The Treaty of Versailles was supposed to end in peace but instead it ended in disaster . The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28,1919 (exactly 5 years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated), the treaty was created in hope that it would stabilize Europe and ensure that another catastrophic war like World War 1 would never happen again. Although the Versailles Treaty didn’t cause World War 2 it did have a great affect on it, by taking away land, limiting Germany’s military, and making Germany pay for all the damages done after World War 1. One way that the Treaty of Versailles had a part of causing World War 2, was by taking land away from Germany. This Treaty took away Lorraine and Alsace, by losing these two places Germany lost a critical resource. When these two places were taken it reduced Germany’s coal production by 40% which is really bad because everything was powered by coal at that time. Germany also lost the Polish Corridor and Danzig, this made it especially difficult to get to East Prussia Because it was surrounded by land that Germany didn’t have.(This evidence is shown on the German Territorial Losses Map). The information above supports the idea that the loss of land did affect Germany because by taking land away it takes power away too. As Hitler said in the Mein …show more content…
Kampf “The restoration of the frontiers of 1914 could be achieved only by blood, no nation can remove this hand from its throat except by the sword” What Hitler was meaning was that he wants revenge for the land that was taken and the only way for that to happen was by war. Another way that the Treaty of Versailles had a part of causing World War 2, was by limiting Germany’s military.
The Treaty of Versailles allowed Germany to have only 100,000 military troops which made them more fragile and easier to attack. Germany also had rules for their military as explained in article 160 “The German Army must not comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry”. This evidence shows that the limited military did affect Germany. By having this limited military it made Germany look small and powerless it also looks like they have no control on anything to do with their
military. Another reason why the Treaty of Versailles had a part of causing World War 2, was by all the reparations Germany had to pay. Germany was at fault for causing World War 1 and that was why they had to pay reparations, even though they were forced into paying everything based on guilt instead of facts. On article 232 it explains what the Allies require “ Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all the damages done to the civilian population of the allied and associated powers and to their property during the period of the belligerency”. Germany had to pay 132 billion gold marks ($33 billion in US dollars in 2010) until Hitler came to power and stopped all reparations payments in 1933. The information above shows that Germany wasn’t really accepting of this they were forced into this agreement by the Allies, this also angered the Germans because they didn’t believe that they were the only ones that were at fault for World War 1. Although guilt played a major part of this, Humiliation as a country was also a major factor. Germany was guilted into thinking they caused World War 1 even though they weren’t the only country to have started it. Germany was humiliated as a country because they looked weak and fragile also because they were known as the country that started the Great war. In Victory Must Be Ours by Laurence V. Moyer “The Versailles Treaty as an international contract … but most Germans saw it as an atrocious injustice, an evil thing which must be destroyed. What they knew of the treaty was etched indelibly in their minds and could be abbreviated in a single word: Humiliation”. The information above shows that the humiliation had a great toll over Germany which made the Germans admire Adolf Hitler for forcing the world to look at Germany anew. In conclusion, The Treaty of Versailles was supposed to cause peace but it ended up being a disaster. The Treaty of Versailles didn’t cause World War 2 but it was a major part of it, by taking away land, limiting Germany’s military, and making Germany pay for all the damages done which upset Germany and made them feel humiliated did have a major part on what caused World War 2.
There is no excuse for the horrible things Nazi Germany did during World War II. But one can get a better idea how that war started by learning about how World War I ended. The Treaty of Versailles was created by the winners of World War I, like France, Great Britain, and the United States, to make peace. So how did it help contribute to an even worse war less than twenty years later? It was mainly because it was too hard on Germany’s territory, military, economy, and national pride.
The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after World War I, was supposed to ensure peace by imposing harsh conditions on Germany in the form of reparations. Canadian, American, and other delegates warned that the reparations were too severe. In the end, the Treaty ended up crippling Germany and Austria with war debts that guaranteed another war: World War II. Although the Treaty of Versailles, in itself, did not impact Canadian economy that much, World War II
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
In conclusion, although the treaty of versailles was made in world war 1 but, it was a huge cause of world war 2. This is why world war 2 was caused by the treaty, because the Germans were punished in 4 key ways. One is territorial losses, two is proving that Germany is weak, third making them pay, and the last one is wanting to destroy the treaty. This is why it was such a big cause of world war
Germany and her allies were blamed for the war. The Treaty of Versailles said that they had to pay for the cost of the war. The Treaty of Versailles is what caused World War II. If it had been less harsh on Germany, the Weimar Republic would have been stronger and would not have faced as much economic and social turmoil. Had the treaty been harsher, Germany would not have had the power to make war.
