Health levels are deteriorating ever more seriously' oedema is re-appearing, the so-called war dropsy. There are increases in stomach disorders and food poisoning' There are complaints of the appearance of scurvy' In medical circles, there have been complaints about especially sharp increases in infant mortality... since the steep rise in prices' There are also frequent reports of an increase in sickness among infants, of rickets and digestive disorders' The spread of tuberculosis and scrofula is especially great among the children. Now all this misery is doubly and cruelly sharpened in those parts of the fatherland which have already been subjected to foreign occupation for four years, but ore particularly for the inhabitants of the Ruhr region, which has recently been invaded by French and Belgian troops in violation of the peace treaty of Versailles. (The Peace Settlement, 48)

From the treaty, Germany was stripped of many of its lands and limits were placed on her naval capacity as well as her army. Lands were demilitarized, they were deprived of their resources and on top of that they were also obliged to produce reparations for the Allied forces. In total, it was estimated that Germany's area was reduced by thirteen percent, the population was decreased by twelve percent, and they had lost sixteen percent of her coal, about fifty- percent of her iron, fifteen percent of her agriculture land and ten percent of the manufactures. (Two Terms, 184)

What offended the Germans the most was the war guilt clause. It stated that,

Many terms to the Versailles Treaty were ridiculous because they asked for the impossible. Germany bitterly resented the treaty. 'It seemed that all the talk of justice had been a sham; they felt humiliated. The peace they had been offered was not generous: worse than that it was not even sensible.' (The Peace Settlement, 41) The Germans were not consulted about any of the terms nor were they allowed in the discussions at Versailles. They were simply shown the terms ordered sign. All of their criticism and objectives about the treaty were all ignored, with the exception of one. Historians believe that Germany should have been allowed to participate in discussions to tone down some of the harsher terms for the Germans has asked for an armistice, not an unconditional surrender. (The First World War and its Aftermath, 22) There was a great uproar in Germany protesting that the treaty was a Diktat- a dictated peace. The government resigned, captains of the German fleet sank their warships rather than have them turned over to the Allies. All this patriotic action resulted in nothing because Allies threatened to invade they would not sign.

The actual amount of reparation was never stated while Germany was signing the treaty. Thus by signing the treaty, the Germans was forced to promise to pay an amount which yet had not even stated at the present and would be decided upon solely by Germany's enemies where Germany could take no part in. The Allies later came up with the exact amount of six thousand six hundred million pounds, half of what France had wanted. The Germans were humiliated and horrified at this amount and acknowledged that they would not be able to pay such a sum. John Maynard Keynes claimed that Germany did not have enough to pay the reparations and that 'it would have resulted in the ruin of her economy. Those who sign the treaty will sign the death sentences of millions of German men, women, and children.' Keynes also added that 'the revision of the treaty is necessary and inevitable first step forward.' (Making Peace20) As Keynes had predicted, eventually the Allies admitted their mistake came up with the Dawes plan, the Young Plan, and the Lausanne Agreement. By these revisions, Germany could pay the reparation instalments over a period of 59 years, and lowered the sum to two thousand million pounds. USA also offered to lend money to Germany, to help build up her industries in order t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Paris Peace, German Empire, War Aftermath, Treaty Versailles, Peace Settlement, French Belgian, Germany Ruhr, World War, Associated Governments, Prussian Moresnet, national self-determination, treaty versailles, world war, paris peace, war aftermath, world war aftermath, german empire, peace settlement, idea national self-determination, peace 296, paris peace 296, idea national, peace conference, war aftermath 25, war aftermath 20,
Approximate Word count = 3788
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)