Confronting a myth: Facts and perceptions on Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles
Laniol, Vincent
Confronting a myth: Facts and perceptions on Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles - 2014.
12
Article 231, which was the focus of resistances to the Treaty of Versailles, did not originally aim at obtaining a moral admission of guilt from Germany. It originated in the American will to oppose a Franco-British claim to full reparation payments. By doing so, the peacemakers tried to create legal foundations for the reparation payments and exposed a German theoretical civil liability for damages done. It was certainly ambiguous as regards its moral dimension. In reality, it was the German delegation and especially its chief, Brockdorff-Rantzau, who expected such a verdict from the peace terms, who gave a moral significance to the article. “War cultures” and representations inherited from the conflict prevented the Germans as well as the Allies from going back to the original meaning of Article 231.
Confronting a myth: Facts and perceptions on Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles - 2014.
12
Article 231, which was the focus of resistances to the Treaty of Versailles, did not originally aim at obtaining a moral admission of guilt from Germany. It originated in the American will to oppose a Franco-British claim to full reparation payments. By doing so, the peacemakers tried to create legal foundations for the reparation payments and exposed a German theoretical civil liability for damages done. It was certainly ambiguous as regards its moral dimension. In reality, it was the German delegation and especially its chief, Brockdorff-Rantzau, who expected such a verdict from the peace terms, who gave a moral significance to the article. “War cultures” and representations inherited from the conflict prevented the Germans as well as the Allies from going back to the original meaning of Article 231.
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