Was the Treaty of Versailles Unfair to Germany Essay Example

Was the Treaty of Versailles Unfair to Germany Paper The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919. It took David Lloyd-George, Prime Minister of Britain, Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, and Thomas Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States of America, six months to negotiate this peace treaty. I believe that the Treaty of Versailles was reasonable, mostly fair but sometimes unfair as well, as Germany had annexed parts of other countries and it was only fair to give those parts back to their original country, also Germany invaded Belgium, a neutral country, destroying it. However, it was unfair that Germans who lived in parts of Germany, such as Posen and near Danzig, were not allowed to be German or a part of Germany, while for example Poles who had been living in Germany before the Treaty of Versailles, now had their own country, Poland. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to lose 10 percent of its land and all of its colonies1. Germans did not like this; however, Germany had annexed Alsace- Lorraine, two rich industrial parts of France after the Franco- Prussian wars in 1870 and 1871, and in 1918 after Russia had signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk, Germany took 35 percent of Russias land together with most of its industry. Germans were now thinking that losing 10 percent was a lot, when before they had had no problem with forcing Russia to lose 35 percent of its land, especially most of its industrial land. We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Treaty of Versailles Unfair to Germany specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Treaty of Versailles Unfair to Germany specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Treaty of Versailles Unfair to Germany specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Treaty of Versailles now simply commanded Germany to return Alsace- Lorraine to France, the 35 percent of Russia was partly given back to Russia but was also use to form new countries, Schleswig was given to Denmark, West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia were given to Poland2 just to name a few. Article 116 of the Treaty of Versailles states: Germany acknowledges and agrees to respect as permanent and inalienable the independence of all the territories which were part of the former Russian Empire on August 1st, 1914. 3 And article 51 says that: The territories which were ceded to Germany in accordance with the Preliminaries of Peace signed at Versailles on February 26, 1871, and the Treaty of Frankfurt of May 10, 1871, are restored to French sovereignty as from the date of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. The provisions of the Treaties establishing the delimitation of the frontiers before 1871 shall be restored. 4 These article states that Germany shall respect the parts of th e former Russian Empire, which it annexed, now to be free and no longer a part of Germany. The second article states that Alsace- Lorraine shall be returned to France, and that the German and French boundary is to be just like it was before the Franco- Prussia wars. Also articles such as, 83, 87 and 1095 command Germany to give land to Poland, Czechoslovakia and Denmark and establish the new German boarders. On August 4th, 1914 Germany invaded Belgium, which up till then had been a neutral country just like the Netherlands. With this act Germany broke article seven of the 1839 Treaty of London, which stated that: Belgium, within the limits specified in Articles I, II, and IV, shall form an independent and perpetually neutral State. It shall be bound to observe such neutrality towards all other States. 6 However, the German army went through Belgium plundering and terrorizing- they shot civilians, burned down towns, raped women and children7, while trying to full fill the Schlieffen Plan. The German army did not only do this to Belgium, but to all other countries they invaded, but Belgium is simply one of the most known as it marked the begin of World War One. As a result it is quite fair that Germany had to pay 132 billion German marks8 for the reparations of World War One, after they went through a country destroying it and its people, invaded other countries such as Russia and France, doing the same there. However, you can also look from the other side, Germany didnt only have to pay for the damage it made, but also for the damage the British, the French, the Russians, the Americans and everyone else who fought in the war made. But Germany was one of the strongest, on of the richest country and the USA, Britain and France could not let Germany stay too powerful. I still believe that this was not too harsh on Germany, as Germany caused a lot of damage and started the war, and now had to pay. One of Woodrow Wilsons fourteen points was self- determination. This meant that he wanted every nationality to be able to rule themselves, in their own country9. As a fact, this point was incorporated in the Treaty of Versailles leading to the creation of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and to the recreation Poland. Czechoslovakia was mostly made up of mostly Czechs (seven million) and Slovaks (two million). However, there were also seven hundred thousand Hungarians, four hundred fifty thousand Ukrainians and three and a half million Germans living in Czechoslovakia10. Yugoslavia was mostly made up of Serbs, Macedonians, Croats, Slovenes and Bosnians11. Poland was recreated but around thirty percent of its population was not Polish, but Russian or German or Jewish,12 to name some. Due to the Treaty these Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, Macedonians and Slovenes, all got their own country, which they could rule. This was self- determination. However, the Germans living in Czechoslovakia were not allowed to be German and they were not allowed to live in their own country and be ruled by Germans. These Germans had to be Czechoslovakian, which a majority of the Germans did not want to be as many wanted to live inside Germany. The same thing happened with Poland and the Polish Corridor. The Germans living near Danzig, in the Polish Corridor, now no longer were German but Polish instead. This was basically against Woodrow Wilsons point of Self- determination, as these Germans were not allowed to live in their own country and to be their own nationality. Therefore I believe that the Treaty of Versailles was mostly fair but also a bit unfair, due to the fact that Germany had annexed parts of, for example France and Russia and it was nothing but fair, that Germany had to return this land. Also Germany started World War One or at least the actual fighting, by invading the neutral state of Belgium, demolishing it. And lastly, and the reason why I believe that the Treaty of Versailles was a bit unfair, because Germans living in parts of Germany that were given to another country, were not allowed to rule themselves, or to live in their own country going against the point of self- determination in the Treaty of Versailles. All in all I believe that the Treaty of Versailles was reasonable. References http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_versailles.htm http://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/partiii.asp http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/london1839.htm https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/1004/Germany-finishes-paying-WWI-reparations-ending-century-of-guilt

