This looks as if german history would begin in the 17th century and would consist only in the rise of Prussia. In fact, however, the Prussians come very late into German history. The history of the Germans certainly begins around the time of Charlemagne around 800, since the German language was also developing at that time. Perhaps even a first German state can be postulated under Otto the Great (912-973). What is certain, however, is that after the end of the Carolingian era there were a large number of German states east of the Rhine up to modern times. As mentioned, Prussia was only one of them and came late. If you're interested: I'm currently making a series of videos on German history. Episode 1 is already online, episode 2 is coming in the next few days. Just have a look at my channel.
So this is actually mostly the story of Prussia, rather than the story of Germany. They were virtually the same story very briefly (say 1866-1945), but the title given could have taken the story back to Charlemagne.
Although the script (runes) of the Germanic tribes was a complete phonetic alphabet, it had more a religious meaning. They mainly used it to mark things and objects for spiritual reasons instead of writing full books/stories as the Romans did. In addition they used wood, barely stones, where they engraved their runes. As wood doesn’t last over time, not much is left from their writings. That’s at least what we learned at school. One may correct me if I‘m wrong.
The Versailles treaty was not too harsh or not harsh enough. It was kind of both. It was the perfect recipe for disaster. The german population could not decently accept such harsh treatment, provided the country was not invaded at all, it seemed odd to treat the country like it had been totally defeated. If you compare with how little France lost in 1815 or 1871 for example. On the other end, France was also right to be outraged be the way Germany was spared, because we knew, in France, that Germany was not crippled enough for not being a danger any more. French generals & intellectuals wrote books on the inevitable war with Germany within 20 years as early as 1919. One of both solutions had to be chosen. Instead, the economical shift to the US led ideologues like Wilson have the upper hand to decide to build back a new order. Instead of understanding actual dynamics, they thought creating artificial countries & artificial regimes would translate in reality. That is, if we assume the US elites were genuine in their attempt to bring stability (which is a bold statement knowing US diplomatic track record I guess) ..
It would certainly have helped the new democratic government if the Allies had been more lenient After all, they were blamed for the defeat, the economic situation and the violence in the streets, and the people's patience was limited. Many wished for the old empire back. If the demands were less harsh, the young republic might have survived But I can understand why France was so harsh. We would propably be harsh to France as well if Germany had won WW1 Alternatively, they could have left the Emperor in power and negotiated with his generals Then the emperor would have to deal with the consequences of the war He might have less sympathy for coup attempts by right-wing parties and would also have fewer problems securing the loyalty of the military
Great video and intelligent reaction on your part. Yes, you're right, Versailles was a disaster. Not only imposed unbearable conditions on the new and not yet accepted German Republic, but drove the humiliation deeper with the so called Guilt Clause in the Treaty, which was based on a lie, given the demonstrable intrigues of the Russian Empire and its puppet Serbia against the Ottomans and Austria Hungary, but also the unbridled thirst for revenge by France over Alsace and Lorraine (which by the way were ethnically German lands snatched by France from the Holy Roman empire). Yes, but for Versailles, history could have been vastly different. Hitler's criminal regime was a direct result of that humiliation,.
14:00 Definetly not harsh enough. Look at treaty of Brest-Litovsk, or how germany treated romania after defeating them, no germany was treated way too leniently. And the "empathy" part is ridiculous. Lands germans lost were for the most part inhabited by non-germans. Would you argue for showing empathy to slave-owners during american civil war? Compared to the terms Germany imposed on other countries, Allies were very lenient towards germany, which was a mistake.
These are some of the worst, most confusing and muddy-coloured maps I have ever seen in a video. They make it impossible to follow what the narrator is going on about.
World War II would have happened regardless of what was in the Treaty of Versailles. Because the treaty itself was not the problem, the problem was the 'stab in the back' myth. Germans believed that they were on the cusp of winning the war, and that they were betrayed at the last second by Socialist and Jews. This popular conspiracy theory made any peace treaty unacceptable to the German public, despite it having no basis in reality (Germany was on the verge of starving in late 1918). In addition, the Treaty of Versailles wasn't all that harsh, especially compared to the other treaties from WWI. Germany was more or less teritorially intact from the treaty, and only lost some border areas like the Polish Corridor. Compare that to Austria/Hungary that lost 90% of their territory (including their entire coastline), the Ottomans who lost something like 80% of their territory, and even Germany's own Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which they imposed on the Russians, that stripped Russia of all it valuable industrial lands to create German puppet states. The Treaty of Versailles did not place sole blame on Germany. This is a Nazi-era myth that's still being spread today and it's not true. If you read the treaty, it explicitly says "Germany and her allies" bear the guilt of the war, which is a clause also present in Austria's treaty (Austria and her allies). Germany was given heavy reparations initially, but these were later diminished, and the Americans even gave Germany loans to help them pay more easily, this only fell apart because of the Great Depression.
This looks as if german history would begin in the 17th century and would consist only in the rise of Prussia.
