Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles (due Tue., Jan. 13)

[freemanjud]

Your task today is to imagine that you are an ordinary Jean or Johann in 1919, responding to the news of the Treaty of Versailles.

Imagine you are a German worker living in Munich at the end of World War I, reading the news of the Treaty of Versailles. You are no doubt fairly speechless, although you understand that your nation lost the war. Are there aspects of the Treaty that you would consider fair vs. others you consider unfair? If you had been writing it, how would you have written it differently?

Now switch hats and imagine that you are a French veteran of the war. You are lucky; you survived. Most of your buddies in the military didn’t. You are wondering what you will do next, but for the moment, you have just read the Treaty of Versailles—in fact, you don’t live far from Versailles, just outside Paris. Your thoughts are?

If you would like to review the presentation I showed you in class on the Treaty, so that you are very clear on the provisions of the Treaty, go to: http://www.learntoquestion.com/class...es/000251.html

Three reminders:
• Your disk with your powerpoint of your human rights project is due in class on Monday. You will not be presenting in class; you will be turning in the project.
• If you are one of the students who wished to have a ticket to go to see Blue Man Group, I will need a check (made out to Boston Latin School) or cash for $39 by no later than Tuesday, January 20. Because of the ticketing deadline, I cannot accept any late checks. Tickets will be distributed to students in the order in which payment was received.
• We will have a test next Thurs., Jan. 15. The test will cover everything from eugenics to the Treaty.

[Cannon]

If i were German, i would be incredulous and offended. This treaty did not just decide who won the war and how it would be ended, but it was deliberately made to humiliate and destroy germany, to rub their noses into the mud. Being forced to give up all its colonies, having its country macheted very effectively, losing scads of territory, and making Germany go from a great power to pure insignificance, to be remembered only as the loser.

From a french perspective though, i would carry a lot of anger towards the Germans. These punks carried on a war that started with a beligerent nation picking on Serbia after the assassination, and by jumping to Austria-Hungary's aid, made the war global, when it could have been contained. As a french veteran, i have maybe only one leg, I've got hieghtened anxiety whenever i hear loud noises like slamming doors, i have awful dreams of the trenches. My country was invaded by war mongering, sausage eating, Bismarck loving...In general, as a frenchman, i like the treaty of versailles. it makes those german gunbearing cone heads pay...the only problem i have is that it might not bleed them dry enough.

Well, you get the idea. French veterans would be very angry. They would want to wring every last drop of blood possible out of the Germans, they would really want the Germans to pay big time.

[Ratalmesa]

As a German reading about the Treaty of Versailles, I would most likely be silently outraged, after the initial shock which would take about two days to get over.

The de-militarization and some taking of land were expected. No comments on all those ethnicities in the East and West who are abandoning. It was unjust for those several nations to gang up on Germany in the treaty itself, and over the following issues: war guilt, internationalization of the rivers, enormous war debt (thereby preventing from this State from ever fully recovering) and lastly, to take Germany's colonies. Without any natural resources, the nation was crippled - the leader deserted, and what remains of the masses of civilians have to struggle to survive. Living under this government, we did nothing to initiate the war; however, we are the ones punished most thoroughly for it. They stripped us and left us in a wasteland...

As a French soldier returning home from a long war (was there ever a short war?), I would be glad to be home.

Acknowledging the fact that the enemy are left with nothing, no comments are to be made. I'm just content at the moment that I survived - I don't know anything more about justice. Their government was dreadful, so they were punished for it. No one should participate in genocide. So my general tells me. Personally, however, I am not too proud of the atrocities I've seen my colleagues commit; I held back and braced my stomach, but the dreams continue. Women's screams, starving children crying, desolation and desperation. Then there were the men's screams, tortured separately - the sounds of their chains clacking as they were forced to march. My grip tightens on my weapon. I'm not responsible for this. Just taking orders. I would be persecuted too, if I tried to help any one of you. Just trying to live... I'm not responsible. Pictures of allies' faces just before they're terminated. Of all the bodies that... There are no more places for them to be buried. I am lucky.

