The treaties of the First World War saw to drastic changes to the world map, and drastic changes to the situations of involved countries, especially in Europe. Out of the many, it was Germany that received the harshest conditions in the Treaty Of Versaille. They were met with harsh territorial annexation, and impossible reparations and dues. The outcome of the Treaty of Versaille was a pressured, sovereign nation state of Germany in the form of the Weimar Republic. Had the decisions of the delegations been slightly different, what situation would Germany have been in after the War?
The Weimar Government was willing to accept the Treaty of Veraille, so long as clause 227 and clause 237 be removed. Clause 227 stipulated the extradition of the Kaiser and the stablishment of an international court to prosecute Germany war crimes. Clause 231 was the "war-guilt" clause. outlining the vast reparation figures. The German delegation was sent to Paris expecting to negotiate the terms and conditions of the treaty. Upon arrival, they were shocked to have been handed the treaty as a fait accompli and told to sign, given no option to negotiate or modify the treaty whatsoever. Phillipp Schneiderman, head of the first democratically elected government of Germany, resigned, unwilling to have the responsibility of imposing such a treaty on his own country.
Upon the German delegation leaving back to Germany, refusing to sign the treaty, Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of post-war France, gave Germany an ultimatum of which the German government received 24 hours to unconditionally accept the Treaty of Versaille, without the removal or modification of any clauses. If Germany refused to accept, Allied forces would march into Germany.
This is where I begin to speculate. What if Germany refused to sign, and the allies did decide to march into Germany?
Germany was actually considering not signing. Their military leaders were already calculating whether or not it would be possible to fight off the allies. I believe that Germany would not have been able to defeat the allied forces, simply due to their hunger-stricken state, as well as their economic hardship, keeping in mind that the British Naval Blockade was still fully operational during the peacemaking time. This leaves us with an allied occupation of Germany.
It is possible that because of the very liberal attitude present among the peacemakers and the League of Nations, annexation would not occur. Instead a cooperation between occupational forces and German democratic parties would evolve. This may have led to a much more controlled and stable renewal of Germany. Germany would not be an independent state, but instead would resemble a mandate (mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I), perhaps allowing for faster economic growth with the support of "babysitter" nations, which may have included the Big Four at the time (USA, UK, Italy, France). This occupation would likely put the Big Four nations in a position of which they were responsible for the well-being of Germany's population. Controlling Germany's rehabilitation out of the war and back into a nation of its own, may have prevented the rise of the Nazi Party to power later on. After the Treaty of Versaille, Germany was left to its own devices, allowing it to grow strong again.
At the time, the occupation may have seemed unwise. The Allied Nations would be responsible for the economic situation of Germany, of which we know was worsening into a deep inflationary period, due to decisions made during wartime. However, had the Allies known the future outcome of their actions, they may very well have considered it.
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