Adolf Hitler marched into the Rhineland with the German military on March 7, 1936. He had been threatening to remilitarize the Rhineland for some time, and suddenly, just two hours after he had proposed a twenty-five year non-aggression pact with Britain, France, and Belgium, he surprised everyone and simply marched in. Rhineland had been demilitarized by the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1918 and confirmed at the Locarno Agreement of 1925. To the French it served as a military buffer zone between France and Germany. The Rhineland had no real territorial value; its significance was purely symbolic. Great Britain had been the post World War I mediator between Germany and France up to this point, but once Germany entered the Rhineland, the French called for immediate support from the British. Although the British condemned Hitler’s action, they wanted to avoid war at all costs.
The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1918 was the end result of the brutal First World War. Europe was devastated, and the Allied forces were faced with the task of coming to terms with their former German enemy. It is well known that the French were determined to punish Germany; they sought revenge and made little attempt to hide their objective. At the Versailles Peace Conference the struggle between the French and Germans began a new path. The French demanded large reparations payments and several other drastic measures that would keep Germany from ever being capable of attacking them again. The agreement that was reached enacted several harsh measures against Germany. Aside from the huge reparations that they would be forced to pay, the Allied nations forced the Germans to completely demilitarize their military. Germany was also str...
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...w by pursuing what they believed to be the “best-case scenario.” Hitler probably could have been stopped if the British had stood up to him in the Rhineland Crisis. Because it was so early in his pursuit for continental domination, he did not yet have the mainstream support that he would by the actual beginning of the war. If he had failed Germany early, perhaps he might have been overthrown. However, all of the agreements and dilemmas described were much too overwhelming for the British government to handle alone, and the optimistic results that the British hoped for would never transpire. After Hitler was able to manipulate the British into signing the Anglo-German Naval Pact, he knew that each nation and League could be dealt with separately in order to achieve his goals. It was during the Rhineland Crisis that the precedence for World War II was set.
Insight into Hilter's Mind and What Made Him Do What He Did What can be said about Adolph Hitler that already has not been said? Scores of books have been written about him, many people have tried to analyze him, I even heard that he has been portrayed in movies the most out of all other historical figures. Of course there are those goof balls that say he escaped to Argentina after the war (I would not be surprised if those same people think Elvis is still alive).
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 (...
The mistakes made from World War I were well-defined in the Treaty of Versailles when this “peace pact” required Germany to pay billions in war reparations that ultimately drove Germany into economic shambles, creating the perfect conditions for Hitler to rise and take over with his totalitarian regime. The treaty of Versailles reduced the Germany army to 100,000 men and allotted Saarland, an industrial region of Germany rich in coal and iron, to France. The treaty left Germany handicapped not only physically, but also emotionally after World War I. Furthermore, the T...
Other countries mainly Britain responded to Hitler’s actions with appeasement and by not stopping him early on with collective security it directly caused World War Two. Collective Security is when multiple countries work together to strengthen a country in need. Based off of document 6 Winston Churchill suggested that Britain, France, and other nations should come together and protect Czechoslovakia from Hitler to stop the growth of Nazi power. Collective Security could have prevented Czechoslovakia from coming into German control. While in accordance with document 9 nobody could openly oppose Hitler’s massive forces he had accumulated.
The Treaty of Versailles is one of the most controversial postwar resolutions ever drawn up. The leaders of the prevailing 4 nations, Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, David Lloyd George, and Vittorio Orlando, were the authors of this controversial document. Each leader went into Versailles with their own idea of how the world should look after the great war. However, the European leaders widely agreed that Germany should be restricted, to some extent, militarily and sanctioned economically. France demanded the most from Germany, to ensure that Germany could not recreate a war machine ever again. Specifically, France wanted to annex Alsace-Lorraine and the Rhineland to create a buffer zone between Germany and mainland France. France demanded
Winston Churchill once said to Neville Chamberlain, “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war.” After World War 1, a man by the name of Adolf Hitler slowly rose to power in Germany. He implemented tactics to win over his people, then worked to remove all opposition of his leadership and further went on to proclaim a union with Austria in 1938. After gaining control of Germany and Austria, Hitler wanted more. In September of 1938, he met with the prime minister of England, Neville Chamberlain for a negotiation about territory in Czechoslovakia. Germany claimed that the advance for the area of Czechoslovakia would be the last territorial invasion his troops would take. Chamberlain then signed the Munich Agreement along with Italy, Germany and France confirming that Sudetenland (region in Czechoslovakia) would be Hitler’s last demand. Chamberlain was strongly opposed to entering a war, and believed the deal would put an end to Hitler’s desires for expansion.