Riseand Fall of Rome and China essays

Riseand Fall of Rome and China essays There are some smaller arguments, but the main reason China was more successful in their empire was because of the succession of emperors, Rome usually had tremendous amounts of conflict when the power would change hands, whereas China did not. The Chinese had a certain excuse, for the actions that were taken when an old dynasty was overthrown. At a time of succession in Rome, there was usually a civil war, or many deaths to finally see who the new emperor was. Rome had one major flaw when gradually turning into their Empire from fallen Republic, this flaw dealt with who came next in their line of emperors (succession.) The first of the emperors were the Julio-Claudian, all of whom related in some way. Tiberius, the stepson of Augustus, was the first of bad emperors. The major flaw in Romes empire emerged, the next emperor (Caligula) was Tiberiuss nephew. Tiberius did not pick someone who was qualified or who seemed would be the best emperor, but picked his own kin, disregarding everything else. At the end of his reign, another one of Romes problems surfaced, the internal conflict between Emperors and their people (in this case, guards.) Caligula was killed by his own guards. Arguably, the best Julio-Claudian emperor came next, Claudius. Claudius was a good emperor judging by the response of his people, however, Aggripina (his wife), arranged his murder so her son Nero could be emperor. This is another example of Romes corrupt s ystem of succession. After Neros death, this marked the end of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. Flavian Vespian emerged as the new emperor through a civil war. The Flavian Vespian Dynasty was short, that was good because the emperors were bad. Domitian was especially bad because he persecuted the Jews and Christians of Rome. Domitian was later killed by conspirators, this was a problem with Rome, whenever the emperor was not liked, he was ki...

Post-war Manga and Animes comments on Japanese Society Essay

Post-war Manga and Animes comments on Japanese Society - Essay Example ever, through the aforementioned description it is abundantly clear that an Anime is equivalent to a regular cartoon but there are significant variations in how it is produced and the plot of the cartoon is designed, which is much more mature compared to the plot involved in American animations. Manga, which simply a name for Japanese comic book has inspired several Animes. These Animes does not only revolve around a much more mature protagonists and antagonists but their plots and sub-plots discuss more weighty issues faced by the society. The substance of this prose will examine the plots of Animes and mangas that were developed by creators during the post-war era in Japan. (Brenner, 2007) As we all know that the World War II was an epochal period in the history of Japan that redefined Japanese culture. As mentioned earlier, Animes were not just mere form of entertainment for the young population, but were meant to signify the changes and revolution that took place and are rapidly taking place in the Japanese community. As the war had a significant amount of impact on the dynamics of the Japanese society, the aftermath of the nuclear disaster seemed more pronounced on the thematic pattern followed by the Animes and mangas and they artists incorporated a strong element pertaining to nuclear apocalypses and the plot largely focuses on how the disaster affected adolescents and youngster as a result of the attack. (Napier, 2005) Despite the solemnity the subject of war usually radiates, according to film scholar Jerome Shapiro the playfulness in the Animes is an essential feature of their aesthetic sense and storytelling sense, he states: â€Å"Richie’s description of aware is substantially incomplete and misleading†¦ Mono no Aware†¦ is only half of a very complex... Japanese Manga and Animes have a huge fan following in Japan and it has a sizeable amount of followers on a global front as well. Even though, Japanese Animes and mangas are more like art form involving a stylized exaggeration in the representation and formation of character. Unlike normal cartoons, Japanese Animes have strong plot and does not have the same element of slapstick comedy involved also their visual characteristics may involve a strong influence of Japanese Calligraphy as the brush strokes used to draw various characters. As it is described by Richie, the Second World War was not only a spur to the creativity of Japanese people but also resulted in a spiritual revolution amongst the people and there came an uncanny resemblance to Buddhist ideology and doctrines and even resulted in the contemporary society of members of Japan adopting them. Hence, these post-war mangas and Anime does not only describe the ordeal of the people but also discuss the spiritual revolution that was brought about by it. The classic good vs. evil fight that is the main plot of Japanese animated and non-animated usually stems from Buddhistic beliefs in â€Å"Mappo† or the ends days of the world when the world would fall into complete chaos as people go further and further away from the teachings of Buddha and at that last possible moment the advent of the Maitreya Buddha; a saviour would navigate the world out of chaos and start a new world order. This is the typical scenario that is sketched by all the Animes and manga s and these are not only meant to be cautionary or foretell the advent of the saviour but are meant to reinforce the belief in the above mentioned spiritual teachings.