Diktat

Diktat means a dictated peace. Germany did not take part in drawing up the settlement and had no meaningful opportunity to negotiate its terms. Its representatives were presented with a peace they were required to accept.

Germany had been excluded from the peace negotiations, so many Germans called it a diktat: a peace imposed on them. The republican government had little choice but to accept, yet its opponents blamed it for signing away Germany’s strength and status.

Many Germans described Versailles as a diktat, or dictated peace. They believed that the terms had been imposed on them rather than agreed fairly. Resentment concerned more than the cost of reparations: blame, lost territory and reduced military power all contributed to a sense of national humiliation.