When the Allies met in Paris to negotiate the terms for peace after the First World War, their main goal was ostentatiously to create stability in Europe, but each representative came to the table with his own specific interests in mind. This led to major issues in the Treaty of Versailles, such as its questionable economic feasibility. In his book, The Economic Consequences of the Peace<\/i>, John Maynard Keynes discusses how the preoccupation of the Allies caused them to deal with economic issues using politics and without considering the future of Europe\u2019s economies. While the Treaty of Versailles set many future events in motion, the economic turmoil it created was the most dramatic and disastrous effect it had on the European Continent.<\/p>\n
As Mark Mazower writes in Dark Continent, <\/i>\u201cAfter the Great War, Europe\u2019s economic life was in chaos.\u201d He goes on to describe the hunger and rapidly falling prices that ensued in Europe following the war. (Mazower 104) Keynes elaborates on the same point, stating that, \u201cIn relation to other continents Europe is not self-sufficient; in particular it cannot feed itself.\u201d The people of the industrialized cities of Europe need to obtain supplies like food from outside their cities if they are going to survive. When war breaks out, these supply lines are broken, and because of \u201c\u2026 the interruption of the stream of supplies, a part of this population is deprived of its means of livelihood.\u201d(Keynes) After the war, no agreement to eliminate economic tariffs is made, as was suggested by President Wilson in his Fourteen Points,<\/i> causing even more economic stress in Europe.<\/p>\n
A large part of the economic wrongdoing in the Treaty of Versailles was directed at Germany. Not only did Germany have to accept blame for the war, it also had to pay reparations to the Allies for the damage it caused. Germany was also stripped of its colonies, leaving it little economic prospect for paying the Allies. \u00a0In response to these terms in the treaty, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau identified that the terms of the peace treaty would literally and economically starve Germany, and that, \u201cThose who sign this Treaty will sign the death sentence of many millions of German men, women and children\u201d (Keynes).<\/p>\n
The Treaty of Versailles possessed many economic faults, and, writing in 1920, Keynes foreshadows many of the consequences that these faults will have on Europe. The treaty doesn\u2019t help to restore Europe\u2019s economic vitality or create stability in Central Europe, leaving Europe liable for depression and bloodshed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the Allies met in Paris to negotiate the terms for peace after the First World War, their main goal was ostentatiously to create stability in Europe, but each representative came to the table with his own specific interests in … Continue reading