What If The Treaty of Versailles Was Never Signed

Introduction

• Josh discusses being busy with other projects.
• Decides to hold a contest for new content.
• Explanation of the contest process: AI text generator comes up with prompts, Discord server votes, and Josh picks the most interesting scenario.
• Today’s scenario: What if the Treaty of Versailles was never signed?

Background on WWI

• Year: 1918
• Western Front for Germany collapsed.
• War ongoing for over four years.
• American entry into the war in 1917 made German defeat inevitable.
• German military leadership unwilling to give up.
• Sailors began mutinies across Germany, leading to the German Revolution.
• Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates on November 9, 1918, a new Republic is proclaimed.
• November 11, 1918: Armistice signed with the Allies.

Post-War Unrest in Germany

• Communists dissatisfied with the new Republic.
• January 1919: Spartacus Uprising occurs, crushed by the government using the Freikorps.
• Allies begin negotiating a peace treaty, excluding German diplomats.
• June: Treaty of Versailles finalized.
• Harsh terms for Germany: reparations, demilitarization, territorial losses.
• German government protests the terms.

Treaty of Versailles Impact

• Wrecked the German economy.
• Destroyed national pride.
• Set the stage for Adolf Hitler’s rise and WWII.

Alternate Timeline: Treaty Not Signed

• German government refuses to sign the Treaty.
• Allies continue the war, push into Germany.
• Increased rebellions and revolts in Germany, especially by Communists.
• Allies capture much of Western Germany.
• German Communists overthrow Weimar government, establish Socialist Republic.

Treaty of Potsdam

• Allies draft a harsher treaty post-capture: Treaty of Potsdam.
• France annexes Alsace-Lorraine and Saarland, sets up Rhineland puppet state.
• Larger reparations than Treaty of Versailles.
• Poland and White Russia territorial changes.
• Creation of an even weaker German Republic.

Unstable Post-War Europe

• 1920s: Continued rebellion in Germany, Socialist Republic re-established.
• Russian Civil War sees increased Western intervention to counter Communism.
• White Russia’s invasion of Germany fails, leading to German defense and Polish rebellion.
• Communist Germany allies with Bolsheviks, reorganizes several former Austro-Hungarian states.

Union of European Socialist Republics (UESR)

• 1924: Formation of UESR including Germany, Soviet Union, and liberated states.
• Defensive alliance against Western powers.
• U.S. returns to isolationism.
• Russian Bolshevik government collapses, leading to foreign influence similar to China.
• Britain and Japan establish zones of influence in Russia.

On the Brink of Another War

• 1930s: Communist Germany spreads ideology, seeks to reclaim Western-taken lands.
• Russia in anarchy, increasing global tension.

Closing

• Thanks to Cooper for the scenario.
• Encouragement to subscribe and join the Discord server for future contests.
• Outro.