Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles marked the end of World War I in 1919 and began what could be considered the worst time period of Germany. The Treaty of Versailles, which was imposed by Allied forces, created a time of turmoil and economic distress for the Germans. It forced demilitarization, demanded steep reparations that were impossible to repay, and created political instability throughout the country.

            After the Treaty of Versailles, the entire mood of the Germans was in the doldrums. The sense of nationalism was basically zero. “The government experienced sixteen different governments, on the average a new one every eight and a half months (p. 207, Hagan).” With the lack of political stability that Germany faced during this time, there is not wonder that a radical leader, like Hitler, came to power. The political stability faced by Germans made it extremely difficult for any sort of economic policies to come into act. With the exuberate amount reparations needed to be paid, it was crucial that well thought out, intelligent policies were put into act during this time. France began to figure out that Germany could not and would not pay back these reparations, and decided to take it forcibly. France based troops at the largest coalmine in Germany but this plan backfired when the Germans formed a labor strike. This labor strike ended up being more of a burden on the Germans than the French because now coal had to be imported to Germany. The expensive taxes on the imported coal eventually lead to an “enormous deficit that could only be made up by printing more money (p. 210, Hagan.)”  As a result, hyperinflation eventually began, sending the country and its economy into a downward spiral. With hyperinflation happening, the worth of money was essentially zero if you did not trade it in for goods. Germany basically regressed into the barter system. The distrust in the government was at an all time high. The worth of their currency was abysmal, there hasn’t been a powerful political party in act in fourteen years, and there has been no government-backed military was in power for over a decade. 

Finally the Dawes Act of 1923, lessened the reparations and other sanctions of the Treaty of Versailles, and a time of peace occurred in Germany for ten years. After basically nothing was done about the government during that decade, the people felt like a change was needed. The Germans who read Hitler’s Mein Kampf became extremely optimistic of the future because of his political views. Hitler’s radical ideologies about an authoritarian government, strong military views, and an economy based on the production of war vehicle and weapons were exactly what many Germans were looking for after such as long period of a weak democratic government.

The Treaty of Versailles, obviously unknown at this point in history, perfectly set up Hitler and his Nazi regime. This being said, I believe that the Treaty of Versailles is one of the major documents in German history that radically shifted and changed the thoughts of Germans at this time. Without the large reparations and demilitarization that came from this Treaty, there would have never been the period of political confusion instability and that eventually created this distaste in democracy that the Germans had at this time period. Although the Nazi regime was a terrible time for Germany during this time period, it is undoubtedly one of the most important and influential times in not only German history but also World history. The Treaty of Versailles was initially created to prevent another World War from occurring, but eventually caused WWII. This is why the Treaty of Versailles is the most interesting and influential topic in these chapters. 

German History

            After the Holy Roman Empire Collapsed, there was much unrest and, chaos in Europe. Many countries had previous ties and trade laws via the Empire and when the Empire collapsed, there was political, religious, and economic hostility and confusion.

German nationalism picked up during the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century when there was a railroad boom. The railroad helped unify the German’s economy by making their prices competitive with other European prices. The railroad in “Germany” comprised of only 3.7 miles to begin with, uncompetitive compared to Austria, France and Britain, but soon the Germans would build and create a railroad that was second to none. This extraordinary railroad system stimulated the economy because there was a need for workers to build the railroads, make the locomotives, maintain the locomotives, and many other jobs. This increase in production throughout Germany in the early nineteenth century laid the framework for an industrial-based economy. The entire economy was booming, new banks were popping up, entrepreneurs did not fear revolution, and unemployment levels were down and wages were steady.

            This time in German history could be thought of as a time where “National Identity” was created for the Germans. The interconnected and competitive economy put trust into the Nation and the people wanted a sovereign government.

There are similarities to the boom of our American railroad system and the German railroad system. The American railroad system connected far away regions and economies that could once not be connected. Far West regions with many natural resources were now able to do business with the East and combine to profit and strengthen the economy the same way that it did in Germany.

Germany was comprised of many smaller, individual regions and kingdoms, which had different ideals and cultures. This posed as a huge challenge for uniting Germany into one state. The idea of unifying these kingdoms was an idea that was strengthening but finding a way to lead and convince these regions could be haphazard. Not only did these kingdoms have beliefs in different religions and morals, but they also did not speak the same language. Germany needed a witty and intelligent leader to solve this dilemma and Otto von Bismark was the man for it.

Bismark was the Chancellor of Prussia, the most powerful kingdom in Germany, he wanted the other kingdoms to absorb into Prussia and become one large state. He did not care about the collaboration of cultures, but rather the cooperation of kingdoms for territorial purposes for increased military power. His way of thinking could have benefited or completely ruined the State. The common beliefs, or goals, eventually led to Germany becoming a Nation.

The way that Germany came into existence and the way America came into existence are very similar. When the settlers came to America they were not unified at all. They did not have the same religious backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, or the same language. They did not agree on politics and did not have the same currency. The colony of Virginia was the most powerful, just as Prussia was the most powerful in Germany, and many of the most powerful leaders were from Virginia, just as Prussia. All differences aside, colonies in Germany and America came together because they had one common goal. This goal was to be free and declare an independent nation.

Germany as a country has not been around for a long time, relative to other countries, but the history leading up to its creation as Nation has so many different factors involved. If the German Railroad did not boom in the early 19^th century and hold together the economy, who knows, Germany might still be a smorgasbord of separate kingdoms.

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