Der Gewaltfrieden

Autumn of 1918: Germany lost the First World War. The peace must be closed, but at what price? The revolution breaks out and the struggle for power begins. 'Which hand would not wither, and the places us in such shackles' calls Prime Minister Philipp Scheidemann outraged. May 1919: Germany has lost the war, plunged his Emperor and the Allies are willing invasion am Rhein. The 'shame paragraphs' of the peace treaty, which impose the German Reich among others all war guilt, numerous area privies and unprecedented reparations, split the political and military bearing. The issue: accept the offer or go down fighting? With the finally on June 28, 1919 at the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles set under the contract signature, the month-long tug of war is ended. Was the signing of the peace treaty a mistake? One at least is clear in retrospect: The 'dictated peace' of Versailles and its instrumentalization already carried the germ of much crueler WW2 in itself.