Treaty of Versailles - Essay Example

Thus, the Germans came to feel that they were tricked and betrayed into surrendering during a war that they did not believe they were losing. This is the main reason that they hated the treaty. It was drafted and approved without the input of the German people. No consultations were made with Germany. Instead, Germany was forced to accept all of the terms of the treaty under duress.The treaty, which was drafted at the Palace of Versailles by David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson, known as the Big 3, were the only ones who had the power to decide what the treaty would contain and how Germany would be instructed to respond to it.

Lloyd believed that Germany should be treated in such a way that it would serve as a barrier to the rise of communism. Clemenceau, elt that Germany should be prevented from being able to declare another war, which was the view of the French public, who were directly involved in the German-Prussian war. While Wilson, representing the interests of the United States, hoped that the treaty would represent European reconciliation2. While the desires of the big 3 were met, Germany was left to silently seethe and protest the contents of a treaty that it never agreed to.

One of the main problems that Germany had with the treaty, was the way that Reparations were listed. Although the word “guilt” never actually appeared in the treaty, the Germans felt that they were forced to admit guilt under the “War Guilt Clause”. This caused the country to become open to financial remunerations for their war crimes in the amount of six million six hundred pounds. Germany was also forced to accept total blame for the war 3In the process, the countries that comprised the whole of Europe was redefined, with Germany suffering from population and land loss in the process.