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abhatia · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 37

If the German people had known that they were losing the war, would they have reacted differently about the Treaty of Versailles? About their nations' presumed guilt?

wlotas2013 · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 20

Yes, I would assume morale and overall support would reach their ultimate low. If I were part of the German populace and discovered my country was driving us further into a hopeless situation, I would fear for my safety/ leaving my fate in the hands of a government that clearly cannot make good decisions. Guilt should only be a factor if you are the victor. Feeling guilty about something usually implies success as opposed to shame which usually involves a loss.

carolineskate · Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 13

If the German people had found out that the government was pulling Germany into a an increasingly bad situation, where the chances of victory were quite low, they would have reacted differently to the Treaty of Versailles. They may have realized that Germany was a dominating power in the war and that they had a lot of force throughout the war; therefore, maybe feeling less guilt, and more anger. They would not have been pleased with how the government was handling their involvement in the war, and if they found out how others were affected as a result of Germany's actions, but also found out that they were not succeeding in this battle that Germany had had a lot of control over, their opinions would have greatly changed, and they would have felt angry and maybe even somewhat confused as to how their being defeated was even a possibility.

mfaber · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 8

I think the fact that the Germans didn't know that they were completly losing the war, was the reason for why they acted out so strongly after the war was over. They were angry for losing and for putting their trust into their leader's hands who had promised them they would be succesful. The treaty brought the proof of that loss and betrayel of their leaders to the Germans. The treaty, therefore resulted in a dark time for Germany.

aryerson2012 · Joined: 21 Nov 2011 Posts: 6

I don't think it would have made much difference to the victorious allies if the German government had explained to their people a month or two earlier that they were losing the war. The Germans thought they were wnning until at least July. In September and October, German leaders, especially army leaders, tried to trick the people into thinking it was leftist politicians who had lost the war. This helped create chaos in Berlin in 1919 and 1920, and may have helped right wing parties, like Hitler's Nazis, come to power later. But as Ernst Troeltsch explained in "The Dogma of Guilt," the allies, especially the French and the British, were already convinced of German guilt before 1918 began, partly because of things the German army had done, and the German Kaiser had said, throughout the war. So if the German army admitted guilt in July 1918, and pushed the Kaiser out then, the French and British would still have written a treaty like the treaty they did write in Versailles.

JDinardo · Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 22

Perhaps it would have been interesting to see if the government itself knew how badly it was losing the war, as they did come to Versailles thinking that Wilson's peace plan, a rather moderate plan compared to the eventual one, would be the basis for discussion. I think Germany knew it was defeated at that point, but they did still have 4 million mobilized troops and they could have continued the war longer, or at least gone on the defensive. However, this was not the case and this deception was certainly was a big factor in the ensuing riots. This was also a large factor in the eventual buildup to Nazi Germany, as Hitler himself was spurred to become a politician by this propaganda. I don't think that telling the populace that Germany was losing would have helped either, but at least the people would have not felt such betrayal.

operaman667 · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 9

Yes. Had German citizens known that their country was losing the war miserably, they may have reacted differently to the Treaty of Versailles. Due to them not knowing that Germany was in deep trouble, they probably viewed the treaty as an unesseccary measure. If German citizens found out earlier that their government was struggling, they might have viewed the treaty as a useful step to take. The combined feelings of anger among Germans at the end of the war just added fuel to Germany's failure.

bella · Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 11

The German people would not have reacted differently to the Treaty of Versaille had they known they were losing the war.

No matter how surprised the German people were with the Treaty of Versailles, a treaty that harsh and taxing on Germany was going to create a hostile reaction. Even before widespread knowledge that Germany was losing the war, political unrest was boiling up under the surface and Versaille merely set it off.

They saw the Treaty as an attack on old German values, and instead of directing hate at the allied forces, the German people instead directed their hate inwards, at all the different groups of people warring within Germany

On the other hand, had they known about the state of the war all along they would have known who to blame for the treaty. Not the Social Democrats and Jews, but Lutzendorff and the Kaiser. Had the people known, there may not have been so many warring groups and internal hate within Germany.

I dont think the German people felt all that much guilt. maybe had they know whose fault the lose was, and that he was a "real" German, they would have felt guilty. But the Germans, blamed the "fake" Germans, the Jews, for the loss of the war.

stone · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 5

I think the reaction would be less radical and more rational if the German people knew they were losing the war. However, with the rise of nationalism and the pride within the German culture, I do not think the German people could take the Treaty of Versailles as a fair treaty and to take the guilt of the war. The treaty and the presumption of the guilt would stir up emotions within the German people anyhow - whether they knew they were losing or not.

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