The harshness of the Treaty and the way in which it blamed Germany for World War I crippled Germany. Much of its territory was taken away from it, including West Prussia that went to form a new Polish Corridor to the sea. Plus the Treaty forced Germany to reduce its army, demilitarise the Rhineland and get rid of its navy. The Treaty also forced harsh reparations for the War resulting in a great deal of the German people resenting the Allies. And it was later that Hitler used the bitter memories of Versailles to gain public support for his actions.
The Treaty of Versailles is a cause of World War II because of the restrictions it placed on Germany as the alleged sole aggressor of the war. The war reparation totaled $98 billion, and under Clause 231 Germany was forced to take the entire load onto her ruined economy and attempt to repay the debt starting with an initial $5 billion payment. In terms of military, Germany was limited to a 100,000 man army, with her navy stripped to the level of a coast guard, she was allowed no heavy artillery, no weapons of mass destruction and the border with France became a demilitarized zone for 15 years following the signing of the treaty on June 28 1919. Germany also lost all her territories in Africa and became a mandate of the Allied Forces, those living in mandated zones could participate in “self-determination” after the Allies taught them how to be a democracy (...
World War Two was the most devastating conflict in the history of humanity. It crippled many nations and caused millions of people to die. One of the major causes of this disastrous war was the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. This treaty was destructive towards the Germans. Germany had to pay large amounts of reparations to the Allied nations at the end of World War One resulting in a Great Depression in Germany. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles’ war guilt clause forced Germans to admit full responsibility for starting the war. Furthermore, to gain the support of the German populace, Adolf Hitler adopted an effective propaganda campaign. Adolf Hitler employed a successful propaganda campaign to gain the support of the German people combined with the Treaty of Versailles harsh economic and political sanctions ignited World War Two.
The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power. World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms for the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
“Given these results, the Versailles treaty must be judged one of history’s greatest catastrophes”. The treaty of Versailles was one of the worst treaties or even agreement that the United States and their allies ever agreed to. The treaty of Versailles was the end result of WW1 between the Allies (England, France, Russia, United States) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire). WW1 was the first time in history that multiple nations all over the world fought against each other through alliances and because that caused major blood shed on a scale that was never seen before and is therefore called “The War to End All Wars”. The Allies eventually won the war on 11 November 1918 that was than preceded by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June
The Treaty of Versailles did not just end World War I, but it also changed the world. From it changing every countries view on Germany, to changing Germany itself. It contained many conditions, which led to the countless numbers of results. This treaty created a completely different outlook on the world.
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the factors that led to the inevitability of World War Two. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that occurred as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that was held after Germany was defeated in World War One. The Treaty was put into action and required that Germany should accept responsibility for the war; of course Germany was humiliated by this. They were required to pay colossal war reparation payments. This was one of the main reasons the treaty had a severe impact on Germany; it crippled the German economy and critically reduced the living standards of the people. This made it virtually impossible for the German economy to function productively. The effects that the treaty had on Germany directly led to the rise of Hitler who he capitalised on German resentment at their treatment. He provided a focus for the German people and their desire to take back what they once had, and to restore their pride once again becoming a glorious nation.
The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty created at the end of World War I, in hopes of establishing peace among nations. Although it sought after harmony, the United States’ Senate refused to ratify the treaty due to the distasteful idea of the United States’ involvement in the League of Nations, and Woodrow Wilson’s unwillingness to compromise with Henry Cabot Lodge’s revisions of The Treaty of Versailles.
This led to another cause of the war because people would not have been happy if Hitler stole parts of other countries where German people lived. He demanded living space, 'Lebensraum', for his people in the East. People did not like the idea of this as to use more space you need more land, which means he would need to take land from other countries, making Germany a lot stronger. In 1933 Hitler began to build up Germany's army which violated one of the rules set by the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler (like most Germans) hated the Versailles Treaty and he didn’t want to follow the rules made by it. In fact, step by step he broke the laws. The first step he took was to increase the German army. Germany was only allowed to have an army of 100,000 men, no airforce, no tanks and no submarines. But in an interview with the Daily Mail on March 9, 1935, Goering revealed that there was a German airforce. One weak later Germany also announced that it had an army of 500,000 men. France and England didn’t even object to this. In 1936 Germany signed a treaty with England saying that Germany was allowed a navy one third the size of the British navy. Germany was rearming fast. It wasn’t hard thanks to the good economic growth. But the rearmament was so expensive that in 1936 it was clear that Germany was soon to go into an economic crisis if nothing was done.