Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

After WWI, many countries in Europe and the United States

ended up in devastated conditions. They desperately needed
a remedy to prevent another war and needed something to
encourage peace amongst them. Therefore Britain, France and
the USA thought of a treaty to punish Germany, the country
that they believed was guilty for the war and its
consequences. This treaty is known as The Treaty of Versailles.
Many people believe that this was way too harsh and unfair to
Germany but many people also believe that it was totally fair
to them. These explanations, which will be presented in the
next few paragraphs, will demonstrate why the Treaty of
Versailles was equally fair and unfair to Germans.
One of the reasons that show that the Treaty of Versailles was
fair was because of the Treaty of Bret-Litovsk that Germany
enforced in Russia in 1918. This treaty was even harsher than
what they received as a punishment considering their roles in
the war. Germans took a third or Russias industrial and
economic territory where they had their coalmines. This was
completely sabotaging Russias economy. The treaty also
stated that the land they took from the Ottoman Empire was
to be returned and finally, they were forced to pay back to
them six billion marks in compensation for their losses. This
clearly shows that the Treaty of Versailles was more than fair
because Germany got to enforce a harsher treaty to Russia in
return.
Another reason that justifies the Treaty of Versailles as a fair
one, is the fact that countries who fought against them,
specially British people, were still very unsatisfied and
unhappy about the way Germany was dealt with. They
believed it was a very light punishment compared to what
they committed.
They thought little of the honour of the nations whose
territories they defiled with their barbarous and inhuman
warfare for more than three awful yeas. British newspaper:
The Times.

If Germany had deserts, indeed there would be no Germany

left to bear any burden at all; she would wiped off the map of
Europe. [] She is being let off too lightly. British Newspaper:
The People.
These two quotations from British newspapers in 1919 reflect
the citizens thoughts in a very precise way. Considering all of
the crimes Germany committed, the atrocities and casualties
they caused, the punishment they were set was too light.
Some British citizens even wanted Germany to be banished
from Europe, so paying reparations, reducing their navy and
army, and taking all the blame, was amenable to them. This
clearly shows that the Treaty of Versailles was fair to Germany.
On the other hand, there are reasons that state why the Treaty
of Versailles was harsh and unfair. The first reason is that
many people felt regret and pity for Germans after agreeing
on the terms of the treaty. They new for instance that the
terms would be bitter.
We arrived determined that a Peace of justice and wisdom
should be negotiated; we left the conference conscious that
the treaties imposed upon our enemies were neither just nor
wise. British official who attended the talks.
As the official admits, the terms made in the Treaty, such as
reducing the army to only having 100 000 men and paying $6
600 million was absurd, since Germany was also bankrupt and
destroyed like the other countries. In addition, they took away
most of Germanys pride, since the army they owned was one
of the most powerful in the world. Therefore, some people
were lead to believe that the Treaty, instead of encouraging
peace in Germany, was actually encouraging resentment and
anger instead. This demonstrates that the Treaty of Versailles
was clearly unfair to Germans.
The other reason that gives evidence to why the Treaty was
not fair is the fact that the peacemakers created the terms for
their self-interest, so that they could take revenge upon
Germany. One of the most specific examples to support this,
is the Peace and Cannon Fodder cartoon, where the artist is
telling the viewer that the Treaty of Versailles was so harsh

and biased that it would only lead to future wars due to the
anger, hatred and outrage that the German population would
be living through. The cartoon shows Clemenceau so blinkered
that he is not able to see a weeping child from class 1940,
who weeps because children like him would fight in a future
war due to the Treaty. This is why the Treaty of Versailles was
biased and unfair, not only to Germany, but also to European
countries who would be in risks of encountering another
disastrous war.