The Treaty of Versailles: A Captivating Guide to the Peace Treaty That Ended World War 1 and Its Impact on Germany and the Rise of Adolf Hitler

by Captivating History

The treaty that ended the First World War, also known as the “war to end all wars,” was signed at the Palace of Versailles, which had been the home of French kings until 1789 and remains one of the most beautiful structures in the world.

Though the men of Versailles (and they were overwhelmingly men) had arrived in Paris to put an end to World War I, by the time the conference ended, the main goal of the diplomats and national leaders had turned into ending wars for all time.
Obviously, that did not work, and as a matter of fact, the end result of the Paris Peace Conference—the Treaty of Versailles—would likely cause more wars than any of its authors could have possibly dreamed of, including World War II.

In The Treaty of Versailles: A Captivating Guide to the Peace Treaty That Ended World War 1 and Its Impact on Germany and the Rise of Adolf Hitler, you will discover topics such as
Foundations
What Came Before
The Truce and the Run-Up to Versailles
The Allies
The Fourteen Points
The Scrambled Map and People of Europe
The Middle East
Germany
The “Stab-in-the-Back” Myth
The League of Nations Fiasco
And much, much more!

Genres: History, War

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2020

Reviews

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall good book. Summed it up quite nicely, described different views, sectioned well for organization, and explained what I didn’t understand.

[Brian Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good high level summary of the Treaty. I’d just finished The Sleepwalkers, which detailed the events and the diplomacy leading up to the start of WWI. But I’ve not read a book on the war itself. That’s next. This book informed me of some things that happened during the war that changed the course of it, things that were not obvious or intuitive from reading The Sleepwalkers. One was the effect the Russian revolution had on Russia’s efforts during the war effort and a treaty signed with Germany that allowed Germany to shift resources from the eastern to the western front with France.

The Treaty itself was very harsh on Germany and that outcome was obvious by reading The Sleepwalkers, because much of continental Europe was frightened of Germany and its economic and military build up leading to the war. Prussian history of defeating various European countries contributed to this as well.

This short pamphlet informed me of why France hated Germany so much. The Franco-Prussian wars, in which Germany defeated France and took Alsace-Lorraine. This explains the hatred during the period of diplomacy leading up to WWI as well as the very harsh treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.

Wilson did not invite any republicans with him in Paris. As a result, the Republican majority in the Senate did not ratify this treaty.

Some argue that the “blank check” given by Germany to Austro-Hungary, is what caused WWI - as Austro-Hungary would not have attacked Serbia without it.

[Lisa Konet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I am addicted to the brief history lesson in the Captivating History series. This explained the Treaty of Versailles well and why it was important and the turning point in WWI. I relearned some of the important things about this treaty that I had forgotten and learned some new things.

Highly recommended series for any history buff on past persons, places, events. And it is brief but very informative.

LOVE THIS SERIES!!!

[Starla B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history, and I found this to be a very interesting book. It's cool to see how all of the personalities involved had such a large impact on the political decisions made, and speculate what may have happened if they held slightly different views. I was unaware of a lot of the issues surrounding the the Treaty of Versailles, and found this book very informative.

[William O. Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better “Captivating Histories” in the way it was written in giving the reader the broad and specific reasons of why and how the First World War came about. Anyone with a basic knowledge of the era can clearly see the Second World War was a continuation of the unresolved conflicts of WWI and especially with the Treaty of Versailles.

[Cynthia Baue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting History

I heard a lot about the Treaty of Versailles but never knew how it was made. Fascinating walk through how and why it was created. A lot of geographical history that I was unaware of. Good read for those interested in History

[Ron Risdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Concise and Well Written History

I have heard from scholars that the Treaty of Versailles was not a cause of WW2. After reading this book it is hard to agree with that assessment.

[George Polansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great review.