Right and wrong? Justice? What are you talking about? There are two many perspectives,.. and even those are blinded in the smoke of bombs, in a war. I listen to what they tell me and believe them... Knowing that the opposite, the enemy, believes something else. There's this overall tiredness that wracks my brain. I wonder if it'd ever wear off. Didn't know them. Didn't hate them - just had to kill them.

[Happyadventure]

I am sure that if I were a German I would be appalled by the treaty, which, in effect provides no way for the country to ever recover because all the money that the government makes goes directly to reparations. As a taxpayer in Germany, I would not be happy that all my hard-earned money goes into reparations that will not help Germany. I also see all the money that we will not have for heath care, education, social security, roads, and police. I understand that Germany lost the war, so we should be penalized, but 32 billion dollars in reparations seems extreme. Given the chance to rewrite the treaty, I would keep in the limitations on the army, after all, we started the war and should not be allowed to have an army, and I would even agree with reducing the navy, but I think it would be better to give the ships to the winning parties, instead of destroying them, which would be better for everyone. I also think that I would drastically reduce the amount of repatriations, because if the German economy is strong then they will be able to afford French and British goods which encourages growth in all economies. I recognize that we lost the war and should be punished with a reduction in military and naval expenditures, but the rest of the economy should be allowed to recover for the good of everyone.

As a French citizen I would be happier about the treaty of Versailles, after all, my entire country lays in ruin because of the Germans. However, I disagree with Cannon and Ratalmesa here, I might stop to think, what if the situation were ever reversed, what if France had lost the war and not Germany? We share a bored with the Germans; perhaps it is best not to cause even further resentment, because that might lead to another war. As a French solider, having just witnessed the atrocities of war, my greatest goal would be to prevent something like this from ever happening again, and destroying German economy does not seem like the best way to do this.

[Tyler Durgan]

From the German point of view:
If I were a German post WWI I like all others have said, would be shocked about the Treay of Versailles. In all wars it is clear that if you come out the loser you will lose a great deal, but the Treaty of Versailles completely ruined Germany. I would not be upset about not being invited to the treaty conference, in fact I would expect that. Additionally, I would not be too concerned about the area of land taken away from Germany. Unless I was living on the land and was about to lose my home, I would regard the loss of land such as the Saar Valley as simply a part of war. Even the loss of colonies, while a blow to Germany, I would deem them as fair after a war. The part that I would take issue with would be the War Guilt Clause. THis in and of itself was the major insult of the Treaty of Versailles that left Germany in shambles. I would definitely resent the Allied forces for this. Not only is it insulting, but it leaves the Germans with little hope. i would also resent the reparations. In theory reparations are not necessarily uncalled for after a large scale war, but the Treaty of Versailles called for such a large amount of reparations and livestock that it basically manhandeled the German economy making Germany desperate. Thus, if i were a German living post WWI I would regard the War Guilt Cause and the outrageuous reparations as the most disparaging part of the Treaty Of Versailles. If I were writing the Treaty I would omit the War Guilt Cluase and I would scale down the reparations. I think that the restriction of the German navy and the German ability to form alliances would be enough to show the Germans they indeed lost the war and could not gain power without crippling their morale with the War Guilt Clause and their economy with the reparations. Of course hindsight is 20-20 and my answer is influnced by the post WWI world and of course WWII.

French point of view:
If I were a French soldier I would be delighted post WWI with the news of the Treaty of Versailles. Anytime one fights a war and lays his life on the line for a cause they of course want to make sure he and his children will never have to endure this again. Thus, a French soldier would be elated with the Treaty. Not only does it give France the Saar Valley and valuable land, the treaty completely ruins Germany. It takes away (theoretically) Germany's military, economy, and morale. It takes away any thought that German would be able to rise up again and fight another world war. After a long and difficult war a French soldier would be delighted with the Treaty because of its harshness and its seeming ability to end the "war to end all wars."

