The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, imposed upon Germany after her defeat in the First World War, in which Prussia felt the greatest losses, had a traumatic effect on the German psyche, and which fuelled the revolutionary unrest that led to National Socialism and another world war. The painting below, which depicts Germania (the equivalent of the British Britannia) stripped naked, lashed to a post, and exposed to the devouring hounds of her neighbours, reflects well the humiliation felt by the nation.

The second picture, a poster, shows the practical results of terms of the Treaty of Versailled. These included a loss of 20% in industrial production, 10% loss of population, a 33% loss of Germany's coal deposits (mostly in Upper Silesia), 25% of her potato production, 80% of her iron ore deposts (mostly in Upper Silesia), and the loss of her colonial trade (these colonies being partitioned between the victorious Allies) and merchant fleet.