The Reoccupation of the Rhineland occurred on the 7 March 1936 when German military forces entered the Rhineland which violated the treaty of Versailles. Hitler believed that the treaty of Versailles was unfair and he was only striving to equality and that as a result of Versailles apart of Germany was demilitarized. The Rhineland was highly significant as it was land inside Germany on the border of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Treaty of Versailles violated German troops to be stationed in that area or any fortifications built. This action was put forward to increase security and to prevent Germany to invade France.
middle of paper ... ... 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.
In order to stop the fighting between countries, Europe needed to put some actions into effect because appeasement was not working. Germany proved that by disregarding the Versailles Treaty. According to Hitler after disregarding the Versailles Treaty, “I look upon this day as marking the close of the struggle for German equality status…the path is now clear for Germany’s return to European collective cooperation” (Document 3, 1936) This quote explains a vast difference between Hitler’s and the other European countries' views. With Hitler’s affirmation to make Germany equal and even more powerful than the other European countries, the other European countries would have to set up collective security because they would have very little insight on what Hitler would be planning; leading to more destruction. Now, Europe would be more prepared if Hitler decided to attack. A quote from Winston Churchill explaining why collective security is the right answer is, “…I think all of the opportunities to stop the growth of Nazi power which have been thrown away. The responsibility must rest with those who have control of our political affairs. They neither prevented Germany from rearming, nor did they rearm us in time…Thus they left us in the hour of trial without a strong national defense or system of international security” (Churchill). That quote explains how collective security is the best answer to stop war and the destruction Hitler is
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.
Throughout the 20th century many people influenced the world for better or worse. However one man completely changed history for even those alive today. This man was Adolf Hitler. He was a anti-semitic, anti-Marxist dictator that dominated Europe into believing that Jews were the root of all evil. Adolf Hitler is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century because his reign and military leadership of Germany lead to World War II, he killed millions of Jews trying to perfect humanity through the Holocaust and his efforts of world domination influenced history forever.
...t, Hitler believed that the British government would reconsider its policy of appeasement. He thus decided to invade Poland on September 1st 1939, on 3rd, British declared war against Hitler (Scaife 121). Hitler’s invasion of Poland was from the hope that the policy of appeasement would be used to solve the matter, but it failed.
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.
Hitler was able to use his countries momentum and his negotiation skills to achieve what he wanted for Germany and make a deal he knew that he was not going to honor and eventually lead to WWII. Prime Minister Chamberlain also needed to be aware of possible deception that he was likely going to face when dealing with Germany. “When German troops invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1929, Hitler’s promise that Sudetenland was his ‘last territorial demand’ was revealed for the lie it has always been. At best Chamberlain’s summit diplomacy has bought Britain another 11 months to prepare for war at the considerable expense of Czechoslovakia’s freedom”(Rathbone 19). In fairness, Chamberlin had avoided war for a period of time, but the consequences were much greater in the sense that war was inevitable and his people’s lack of faith.
It has been almost a century since the first Paris Peace Conference was hold, but even until now, it is a popular yet also controversial event in the history of the world. The Paris Peace Conference took place in 1919 involving more than 1,000 representatives from over 30 nations. The results of the Conference are five treaties regarding terms that, according to the Conference, shall prevent any upcoming conflicts among nations. Although World War II started only after 15 years, nonetheless, the treaties did function as a buffer between countries. Although many resolutions were discussed, the negotiation of the Conference revolves around four main topics, reparation from the previous war losses or limitations on the main Central Power, Germany, self-recognition, President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the annexation of land.