[apu]

Going along with the concensus of those who had posted, I would definitely be angered by the Treaty of Versailles if I was a German citizen, and elated if I was French citizen.

German perspective: First off, the Treaty of Versailles was just a ridiculous list of demands. Land like the Saar was taken, ALL of the colonies were no longer ours, industry was down, land was internationalize, paying for reparations-- and they expect Germany to be able to live through that? The Treaty is like a hard slap to Germany, it is ludicrous how the signers of the Treaty can expect any country to start in a good feet after this. Also, countires that met should have punished the leaders, but with the demands they made, it basically punished citizens (some of whom probably didn't even want to go to war). All in all, the Treaty of Versailles is like a breaking the leg of a runner, and expecting him/her to run again.

French perspective: As a French veteran, the first thing I would think off is how lucky I am to have survived. The Treaty of Versailles would be very bitter-sweet for me, France won and received good land, but a the cost of many lives. I mean seeing the extent that war brings, can give someone a whole new perspective. As a French veteran and citizen, I would feel that the Treaty was justified, I mean German did start the war and many French soldiers were killed.

After writing my perspectives, it is interesting to note how two people greatly affected by the Treaty of Versailles, can have totally different views on one single event.

[MAMAHEN]

German worker:
Upon reading the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, I would definitely be shocked by the amount of reparations my country must pay. Although Germany did lose, and therefore we should be punished in some way and we should have the least rights granted by the the treaty, this treaty is a little extensive. One thing that would really upset me would be the fact that we must take ALL the blame for the war. My country shouldn't have complete war guilt. This is one thing I would want to change because Germany didn't have a world war all by itself, so obviously other countries should also assume some responsiblity. The $32 billion would make me mad too because now my country's entire economy is going to be destroyed. Day-to-day life is going to become harder being a worker. These things seem unfair because the treaty makes it seem that the rest of the world wants to complete ruin our country. Punishment is fair, but the fact that we lost so many colonies and must pay so much is going to kill our economy and this is completely unfair.

French veteran:
I would definitely approve of the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans lost and should pay for all the destruction they caused. Many people i knew probably died while trying to defend France from Germany and i would want some type of justice for those deaths. The fact that it was probably unfair for Germany not even to be invited to the Conference wouldn't even cross my mind. I think i may notice that Germany is going to be in state of devastation due to all the terms but this wouldn't really upset me too much. Germany shouldn't have many rights becasue they began the war which lasted so long and took so many lives.

The French and the German perspectives on the Treaty of Versailles are obviously going to be completely opposite. Being enemies during WWI we would have very different ideas on how the treaty should treat each country involved. It is relatively easy for us today to see both points of view but at the time i'm sure the last thing of either the German worker's or the French veteran's mind would be how the other felt.

[kittiescankill]

If I were a German citizen, I'd be outraged. And, if I were still me (in post- WW1 german form) , i'd've probably been opposed to my own govt's war anyway, and be mad at both the German leadership and that of the League of Nations. It would seem like those composing the Treaty of Versailles were being overly punitive, and too focused on punishing us Germans, and not enough on actually preventing future wars. And I'd be ready to overthrow the gov't, too.
*Now, it's easy to say what we would have thought, but any 'objective' answer to this question (as in what we would have ACTUALLY done) is corrupted by knowing what happened after the treaty of Versailles.
That being said, still being me, I'd have a big bias against Germans having been in direct, brutal combat with them. Still, in trying to be fair minded as i try to be, i'd keep in mind that a lot of germans who will be affected by the treaty were not in combat, and are just as much people as I am. War is one easy result of economic and social devistation, and I would not the treaty to so devastate the german citizenry as to cause another. However, i'd expect enough reparations to cover rehab for us veterans. They were a main agressor in the war, and should pay for that.
The treaty of versailles is like the US prison system: too focused on punishment, not enough of rehabilitation. And without rehabilitating the offender and giving them some direction, what other options are they going to have after serving their time? +, Unless I'm missing something, the whole deal about making Germans accept whole responsibility for the war seems over the top (no pun intended!). It's like saying "though we all participated in this war, because you were one of the main agressors, all of your citizens must sacrifice their economy, military, and social stability. + it's all your fault."
And if you're a sadist that makes sense, but the results are evident, and not very pretty.

