The Treaty of Versailles was not a fair treaty especially for the Germans who, when the
terms came out, were shocked at the severity towards them. The Treaty of Versailles was a
peace treaty to end the the war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed by
Germany and the Big Three, Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, and George Clemenceau.
To many German citizens, what angered the most about the Treaty, was the “Guilt Clause”,
clause 231, which placed the entire blame on Germany for starting the war on and forced them to
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Comment [1]: Topic sentence is presented
however it does not reflect the argument made
within the paragraph (war guilt and
reparations)
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Comment [2]: Key term defined
accept the responsibility of what happened and agree with it. For example Henig, a British
politician, argues that the clause 231, “more than any other in the entire Treaty of Versailles, was
to cause lasting resentment in Germany.” This shows that other countries are aware that the
clause 231 irritated Germany more than anything else in the Treaty, making the decision of the
war guilt not fair towards Germany. Being accused of starting the war, made the consequences
Germany had to pay for even worse. The reparations amending all the damage they had caused
during the conflict were exceptionally expensive. They had to compensate a debt of 33$ billion
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Comment [3]: Evidence is clear
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Comment [4]: Analysis is directly related
to the evidence and connects it to the larger
argument
to the Allied Powers, which at the time was inconceivable for the world itself had never seen
such a big amount of money. John D. Clare, states that in 1923, the Allies realized that due to the
reparations “ Germany was falling apart” and “they had to do something.” This shows that the
Allies, even if not immediately, then realized that the reparation costs they had imposed on
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Comment [5]: Evidence is present
Germany were unattainable for they ruined Germany’s economy, therefore making the treaty
unfair towards Germany because of the impossibility of the price Germany had to pay. As a
result, due to the shameful accusation and the unthinkable cost of the reparations, the Treaty of
Versailles, was not a fair Treaty for Germany.
Some people, might argue that the Treaty of Versailles was fair towards France,who was
on the winning side of the war, but in reality, it was just as unfair to France as it was to Germany.
France, wanted such a harsh punishment for Germany because it had suffered 1.3 million deaths
and lost a lot of land being that it had been one of the countries in which the war took place in.
France’s goal was to punish and weaken Germany severely for all the damage it had caused
during the war to France and its citizens. Clemenceau only partially achieved this goal of his
because he did not get all he wanted for Germany’s revenge. He did not want a demilitarized
Rhineland, he had hoped for it to become an independent country or even have it be part of
France. For example, Clemenceau argued that Rhineland, “should be removed from German
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Comment [6]: Extremely important part of
the paragraph directly connecting the evidence
to the larger topic
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Comment [7]: Concluding sentenee
summarizes the argument presented
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Comment [8]: Topic sentence is clear and
directly related to the topic, however the
reason it was not fair could be outlined here
control to ensure France's security” and that “the Allies could create an independent state with its
neutrality guaranteed.” This shows that Clemenceau wanted an independent Rhineland to ensure
their security and space between Germany and France in order to protect France in case of
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Comment [9]: Evidence is clear
another war. Rhineland, in the treaty of Versailles was made demilitarized, not what France had
hoped for, making this unfair towards France who had won the war and paid such a huge price of
land and people in the war. As much as France tried to make Germany weaker after the war, in
which they succeeded, France still believed that The League of Nations, would not protect them
against future Germany attacks. The League of Nations, which was thought to help end all wars
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Comment [10]: Analysis is clear and
directly related to the topic
and stop future wars, was an organization established after World War I. For Example,
Mubbashar Raza writes, “Nations lost their faith in the effectiveness of the League to save them
from any aggression.” This shows that nations, including France, are now worried of possible
future attacks which the League of Nations, cannot prevent the happening of, therefore not being
reliable for the rescue of the nations being attacked, making the treaty not fair towards France,
who agreed to a term they thought was going to support and sustain them in future attacks but
now not reliable anymore. Not getting all the revenge France had hoped for, for Germany, makes
the Treaty of Versailles, not fair even for the winning country, France.
Even though these two countries were on opposte sides during the war, one on the winning side
and one on the losing side, we can see how the treaty was unfair to both sides by the fact that
neither got what they wanted.
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Comment [11]: Analysis is clear and
related to the topic