Have you ever wondered what caused World War II? Have you ever heard of the Versailles Treaty? Did you know that the Versailles Treaty was a factor in causing World War II? The Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, seven and a half months after the fighting in World War I. Which at that time, was known as the great war. The Versailles Treaty was signed by the Allied nations who won the war, Great Britain, France, and the United States, and it was signed by the losing nation, Germany. In the treaty there were many things Germany had to abide by, which didn't seem harsh for the Allies, but in reality it was harsh on Germany. Back to the essential question, how did the Versailles Treaty help cause World War II. The Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War II by treating Germany harshly. This harsh treatment can be seen especially in three areas: the treaty stripped Germany of land, the treaty ordered for Germany to pay tons of money to the Allies, and Germany was stripped of pride and military power. …show more content…
According to document A, the map shows the territory that Germany lost from their mainland, which was a decent amount. Also in document A, a passage from (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1924) is used giving an insight into his thoughts and German people about this. He states, "the restoration of the frontiers of 1914 could be achieved only by blood. Only childish and naive minds can lull themselves in the idea that they can bring about a correction of Versailles by wheedling and begging." This evidence supports the idea that stripping Germany of some land helped cause World War II because, the Allies didn't just take land from Germany that they conquered but also some of Germany homeland as seen in the map. Also Hitler's, Mein Kampf gives a great insight into what the people felt in Germany towards losing land. In it he says that the land can only be restored by another
The Treaty of Versailles provoked WWII by demanding the obliteration of Germany’s army, huge sums of reparations, and total mortification of Germany. All of these factors drove Germany to get their own revenge, and show the world they were not
From the Treaty of Versailles, to the rise of Hitler, and the failure of the League of Nations, there were many causes that lead up to World War II. World War I left Germany with many shortfalls, thus leaving them in the hands of the Treaty of Versailles. Rather unfair of a Treaty, this left Germany once again looking for another way out. A country resented by many had no other choice but to feel optimistic toward Adolph Hitlers empty promises… making it substantially simple for him to gain power so quick. Throw in the Great Depression, and you have a vastly unstable world, which the Germans believed Hitler would lead them out of.
The territories that were lost were Polish Corridor, Lorraine Alsace, land below Denmark and land above East Prussia. The Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War II because Germany had lost a mass of territory. This was important because without the territory it would leave them unprotected. In Document A, it states Germany was going to have a fight with Adolf Hitler. Hitler suggested Germany should respond to the Versailles Treaty with violence.
Due to Germany taking back the colonies lost after World War I and forming an alliance with Austria, Germany’s actions against the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the cause of World War II. After Germany got slapped with a $33 Billion dollar war reparation bill and Kaiser Wilhelm was removed from power, Germany was a mess, which allowed the rise of Hitler. Hitler, being a former Iron Cross winning
The Treaty of Versailles is one of the leading causes of World War II. The plan to bring peace to Europe was a harder than it entailed to be for Woodrow Wilson. Germany was not happy with the terms of the treaty, but were forced into signing the document anyways. The German people disliked the Treaty of Versailles, believing that it was harsh. Germany was very upset over the amount of their territorial land losted because of the treaty.The cities that were lost included the French - German border, which was because of Wilson’s fourteen points. Germany also was not able to pay for the Reparations damages caused by the war. As a result germany was limited to a small army, in the mission was to de - militarize the Rhineland Area. Another
Probably the most important cause of World War II was the mighty Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany pay heavy fines, limit their troops and also not allow any air force or U-Boats. The treaty brought temporary peace to the world, but when Hitler took total control of Germany in the 1930’s, Germany rose and started lots of horrible things to numerous countries around the world. Hitler would later go on to cause great destruction and death to countries mainly in Europe. Hitler was one of the worst rulers the world had ever seen!
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. However, the Treaty of Versailles made World War II inevitable because it took away most of Germanys power, territory and population. President Woodrow Wilson basically forced the Germans to sign the treaty even though they objected to it. The war guilt clause held Germans responsible for the outbreak and destruction of the war. This clause stated that Germany had to accept full responsibility and pay for reparations towards the French and British. This treaty was supposed to help end all wars but instead it was a “peace to end peace” (Shi 841). The Treaty of Versailles angered many Germans especially one person in particular Adolf Hitler a German soldier
With the loss of land, millions of Germans were now left outside of Germany. In Alsace-Lorraine, which was given to France, and Saar Basin, the majority of the population had German heritage and spoke German. In total, German conceded over seven million people in the Treaty of Versailles. This, along with strict military restriction, motivated the German desire to reunite its land and people, allowing for rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism. As Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, “the reunion of these two German states is our life task, to be carried out by every means at our disposal.” Even with the concession of territories and economic problems, the war guilt clause resulted in lasting resentment from the German people. As Kershaw argued, Versailles was “the unifying bracket that clamped German politics together.” Article 231 resulted in growing German resentment and nationalism, which benefited the Nazis. Hobsbawm states, the war “proved to be a gift to German nationalism.” This, coupled with an inefficient Weimer government, allowed Hitler to capture public support and rise to power. Like many Germans, Hitler was an ardent nationalist. The national anthem under Nazi Germany, “Deutschland, Deutschland uber Alles” (Germany, Germany above all else) reflected the views of the German people who strongly felt that the Treaty of Versailles was the source of all of German’s
The main cause of World War II was the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles was signed to make peace after World War 1, and the War Guilt Cause stated that Germany was the cause of the war so they needed to pay off all of their debts. Germany lost plenty of land because of the treaty. This made life hard for Germans because they needed to find a new place to live and they lost a lot of money. Germany had lost this land because of the treaty; this made Hitler suggest that they should fight to get back what they lost(Doc A).
The Treaty of Versailles influenced the outbreak of WWII by angering the Germans, weakening their country, and making Germany vulnerable to Hitler’s influence. The Treaty of Versailles was made to keep Germany from stirring up commotion again by starting another war. It was signed at the end of WWI, which the Germans had lost, and therefore they were forced to sign the treaty, which took away their colonies, sectioned their land, made them pay for other countries military costs, and forced them to take the blame for the war. Germany’s bitterness left them isolated from the rest of Europe. Their economy and government were in trouble due to the treaty and this made the country unstable. As well as strained relationships with other countries and within Germany, the Germans’ anger left them open to be influenced. This was how Hitler was able take control so quickly. Overall, the treaty left Germany angry, weakened, and vulnerable, which ultimately led to the Second World War.
The Treaty of Versailles took away Germany’s land. As you can see from the map named German Territorial Losses. Germany lost the Polish Corridor, Danzig, Lorraine, and Alsace. Germany’s response was expressed in a book called Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler. The book states, “The restoration of the frontiers of 1914 could be achieved only by blood.” Blood was necessary to reclaim Germany’s land back.
The failures of the Treaty of Versailles did pave the way for World War 2 in a few ways. The treaty took away many of Germany’s land and it was forbidden to unite Austria. It reduced their military strength to only 100,000 men and it made them economically poor. Because of all
The Treaty of Versailles was written after WWI by the Allies (Great Britain, United States, France and Italy) and basically placed all the blame on Germany thus eventually causing WWII to break out. The “peace” treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France. It was supposed to ensure peace between the countries after months of violence and destruction, but in the long run it only created more chaos.
The treaty of Versailles required germany to accept full responsibility for World War One. The treaty also forced germany to disarm its military, and narrow it down to nothing but what could be used for defense. Many of the Germans saw the treaty as unfair and shameful.
Through the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression of 1929, and political appointment by incompetent yet manipulative government officials, Adolf Hitler was able to silently rise to power in Germany, consequently causing the Second World War.