[Betty Boop]

As a German citizen, I would consider the distributing of boundaries fair (common in all wars) and even some reparations. But what would upset me is the "War Guilt Clause" placing all of the blame from the entire war on Germany, even though Germany lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers themselves. That article in the treaty is psychologically damaging to not only Germany's government, but also its citizens. I wouldn't like how Germany is viewed as the scum of Europe. The requested reparations are also ridiculous. There's no way Germany could ever repay them, especially without the land that was given away and all the citizens who were killed. At one point in the treaty, the allied forces seem to be treating Germany as slaves, not only leaving them utterly defenseless militarily by confiscating all of their weapons, but also requiring them to build a certain number of ships per year for the allies. What also concerns me is that (as we learned in class today) most German citizens did not support Germany's war or the military, and therefore should not be punished for the government's actions. As Tracy mentioned in class earlier, nations have problems distinguishing faults of the government from faults of its citizens.

As a French citizen, I, like those who posted before me, would be pleased. I would feel more secure with all of the land returned to my country and the weapons and artillery taken from Germany. They got what they deserved! But I think I could empathize with Germany's citizens, Germany (even though on the enemy's side) had a closer number of casualties to France than the other nations involved; we both got jabbed by the sharpest point on the blade. And though I wouldn't come to that conclusion immediately, getting over anger and understanding Germany's situation would hopefully make me realize the terrible situation they were put in.

[bishop]

If I were a German hearing news about the Treaty of Versaille I would be dumbfounded and speechless at what I had just heard. I would be angry immediatly because this was such a ridiculous punishment that it basically made Germany the toilet of Europe. I would also be really distraught because this treaty not only messed everything up for the time being but it would cause the people of Germany to have no future at all. I would be so poor during the upcoming Depression years that buckets and buckets of money would be good for nothing more than material used to start a fire. This treaty was so bad for me and my country that it would lead us into horrible poverty and eventually lead up to the rise of a horribly evil man and eventually a devastating war.

As a frenchmen this Treaty would be great for me, these horrible people had taken no mercy on France when they made their way across my border and quickly took France. They had felt no remorse when they were killed my friends and countrymen in the trenches. They didnt care at all how me and my countrymen felt when we were being annihilated by them in the war. They had caused millions of Frenchmen to die over a stupid war, they had caused thousands of people to lose limbs and be horribly disfigured and had never stopped to think if we should be shown any mercy. So when I see this Treaty I feel no mercy for them, I feel no remorse over the fact that they lost the war and are being treated horribly and that they have to face an overwhleming $33 billion dollar debt for the war. I feel that they have gotten exactly what they deserve for the horrible things they tried to do to me and that they did to alot of other of my friends.

Now I want to address this problem as myself because as bad and as violent as the war was two wrongs dont ever make a right and the horrible things that happened were awful but nothing could have warranted the insanely harsh punishment that the Germans were given.

[Dinglehopper]

