World War I (idea)

"Fighting for peace is like fucking for chastity." - anonymous

The irony of the First World War
It is ironic that Germany, the aggressors of the First World War, should remain unscathed in many respects, contemporaneous to the War's end. The question of who the real victims were after the First World War led to several realisations concerning the point of it all, the origin of it and most importantly who was to blame overall. Many parts of France were completely devastated over the war's course and when compared to Germany's unentered borders it becomes clear as to who actually suffered more overall. The Germans, who had undergone a somewhat trivial defeat, could in many ways nurture this. They could retain a sense of German nationalism that would damage French pride further and perhaps more intensely than the horrific physical damage ever could. The bitterness that this situation was enveloped in was the motivation behind a guilt clause in the peace treaties. The armistice of November 11 1918 was a "honourable peace" . This post-armistice peace brought with it a sentiment that would hang over Germany throughout the peace treaties: "hang the Kaiser and make Germany pay!" (Lambert J 1962).

The Peace Conference
The peace conference that followed the armistice is an example of the bitterness held towards the defeated states, as they were not invited to participate in negotiations whatsoever. Furthermore, the defeated states were only presented with the conditions of a given treaty when it came time for them to sign it. This is an aspect of the entire scenario that clearly reflects the bitterness the victors had for the defeated states. There were four individuals that shone out at the peace conference: Prime Minister Lloyd George of Britain, Premier Clemenceau of France, Prime Minister Orlando of Italy and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, who are known collectively as the "big four". The opinions of these nations are distinguishable from the outcome of the treaties, and so it is fair to assume that they were all detrimentally bitter towards and mistrustful of Germany.

Who were the 'big four?'
Clemenceau was an old man of eighty years who had seen Germany invade France in the past and was bitterly determined to get revenge and secure a French dominance over them through the treaties. Lloyd George was aiming for a "just" peace that would satisfy most and further establish Great Britain as a world power. Wilson was an idealist who sought peace and fair resolution through the treaties, however he was somewhat ignorant to the intricacies of European politics . Wilson's dream to start the "League of Nations" was a majestic idea (although he did not conceive the League of Nations himself) in theory and in many instances in practice. The idea was to create an atmosphere in which world leaders could sort out their differences and negotiate without war, however bitterness prevented Germany from receiving a seat in the beginning. Mistrust among nations prevented the League of Nations from being completely effective. For instance, the League of Nations was deemed capable of enforcing disarmament but this was soon proven as an impossibility because the nations did not trust each other to disarm truthfully or effectively. The peace treaties themselves also reflected mistrust between the major European nations.

What other treaties were there besides the treaty of Versailles?
There were several peace treaties in succession between 1919 and 1920. There was the Versailles treaty with Germany and Saint Germain with Austria in 1919, and then Trianon with Hungary and Sevres with Turkey in 1920. German losses were huge; their European territory was reduced by one eighth, they were made to accept full responsibility for the war and pay disastrous reparations that led them in to debt and inflation. To hurt German pride further, the German army was reduced to 100 000 men, the Rhineland was demilitarised and their navy and many trading ships were confiscated, leaving them completely volatile and unprotected. In addition to this, no other country underwent disarmament, which was quite contrary to Wilson's 14 points, the apparent basis for the League of Nations. The bitter French had gotten what they wanted and Germany was reduced to the mercy of the countries to which it was to repay monies.

"Make Germany Pay!"
Reparations by Germany were in huge amounts. The first belongings Germany had to sacrifice for payment were merchant ships, rolling stock and raw materials, all under the pretext of restoring Allied industries. The payments that followed this, which were handled by the Reparations Commission (a separate organisation from the League of Nations), were scaled down to £6.3 billion (Lambert J 1962), which was an incredibly huge amount of money even for a previously prosperous nation such as Germany. The fact that this amount of money was insisted on and forced out of Germany demonstrates bitterness to the fullest extent; when Germany said they could not pay France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr, a German military capital, until they paid. To understand French bitterness we must note that a portion of France was reduced to ashes during the war and there was not a single part of Germany that was entered, let alone fired upon. The French looked at Germany as not only the aggressors of the war, but also the thieves of French dignity and Pride. Revenge, in their eyes, must have been more important than any "just" peace could have been, and the protection and betterment of France went hand in hand with this vengeful desire.

Bitterness and Mistrust
France, through the treaties, had sealed themselves from Germany, and they strengthened this seal by forming alliances with Poland and Czechoslovakia. It was clear that Germany was not to be trusted whatsoever, and the setup of these alliances against Germany and its allies suggests this further. Looking at the barrier of countries around Germany is impressive to say the least, as not only were Germany surrounded but it gave ample opportunity for the Allies to annex German colonies and seal Germany off further. However, instead of annexing all of Germany's colonies outright, they were mandated and leadership was passed over to, or adopted by, the League of Nations. This was yet another blow to German pride; their country was in harsh debt, they were being made to accept complete responsibility for a two-sided war and they were losing their most valuable resource, land. The bitter victors of the war were getting what most of them wanted, and Germany was truly paying the price.

In summary
Although German pride was hurt and they were pushed in to a deep economical slum, they rose back up. This was the mistrustful fear that the allies shared; by making Germany pay reparations they had to use foreign aid and loans, and this would give Germany ample opportunity to regain some of the power they had lost. In a matter of years, Germany did see remarkable improvements, and the allied fear was renewed. But the dark cloud that the reparations brought showed the bitterness flowing between Germany and their persecutors, and the fact that they were dealt out consistently demonstrates the desire that was ever present, to simply grind Germany down. The sentiment of the war was carried over to the peace negotiations under the guise of Wilson's fourteen points. The peace that these points preached helped form the League of Nations, a panel which represented those touched by the war and other powers throughout the world, but mainly those who fought hardest in it such as Britain and France. It is then no wonder that with all the bitter sentiments floating around at the War's end that the League of Nations was so bitterly bent on revenge. It is evident from the entire scenario that a quiet surrender does not guarantee sanctuary from discrimination and finger pointing, and that past occurrences and grievances influence people's opinions more than any acceptance of guilt. Germany were made to accept responsibility, however the old saying "it takes two to tango" reigns true in the Peace Treaties, even though it was not acknowledged by them. The peace treaties themselves only served as a representation of different nations views. As the views of these nations were representative of the public and the public were subjected to four years of propaganda, their opinions on Germany are likely to have been bitter and mistrustful. It is then no wonder that the Peace Treaties reflected bitterness and mistrust, as most of the world shared the views that the Treaties represented.