In fact, however, the Prussians come very late into German history. The history of the Germans certainly begins around the time of Charlemagne around 800, since the German language was also developing at that time. Perhaps even a first German state can be postulated under Otto the Great (912-973). What is certain, however, is that after the end of the Carolingian era there were a large number of German states east of the Rhine up to modern times. As mentioned, Prussia was only one of them and came late.
If you're interested: I'm currently making a series of videos on German history. Episode 1 is already online, episode 2 is coming in the next few days. Just have a look at my channel.
So this is actually mostly the story of Prussia, rather than the story of Germany. They were virtually the same story very briefly (say 1866-1945), but the title given could have taken the story back to Charlemagne.
Although the script (runes) of the Germanic tribes was a complete phonetic alphabet, it had more a religious meaning. They mainly used it to mark things and objects for spiritual reasons instead of writing full books/stories as the Romans did. In addition they used wood, barely stones, where they engraved their runes. As wood doesn’t last over time, not much is left from their writings. That’s at least what we learned at school. One may correct me if I‘m wrong.
The Versailles treaty was not too harsh or not harsh enough. It was kind of both. It was the perfect recipe for disaster.
The german population could not decently accept such harsh treatment, provided the country was not invaded at all, it seemed odd to treat the country like it had been totally defeated.
If you compare with how little France lost in 1815 or 1871 for example.
On the other end, France was also right to be outraged be the way Germany was spared, because we knew, in France, that Germany was not crippled enough for not being a danger any more.
French generals & intellectuals wrote books on the inevitable war with Germany within 20 years as early as 1919.
One of both solutions had to be chosen. Instead, the economical shift to the US led ideologues like Wilson have the upper hand to decide to build back a new order. Instead of understanding actual dynamics, they thought creating artificial countries & artificial regimes would translate in reality. That is, if we assume the US elites were genuine in their attempt to bring stability (which is a bold statement knowing US diplomatic track record I guess) ..
It would certainly have helped the new democratic government if the Allies had been more lenient
After all, they were blamed for the defeat, the economic situation and the violence in the streets, and the people's patience was limited.
Many wished for the old empire back.
If the demands were less harsh, the young republic might have survived
But I can understand why France was so harsh. We would propably be harsh to France as well if Germany had won WW1
Alternatively, they could have left the Emperor in power and negotiated with his generals
Then the emperor would have to deal with the consequences of the war
He might have less sympathy for coup attempts by right-wing parties and would also have fewer problems securing the loyalty of the military
Great video and intelligent reaction on your part. Yes, you're right, Versailles was a disaster. Not only imposed unbearable conditions on the new and not yet accepted German Republic, but drove the humiliation deeper with the so called Guilt Clause in the Treaty, which was based on a lie, given the demonstrable intrigues of the Russian Empire and its puppet Serbia against the Ottomans and Austria Hungary, but also the unbridled thirst for revenge by France over Alsace and Lorraine (which by the way were ethnically German lands snatched by France from the Holy Roman empire). Yes, but for Versailles, history could have been vastly different. Hitler's criminal regime was a direct result of that humiliation,.
0:45 Czechoslovakia in 2023 spotted lol
14:00 Definetly not harsh enough. Look at treaty of Brest-Litovsk, or how germany treated romania after defeating them, no germany was treated way too leniently. And the "empathy" part is ridiculous. Lands germans lost were for the most part inhabited by non-germans. Would you argue for showing empathy to slave-owners during american civil war?
Compared to the terms Germany imposed on other countries, Allies were very lenient towards germany, which was a mistake.
Imagine having to learn all German kingdoms and dukedoms of the 16ths century..
The Allies of WW1 were not Draconian in at Versailles, it was mainly the French.
I am from the original Hohenzollern region in the south lol
I like you McJibbin
These are some of the worst, most confusing and muddy-coloured maps I have ever seen in a video. They make it impossible to follow what the narrator is going on about.
World War II would have happened regardless of what was in the Treaty of Versailles. Because the treaty itself was not the problem, the problem was the 'stab in the back' myth. Germans believed that they were on the cusp of winning the war, and that they were betrayed at the last second by Socialist and Jews. This popular conspiracy theory made any peace treaty unacceptable to the German public, despite it having no basis in reality (Germany was on the verge of starving in late 1918).
In addition, the Treaty of Versailles wasn't all that harsh, especially compared to the other treaties from WWI. Germany was more or less teritorially intact from the treaty, and only lost some border areas like the Polish Corridor. Compare that to Austria/Hungary that lost 90% of their territory (including their entire coastline), the Ottomans who lost something like 80% of their territory, and even Germany's own Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which they imposed on the Russians, that stripped Russia of all it valuable industrial lands to create German puppet states.
The Treaty of Versailles did not place sole blame on Germany. This is a Nazi-era myth that's still being spread today and it's not true. If you read the treaty, it explicitly says "Germany and her allies" bear the guilt of the war, which is a clause also present in Austria's treaty (Austria and her allies).
Germany was given heavy reparations initially, but these were later diminished, and the Americans even gave Germany loans to help them pay more easily, this only fell apart because of the Great Depression.
The Mustache man did nothing wrong