Like my classmates, I would despise it if I were a German, and love it if I were French. But like Happyadventurer, I would probably be more consciencious about the reaction of the Germans.
As a German I would be at first sad at my country's defeat, resentful of the Treaty of Versailles, and gradually angry once the economy no longer seems to be going up. I would understand that as a defeated nation some form of reparations should be made, but by putting such great shame on my country alone is entirely degrading. Burning my money for fuel because it's not worth the paper it's printed on shows how badly the reparations deal has affected me, and therefore why is the world surprised when I demand my country's reputation and economy back, even if it's by a means that violates the detested Treaty of Versailles? As a German worker there would be much appeal in many of the new parties around the time of 1918, and I would feel useless if I didn't join one of them and tryto change the state of my nation through politics.
As a French citizen, however, I would be glad with the terms of the Treaty. I would originally hail Woodrow Wilson a hero, be glad to have survived, proud that I was a part of the war to end all wars, but would not be so naive about the treaty. And the best part would be acquiring Alsace-Lorraine back after the Germans emasculated my nation by taking it away previously. Maybe I'm just too idealistic since I know what is going to happen, but a treaty that not only leaves them out but completely gives them no chance of recovering definitely spells trouble--especially since Germany was once one of the proudest in the continent. The billions they had to pay for was virtually impossible at that time if they wanted to sustain a government at all. To try to permanently cripple it would only make it more bitter and resentful...I understand that many nations suffered loss and demanded reparations to even try to rebuild what they once had, and Germany is the loser who should pay for all its damage, but Germany had casualties and expenses to pay too..
If they were really sincere in WWI being the last war, they wouldn't of been so harsh on their enemies. I'm scared to think what would've happened if we did the same to Japan after WWII..maybe we'd have a war of our own. If they valued peace over reparations, they would not have crippled it so readily.

[soap]

Wow, if i were a German worker in Munich and I just learned that my country lost the war, I'd be stunnedd, disappointed and angry all at once. Stunned and disappointed that Germany, this all seemingly powerful country, lost the war. For any German, being under this prideful country and then having to lose a war can hurt on the inside. In this case, Germany lost all its glory and honor. And as a German, I'd be angry that my country was not invited to or represented in the Peace Conference in Versailles in 1919; this doesn't give Germany any say in the conditions to be determined in the aftermath of the war. As if it wasn't shameful enough, my country now has to be stripped of its lucious colonies and military strength? But worst of all, my country has to shamefully accept full and total blame for starting and continuing the war? No doubt about it, I'd be one furious German worker...

Now, if I were to be a French veteran of the war, I'd be lucky to be alive. If I'm not physically crippled by the flying bullets of machine guns or destruction of bombs, then I'm certainly crippled by the horrors likely to be witnessed in time of war. As Ratalmesa puts it vividly, yep, the cries of despair from starving or wounded women and children, or screams from fellow officers as they are fatally injured and dying in agony...would certainly be a traumatizing experience for me.

Despite that, revenge is always sweet. Now that Germany has lost the war, I can point my finger and laugh sadistically while looking down on the losers. I'd be glad that Germany wasn't present at the Conference held in Versailles. Germany can no longer hold a military strong enough to cause another war; and also, all their military auxiliary (the guns, the gas, the ships) are all gonan be melted down to scrap, rendering them helpless. Seeing the enemy culprit weakened and decrepit is a good feeling. And because France receives a major chunk of the reparations given by Germany, I'm a happy camper...to some degree. Although this treacherous country of Germany has been stripped down to practically nothing, having to pay for abundant damages over 33 billion and having to be without a huge army and auxiliary...despite that, all this can never make amends to the great loss of comrades that fell in serving and protecting their country.

[AcesChallenge]

Were I a German worker after the end of the first world war, I would feel terribly weighted. I would have an incessant migraine knowing that my country was entirely out of it's own controle. I would be frustrated that other countries were shoving their righteous agendas down my throat. I would be rebelling against the treaty of Versailles. I would be so upset that someone thought they could take away my liberties.

Were I French, I would probably sieze the opportunity to kick my enemy while they were down, but that would start to give me a really bad feeling after a while...

It takes two to tango - There is no way Germany could be expected to bear the guilt of the war.

[kookamunga]

If I were a German worker living in Munich, I would be completely astonished by the results of the Treaty of Versailles. I understand that we lost the war, but this is completely destroying our country to the point at which it will difficult to make it back up to some stable financial status. I have no problem with returning the land but you are making us pay a $33 billion in reparations?!?! unbelievable!! You might as well run Germany your own damn selves. Your sending our country into the pit of poverty!!!!

