Talk:Treaty of Versailles (1871)

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This page should refer to the treaty of Frankfurt 1871. It's the same thing under a different name and the other article actually has information in it. Anyway, this is not really a part of French history, but German history that happened in France. Whatever. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.1.153.163 (talk) 19:14, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

au contraire, it should remain the first Treaty of Versailles as it, its contents, and its location, remained stuck in the craw of France and generated much resentment. Remember that Versailles is the heart of French glory and power (despite republican sentiment) as is borne out by the many millions of dollars etc spent since 1923, when JD Rockefeller gave the equivalent of $125 million in today's currency on restoring the palace.

I had to edit this page for an assignment in my history class. In addition to cleaning up some of the wording, grammar, and spelling, adding links, and adjusting the format here and there, I inserted a few pieces of content which I felt helped the subject of this article to better fit into its historical context. I mentioned that one of Bismarck's primary reasons for not requiring massive territorial cessions from France was a desire to not appear power-hungry to the rest of Europe. Above all, Bismarck did not want the newly unified empire to be seen as a military threat, hence his insistence that Germany was satiated after its unification. To this end I also mentioned that the acquisition of Alsace and Lorraine was one of Bismarck's main goals in the Franco-Prussian war. I felt that this piece of information, like the last, helps to paint a better picture of the new German mentality of the late 19th century, and fosters a better appreciation of the rationale behind Germany's military activities of that time.

But it wasn't Bismarck's main goal. Otto von Bismarck reads:

At the end, France had to surrender Alsace and part of Lorraine, because Moltke and his generals insisted that it was needed as a defensive barrier. Bismarck opposed the annexation because he did not wish to make a permanent enemy of France. France was also required to pay an indemnity; the indemnity figure was calculated, on the basis of population, as the precise equivalent of the indemnity which Napoleon I imposed on Prussia in 1807.

It was Moltke's and his generals' goal to annex Alsace-Lorraine, not Bismarck's. He knew that France would want it back. He knew it would not become Nice.

So I decided to remove your additions. --Svip^pong 20:07, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

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I found the wording of the article to contain some awkward sentence structures and awkward wording. I reworded most of the article to make it more direct. I added headings to increase clarity. The article contains no internal citations, although it includes references, so I think it would be appropriate to reference some material such as “Both sides were eager to sign a treaty by the beginning of February 1871.” I was surprised that the article originally included no reference or inclusion of the word “Franco-Prussian War.” I included this in the introduction and elaborated on the significance of the treaty. I also referenced the Treaty of Frankfurt which seemed to have greater significance than this treaty. To further improve the rating of this stub to an article I would suggest that more information relating to the background of the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the provisions of the treaty, and the effects of the treaty, all be included —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kwkeal (talk • contribs) 15:23, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

Last edited at 15:24, 2 April 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 09:13, 30 April 2016 (UTC)