NARRATOR: World War I, from 1914 to 1918. The first global conflict was the cause of more damage than any other war before it. The total number of military and civilian casualties estimated to be around 40 million. World War I finally came to an end with the world's most hated treaty, the Treaty of Versailles, on 28th of June, 1919. Welcome to today's video where we'll be taking a look at the Treaty of Versailles and its impact on Germany. Don't forget to like, subscribe to our channel, and turn notifications on for more videos like this one.

In a speech before Congress January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson laid down 14 points as his idealistic vision for world peace. 1/2 of the 14 points addressed territorial issues between the combatant countries. The remainder was a vision for peace.

Wilson also called for the formation of a general association of nations that would mediate international disputes to prevent wars on such a large scale as World War I in the future. This organization laid the foundation for the League of Nations. German leaders signed the armistice agreement with the Alliance leaders on November 11, 1918. The armistice did not end the First World War itself, but it was agreed that a peace conference would be held in Paris.

German leaders believed that the idealistic vision of Woodrow Wilson's 14 points would be the basis for the future peace treaty. Unfortunately that would not be the case. On January 12th, 1919, meetings of negotiations were held at various locations in and around Paris until January 20th, 1920. The leaders of 32 states representing 75% of the world's population attended the peace conference. However the negotiations would be dominated by the big four of Allied powers, Thomas Woodrow Wilson representing the United States, David Lloyd George representing the United Kingdom, George Clemenceau representing France, and to a small extent Vittorio Orlando representing Italy.

Germany was not represented at the conference along with other defeated powers such as Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey and Bulgaria, nor was Russia who fought as one of the Allied powers until 1917, when the new Bolshevik government concluded with a separate peace with Germany and withdrew from the conflict. The big four had conflicting objectives, and they had various disagreements on how harshly Germany should be punished reflecting the damage each country had to face in the war. They had to negotiate with each other until there was a compromise, which was not going to be easy.

Clemenceau was the harshest of the big four. The reason being was the damage that Germany had done to France. He aimed for the disbandment of the German army so they could never attack France again in the future. He sought heavy reparations to weaken the economy of Germany, thus limiting its recovery after the war. And he wanted Germany to return Alsace Lorraine to France.

Lloyd George, on the other hand, was less harsh. His objective was to rebuild Germany to re-establish the nation as a strong trading partner for Great Britain. Lloyd was in favor of Germany being punished for starting the war, paying reparation for the damage it caused so it could please those who wanted to punish Germany. He also wanted to disband the German Navy to protect the Naval supremacy of Great Britain, as well as the division of German colonies among victors of the war.

Orlando on the other hand, wanted Italy to become a major power by expanding its influence and territory so it could stand as n equal to the great powers. Wilson opposed the harsh treatment and reparation imposed on Germany and the territorial demands of the Allied powers. Instead his main goal was to create the League of Nations as a long term solution that could end the warfare, along the lines of the 14 points.

The other three leaders saw the 14 points as too idealistic, which cannot be translated into a policy. In the end, the Allied powers agreed on imposing punishment on Germany. When the Treaty of Versailles was shown to Germany, they were shocked at the severity of the punishment and protested that the provisions contradicted the assurances made when the armistice was signed. But there were no negotiations and the protest was ignored. They were left with no choice but to sign the treaty. Hence on June 28, 1919, German delegates and the leaders of Allied powers gathered in the Hall of mirrors and the Palace of Versailles, France, and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Before we look at the provisions of the treaty, let's take a look at how the Germans reacted to the Treaty of Versailles. Germans were extremely furious about the treaty, labeling it as a diktat, or dictated peace. They resented the fact that the sole blame for the war was being forced on them. But the main reason Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles was that they believed it was unfair. They were not allowed to take part in the conference of peace and terms of the treaty were imposed on them. And when the Germans tried disagreeing, the Allied powers threatened to go to war again.

Germans resented the fact that they were treated as a defeated country because in their mind, they were not defeated. They believed that they were accepting the 14 points of Wilson when they signed an armistice in 1918. In the treaty, only a few points out of the 14 were included, which led the Germans to believe that they were betrayed. Ultimately all that hatred and resentment would lead to another war, but more on this later.

Let's take a look at the key provisions of the treaty. The provisions could be divided into three parts. Territorial, military, financial and economical. Let's start with the territorial provisions. Articles 45 to 50 stated that Germany must turn over Saar Basin to France for its coal mines for 15 years. Article 51 gave the territory of Alsace Lorraine to France, which was seized by Germany during 1871. Articles 42 and 44 and Article 180 forced demilitarization of Rhineland. It was a big initiative for France because they were trying to prevent Germany from attacking France again, also weakening them and allowing the invasion from France as well.

Article 80 required Germany to respect the independence of Austria. Articles 81 to 86 forced Germany to recognize Czechoslovakia as an independent nation which was formed with provinces from former German ally Austria-Hungary provinces. It had a minority of ethnic Germans. Articles 87 to 93 gave Prussia and other territories with ethnic German groups to the newly independent nation of Poland. Article 119 stripped Germany of its colonies in China and Africa.

Next comes military provisions. Articles 159 to 163 reduced the size of the German army. The number of German troops, which reached 1.9 million, was reduced to 100,000. Officer Corps was limited to 4,000. Articles 164 to 172 disarmed the German military by limiting the number of weapons and ammunition. For example, smaller artillery was allotted 1,500 rounds, while bigger guns were allowed only 500 shells.

Articles 181 to 197. German Naval forces were reduced to six battleships, six light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats, and it eliminated the submarine fleet. Articles 198 to 202 prohibited Germany from having an Air Force, except for 100 seaplanes to work in mine sweeping operations. Zeppelins were banned as well, as they had been used to bomb the UK during the war.

Last but not least, we have the financial and economical provisions. Article 231 also called the War Guilt Clause which required the Germans to admit that they were the cause of the war and all the loss and damage inflicted on the Allied powers. Firstly, the Germans did not believe that they were the cause of the war. For them, the war was self-defense against Russia, which had mobilized on 31st of July, 1914. During the 1920s secret documents from 1914 would be published by the Germans to prove they had tried to stop the war.

Secondly, Allied powers used this provision to demand Germany to pay reparations. The reparation of $33 billion was set, which is about $450 billion in 2021. As the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in 1920, "I believe that the campaign for securing out of Germany the general costs of the war was one of the most serious acts of political unwisdom for which our statemens have ever been responsible." The former imperial regime printed a lot of currency, and borrowed heavily which covered its military expenditures, which made the new government struggle under the weight of debt and budget deficits.

France then occupied the Ruhr, which was an industrial region in Western Germany. This further pressured Germany by contributing to the hyperinflation which made the National currency virtually worthless in 1923. In the years following the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans believed they had been betrayed by the leaders who signed the treaty and labeled them as November Criminals. This anger over the betrayal helped fuel the rise of populism and nationalism in the 1920s and 1930s, and they promised to reverse the humiliation and Versailles Treaty.

With the onset of the Great Depression after 1929 economic unrest destabilized the Weimar government, thus setting the stage for the Nazi and Hitler's rise to power in 1933. Hitler violated the treaty by rearming Germany, remilitarizing the Rhineland, and joining into a Union with Austria. He bullied the British and French into abandoning the territories of Czechoslovakia in 1938, and the Nazi leader invaded Poland, thus starting World War II in 1939. And the rest of the history is for another time.