Diplomatic Failures

What some may incorrectly label as diplomatic solutions other view as complete failures. This is what this treaty was. When examined from up close, certain aspects of the treaty might seem as fair and/or helpful to those involved, however when studied with a broader point of view it is otherwise. If one were to look at the years that followed the treaty, any individual could recognize this. The main mistake of the treaty, which was the greatest malfunction, took place during the treaty when Germany was not permitted to take part in the making of settlement. Since Germany had no delegates there at the time, they had no say in the truce, therefore it resulted in a very Allied-biased so-called “compromise”. This here was mistake number one.


As a further extension to factor number one is the unfairness of the treaty, distinguished as the border marker. One of the big three demands of the treaty was for Germany to give up mass amounts of obtained land during the war, and not only that but even land that had previously been occupied by Germans for centuries. This was the unreasonable part of it all, land that German heritage had recognized as their own for the previous five centuries was forcefully stripped from beneath them and given to neighboring countries, mostly Poland. It was recorded not long after the treaty was written that for the 85 million Germans that existed at that time, they only had 232,000 square miles of land while the current 46 million Britishers possessed 16 million square miles. This unjust act uncovered the corruptness in the treaty, it was also one of the reasons that America withdrew from it, because it was not righteous.

Cited in annotated bibliography
However, both expected and sadly viewed, is the third main disappointment known as Germany’s code of demilitarization. Subsequent to the pact, Germany had been forced to disarm themselves of all war weapons. As the photo to the right depicts, the Germans took apart tanks, but not only this, they received restrictions on a standing army, navy, and aviation units. (The tank pictured here was a seized British tank that the Germans used during the war). Because of these restrictions, Germany was reduced down to an almost near nothing, small, weak, and humiliated among its neighbors and enemies. If any country would decide to attack or invade Germany, they had no way of protecting themselves, no way or guarding their rights to freedom. With this declaration against Germany, the Germans were stripped of their personal, human rights. Their own country's right to grow and advance.