# Why were the Countries of Europe so Helpless and Did Nothing to Resist Nazi Germany? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-countries-of-europe-so-helpless-and-did-nothing-to-resist-nazi-germany/842958 "2019-11-03T17:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 31
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-countries-of-europe-so-helpless-and-did-nothing-to-resist-nazi-germany/842958/31 "2019-11-05T05:41:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The formula for reparations used at Versailles was the same formula the Germans had used at Frankfurt. If the total amount was higher, it was because the total amount of damage was higher. > > As for the people and territory lost, there’s the issue of who they legitimately belonged to. The lands and people Germany lost in 1918 had been captured in earlier wars. These lands had been treated by Germany as occupied territory not part of Germany. And the populations were not Germans and did not have German citizenship. > > The argument that Germany couldn’t defend itself is questionable. Who was supposedly threatening to attack Germany? The whole point of this thread is about how nobody wanted to fight another war with Germany. The 100,000 man army Germany was allowed under Versailles was adequate to defend Germany from the non-existent threat. Cite? Yes, and who did they legitimately belong to? Alsace had a lot of Germans and had been part of Germany. But not, the lands germany lost were not those they had taken during the war, they were lands that were german pre-war. > **[German territorial losses, Treaty of Versailles, 1919](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/map/german-territorial-losses-treaty-of-versailles-1919)** > > View map showing German territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. Learn how the treaty affected lands controlled by Germany. _In the west, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France. It had been seized by Germany more than 40 years earlier. Further, Belgium received Eupen and Malmedy; the industrial Saar region was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years; and Denmark received Northern Schleswig. Finally, the Rhineland was demilitarized; that is, no German military forces or fortifications were permitted there. In the east, Poland received parts of West Prussia and Silesia from Germany. In addition, Czechoslovakia received the Hultschin district from Germany; the largely German city of Danzig became a free city under the protection of the League of Nations; and Memel, a small strip of territory in East Prussia along the Baltic Sea, was ultimately placed under Lithuanian control. Outside Europe, Germany lost all its colonies. In sum, Germany forfeited 13 percent of its European territory (more than 27,000 square miles) and one-tenth of its population (between 6.5 and 7 million people)._ Only Alsace-Lorraine was captured territory. For example Eupen, given to Belgium, had been part of what was to become germany since 1815, it had NEVER been part of Belgium (it had been part of the Holy Roman Empire). Silesia had also been part of the old Holy Roman Empire, it had been part of what was to become germany since the early 1700’s. etc, etc. So the Allies were just cutting off pieces of germany and handing them out. Actually Poland had threatened war vs germany. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-countries-of-europe-so-helpless-and-did-nothing-to-resist-nazi-germany/842958)._