for Germany, in the long term it was not a perfect plan. Germany had invested all their economic struggles “to powerful external forces, which had dramatic effects after 1929” when America’s stock market crashed, forcing Germany to lose these loans. [xv15 The Dawes Plan, similar to the Locarno Treaties helped Germany in the short run, but did not sufficiently affect them in the long run, leading to almost no impact on the long run. After World War I three main treaties were passed; The Treaty of Versailles, The Locarno treaties, and the Dawes Plan. All of these treaties were in some way an attempt to prevent future wars in Europe. Although they may not have worked in the long run, the Dawes Plan and the Locarno treaties helped Europe. The Treaty of Versailles however, did not positively affect all of Europe. Whether negative or positive, the Treaty of Versailles, Locarno Treaties, and the Dawes Plan all affected Europe leading up to 1929.
 * Charlie Houk**
 * December 9, 2009**
 * IB History Period 8**

[i1 Layton, Geoff. “The Great Inflation.” //Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany//. 3rd Edition. London. Hodder, 2005

[ii2 Wolfson, Robert: Laver, John. “The Peace Treaties and the Successor States.” //Years of Change European History 1890-1990//. 3rd Edition. London. Hodder Murray.

[iii3 Ibid. [iv4 "Treaty of Versailles." //Encyclopedia Brittanica//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

[v5 Ibid. (Wolfson, 145) [vi6 Ibid. (Layton) [vii7 "Pact of Locarno." //Encyclopedia Brittanica//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

[viii8 Ibid. [ix9 "The League of Nations." //20th Century World History: Course Companion//. Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 2009. 52- 74. Print

[x10 Ibid. [xi11 Ibid. [xii12 Ibid. [xiii13 Layton, Geoff. “Weimar: The Years of Stability.” //Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany//. 3rd Edition. London. Hodder, 2005.

[xiv14 Ibid. [xv15 Ibid.