If I were a French veteran, I would be happy with the results of the Treaty. I lost so many relatives, friends, and companions t this stupid stupid war. Germany shouldn't even be allowed to be a country after what they caused!! Unbelievable!! I am glad with the results and I hope that this is a lesson to Germany and to all other threatening countries.

[BEIRUT5-0]

This treaty so completely bashed Germany that if i was German and had just read the terms, I would be both freightened and angry; what would become of my country? How could it possible survive after the restrictions from the treaty? And, being a teenager as I am...I would be angry that due to actions that I could not control, my life would be inevitably and greatly affected. The morale for my country and my pride for my country would be put into check.

I think with all the terms together, the treaty was ridiculous. It seems they left Germany with nothing, no way to recover economically. Land, a LOT of money, rivers were internationalized, colonies taken away, even livestock was to be supplied for France....these provisions are too much for any country to bounce back from. I think some of these should have been included; yes, they should pay some money, but not necessarily $33 billion; land should be taken away, as is done after most wars. Colonies, sure, but not necessarily every single one! The rivers, supplying livestock and shipping, these are unecessary terms; it seems to turn into bullying or something, and that the allies did it just because they could.

I think the max on the army and the fact that they could not ally themselves with Austria were both ok to do. Full blame for the war? Certainly most, but I don't know if entire, comeplete, 100% should have been blamed on Germany.

Living outside of Germany, in somewhere like Paris, I would be surprised that the treaty was so harsh on Germany; yet I would understand that they lost the war, it was in large their fault, and I would have accepted whatever punishment Germany got for causing so much trouble in my country, upsetting so many lives, and stirring up so much.

[BoogieWoogie]

This treaty seemed to take away all hope for Germany of recovering from the war. As a German citizen, i would feel like this would be harsher than punishment. The Treaty was practically blaming Germany and the German people for all of the problems caused from the war and it didnt seem to give a way for Germany to recover. All of the colonies were taken away, an incredible debt was needed to be paid off, lands were cut off and divided among the victors, surrounding boarders and rivers were given international control. I agree that some reparations should have been made, maybe returning land that already belonged to another country (Alsace-Lorraine), limiting the military.
Taking the colonies seems fair to me, but to impose a giant debt and to take away the means for the economy to recover is just too suffocating.

As a frenchman, i would probably be parading down town with a bottle of wine (-my stereotype-). As for the treaty, I would be pretty glad to give Germany what most of the French probably felt that Germany deserved for embarassing France. As a soldier, i would probably be even more hardened to feel taht the rules of the treaty were just and necessary to prevent Germany from ever coming to power again.

[CoCoNut]

Going on the same route as everyone is ... the Versailles Treaty can be very ambigous, depending on which side you are looking from: the loser or winner

German Worker: the HELL with everything ...!! The terms and conditions to the Treaty of Versailles got the be the freakish worst state of a drunken mind to come up with. I can come to understand the the demolish artilleries, limit our forces and army. But all the resources of Germany -- Saar Land, Rhine land, all the colonies, broke the country in pieces, redrew the map of entire europes. Leaving no way for the people to work or rebuilt their economy. Then asking German to pay for all the reprerations of $33 billion with a limited time to repay -- leaving the people no way in hell to come up with the money, at the same time, rebuild their lives again from the devastating war that was found in our country! Taking the entire blame?? Like AcesChallenge mentioned, it took 2 to tango!! In war, there always 2 sides and 2 guns. If we are talking about the debts of the war ... who is goind to pay for the blood of our men? who is going to pay for the tears of our wives and children? who is going to pay for the nightmares that will haunt us for the rest of our lives ??

