This page examines the influence that the Treaty of Versailles had on Germany and Europe.

1. Long-term effects
of the Treaty

2. In the short-term, the Treaty
of Versailles caused various
problems for Germany.
It led to huge arguments and a
split across the country about
whether or not to sign it.
It also severely weakened
Germany, in economic, military
and reputational terms.

3. The long-term effects of the
treaty are subject to much
more debate.
Some historians believe the
treaty ultimately helped bring
down the Weimar government
and put the Nazis into power.
Others say the treaty’s effects
are exaggerated, ignoring
previous German problems.

4. Critics of Versailles argue it was
fatal for the Weimar Republic.
Signing the treaty meant the
republic faced anger even from
moderate Germans, feeding
into the ‘stab in the back’ idea.
The politicians who agreed the
deal were accused of betraying
Germany, being nicknamed the
November Criminals.

5. Right-wing parties and
nationalists even argued that
democracy was ‘un-German’
and that instead Germany
needed an authoritarian
government to give the
country back its pride.
Many argue that these feelings
led to eventual Nazi
government.

6. Germany’s economic problems
were also blamed on the treaty.
Hyperinflation in 1923 was
linked to paying reparations.
Hyperinflation devastated lives
across German. Furthermore
the military occupation of the
Ruhr was another reminder of
Germany’s weakness. All this
increased right-wing support.

7. Historians – Treaty was cause of Weimar collapse
• Martin Collier and Philip Pedley: Hatred of the treaty and the
“stab in the back myth” peddled by the right undermined
support for the republic and the parties who created it.
• Ruth Henig: Versailles meant that moderate left and centre
parties found themselves on the defensive against nationalists.
The Treaty was a major factor in the recovery of right-wing and
anti-democratic political forces from 1919.
• Michael Burleigh: Versailles was a stick which extremists on
the right and on the left used to beat the Weimar Republic.

8. However other people defend
the treaty, certainly against the
idea that it alone was the cause
of Germany’s ills.
Some argue that the issue which
most undermined democracy
was Weimar’s election system;
proportional representation
meant weak coalitions which
regularly collapsed.

9. Furthermore, the lack of
confidence in Weimar stemmed
from other divisions and fears.
The fear of Communism was
found across Europe, and
middle and business classes
feared democracy could not
stop Bolshevism.
Ebert’s use of the Freikorps in
1919 also divided the left.

10. In economic terms, it is argued
that Weimar survived the
hyperinflation crisis, indeed
many call 1924-1929 ‘the
Golden age of Weimar’.
The eventual economic crisis
which helped Hitler to power –
the Depression – was a
worldwide event and nothing
to do with Versailles.

11. Historians – Treaty was not cause of Weimar collapse
• R.J. Evans: Versailles was only one reason for the republic’s
weakness. The republic faced problems of political violence,
assassination and conflicts about its right to exist.
• Dick Geary: Urges caution… “If Versailles was so important,
why did the new republic not collapse earlier when defeat
(1918) and the treaty were at their most immediate?”
• John Hidley: Argues that it is wrong to blame the collapse of
Weimar on the Treaty of Versailles; Germany’s problems were
the result of existing conflicts.