Germany and the Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 at the great Palace of Versailles in France. The victorious Allies (Britain, France, Italy and the United States) all came together to decide what punishment Germany should receive for the utter devastation left by this war they started, and what to do with the Central Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) in general. The Allies were furious at having lost so much in this war and having gained so little; while German territory was practically intact. The armistice was a slap in the face to Germany, especially because it was announced at the palace of Germany's most hated rival, France, and because Germany was not even invited. (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien). The Allies agreed that Germany should be held responsible for the war under the war guilt clause; they should therefore pay reparations for their actions. Germany was ordered to disarm and reduce its military forces to 100,000 men. German troops were ordered to leave the Rhineland and were forced to surrender their naval fleets to the British. They were ordered to pay for all the damage done to other countries, starting with $5 billion to cover their $32 billion bill; in addition to losing much of their land that produced sources of raw materials. They even had to abandon lands they had previously conquered, such as Alsace and Lorraine, and because they destroyed the French coal lands, they lost the Saar and the coal it produced to the France for 15 years. They were reduced to almost nothing and Germany was crippled as a nation. The Germans did not want to sign the treaty; in fact, they destroy... middle of paper... staggering the number of people he massacred in what would come to be called the Holocaust. His entire mission was to purify the German race, to "exterminate" all those who were not healthy, pure-blooded Germans. His method of euthanasia killed women, men and children who did not meet the biological standards of the German race. Very quickly, there was no one left to oppose his regime because he had killed them all. He felt invincible. Under Hitler's leadership, Germany was revitalized and ready for World War II. (Kishlansy, Geary and O'Brien). Works Cited Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary and Patricia O'Brien. Civilization in the West. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. “Treaty of Versailles and Afterwards: Annotations of the Treaty Text.” 1944. Sourcebook of Modern History. 20 2 2010 .