French: Every breath that I take, and every second that I'm living now ... thank you God for protecting me until the last minute to survive the living nightmare from hell. I'm glad to hear that finally a treaty has brought finally peace to our lives again, with the sweetest victories with the price of our men's blood. Being able to watch the enemies army punished like that is a great relieve to know that we will not have to worry about them again. Things looked great! Nothing I can change or ask for more.

but this is from my own prespective ... I think the Treaty of Versailles is nothing but a factor of war in disguise. It was the bogus-est treaty that has very created. and from terms of the war, I only want to change with economic and financial punishments on Germany --- giving them a place to turn around, rather than pushing the dog to its corner. Because eventually, when the do doesn;t have anywhere to go -- it will turn to BITE you back!

[JigglyPuff]

I disagree with this elated French soldier idea. I would be quite mad. So we MIGHT get the Saar valley (which they didn't) and we get Cameroon and Alsace-Lorraine, which was ours to begin with. Most of the bloodshed went down in France. I would expect even more land from the treaty- possibly even half of Germany. I would probably be mad at Woodrow Wilson for trying to take control of the entire treaty making process. I would probably be happy about all the restrictions made on Germany.

I agree with the German soldier concensus of being shocked. it is, like Betty Boop said, basically slavery - so why would I approve. Also like others have mentioned, the things I would take out is the guilt clause and the reparations (especially since they were only given 2 years!). The guilt clause is so ridiculous. Was there even an actual point to it? Its like kicking a horse while its down - and if you kick a horse while its down, its going to be mad if it gets back up. Its pretty simple. I would just mostly be mad that we weren't represented at the conference. I think things would be much different had a german elective been sent.

[masquerade]

German Worker:
My name is Johann, I’m a German worker. Like many others in my country, I do not see this treaty, The Treaty of Versailles it’s called, as being fair at all. I mean obviously it was war, we lost, but this treaty pushes it!! The war was not the fault of all Germans, we should not all suffer because of what our leadership did. I’m just you’re average worker trying to support my family. The Treaty of Versailles has completely incapacitated the economy of my country and we are all suffering. The reparations are too much. All of our wartime factories, all the jobs, they have been destroyed by the demilitarization of Germany. Also, an entire nation of people cannot possibly be held responsible for a war their leaders waged. Furthermore, a nation cannot make world war on itself. Others were clearly involved, and not all war guilt should be thrown even on the leaders responsible for getting Germany involved in the war. The treaty is unfair to the citizens of Germany. My family is suffering.

French Veteran:
Bonjour! My name is Jean, I’m 21. I was 18 when I was sent to fight in the Great War. As you may assume I am happy to be out of there finally, but it is all too bittersweet a victory for my country and our allies. So many people are dead because of it. I watched boys I grew up die out there in the trenches. The trenches…the trenches were horrible….When new came of the terms of the Peace at Versailles as you might imagine I was ecstatic. The Germans and their allies deserve to pay for the allied lives lost, for the French lives lost, for the lives of my friends, my brother—all dead because of the Germans. But the happiness soon passed…yes the money will be helpful, but the more I think about the losses…so many men…it is still not satisfying. The war guilt clause is somewhat comforting, but still it is bittersweet. One part of this treaty, that to me is the most important, is the installation of the League of Nations. Hopefully this will be successful in preventing further destruction in the future...because nobody should have to see the thing I saw, and no amount of money will help that.

[lemon]

German: If I were a German worker following World War I, I too would be completely outraged. I doubt that I would have supported the war effort in the first place, and the treaty, like others have mentioned, completely failed to distinguish between the guilt of the leaders of the nation and the guilt of the citizens. The economic depression that was bound to follow in Germany ($33 billion?!) might have hurt the German government, but the ones who would really be suffering would be the workers, like me. The reparations were ridiculously high, and at the same time the allies took away many of the resources they had to pay it with (the colonies and the Saar).

French: I like to think that even if I had just risked my life every day for years in a war against Germany, I would still be able to take an objective look at the treaty. Some of the territorial concessions I could see as reasonable, and some reparations... but not the complete devastation of Germany and its citizens. Then again, I've never been in a war...