Ellicia Chiu
Mrs. Daly
World History: Period 3
4/27/15
How did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II?
The first World War is recorded down as one of the “deadliest conflict in human history”. With over 16 million dead, it was one of the first wars with a high amount of casualties. However, the one that tops the list with around 60 million deaths was World War II. What caused such a large scale war to happen in the first place? Seven and a half months after World War I, a treaty was signed between the victorious countries, Great Britain, France, United States, and Germany (Overview). It was created with the intention to create peace Europe and ensure that another war like World War I doesn’t happen again. However, the peace was short lived before the second World War engulfed Europe and the rest of the world in a brutal bloodshed. Instead of lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles contributed greatly to the cause of World War II as it caused humiliation and anger within Germany. The pent up emotions eventually led to the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler, who were angered by their loss in territory, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the war guilt clause.
The stipulations of the Versailles Treaty were aimed to bring down Germany and make it as weak as possible. One of the solutions the the victors came up was to take territory away from Germany, resulting in the country losing more than forty percent of their coal producing areas. They took away the Polish Corridor, parts of East Prussia, parts of Denmark, as well as Lorraine-Alsace (Doc A). Taking away the Polish Corridor put Germany in a difficult position, as it geographically split Germany into two pieces. In addition, the city Danzig was also a very...
... middle of paper ...
...ed the hatred towards the treaty, resulting in the second world war.
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.
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.
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
The goal of the treaty of Versailles was to prevent war, but instead it caused another. World War I was fought through 1914-1918 and ended with more than 41 million casualties. World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars but, the Treaty of Versailles punished Germany which led to more conflicts.Therefore, the Treaty of Versailles was a cause of World War II because, it weakened the German economy, the terms of the treaty angered and humiliated Germany, and it helped Hitler to rise to power.
One reason the Treaty of Versailles was a cause of World War II was because it destroyed the German economy. Germany lost a large amount of territories and resources and they were forced to pay for reparations. Germany had a large deduction of land (Document A, German Territorial Losses, Versailles Treaty, 1919). The loss of land lead to a 40% reduction in coal production. In addition to losing land and resources, Germany had to pay reparations. Document C shows how the $367 billion in reparations destroy the German economic system. The stock market crash of 1929 places Germany in an economic Depression, their economy greatly suffered.
The Allies created the Treaty of Versailles to prevent Germany from ever recovering and returning as a superpower contender. In the treaty the Allies demanded that Germany ”compensate for all damages done, completely restore Belgium, and [pay] a five percent interest on debt”(Treaty of Versailles 232). The treaty never had the intended effect, because in an attempt to repay their debt, Germany printed lots of money that caused rampant inflation and resulted in many people in losing their jobs. The dire situation in Germany led to the rise of the Nazi party, who promised to stop paying reparations and to fix the situation in Ggermany by creating jobs and rebuilding the military. By forcing Germany into paying for the reparations, the Allies stabbed themselves in the back because in desperation the people of Germany turned to extreme right-wing parties, leading to the rise of people like Hitler and other fascist leaders. Although the initial goal of the Treaty of Versailles was to prevent Germany from fighting back, it did more harm than good because it created an atmosphere where extremists like Hitler
For these reasons many of the rules of The Treaty of Versailles were created to prevent a World War II. However, In addition to having to lose all of Germanys oversea colonies, they also were also forced to give up part of their homeland known as the Rhineland (cite 157). The area was sandwiched between France and Germany, and now became a 30 mile permanent demilitarization zone (book 157). Allied forces also occupied the Rhineland area west of the Rhine River and even controlled the rivers bridgeheads (book 157). These actions angered Germany even further, as now they had to give up a vital area of their country full of resources. The treaty also made sure measures were taken to force Germany into strict limitations on its armed forces and weapons (book 157). While these rules help give France piece of mind, it angered Germany and set them hell bent on
“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
World War I, a series of deaths of civilians and soldiers that engulfed europe from 1914 to 1918. These tragedies took a big toll on many countries all across the globe. Many countries struggled to pay for war damage and civilians lost their jobs and were in a state of Great Depression. The Treaty of Versailles is a document to keep peace among nations. The Treaty of versailles enactment contributed to the cause of World war II when the treaty accused Germany of being the aggressor and instigator.
After the Treaty of Versailles was forced upon the Germans, there were several challenges the Germans had to deal with. Some examples of the cost of the war to Germany was the forfeiting or giving back of land, its coal mines productions were given to France for a 15 year span, and Germany had to limit its army to 100,000 men with its forces not allowed around the French border. In addition to all of this, Germany was forced to accept war guilt as having been solely responsible for World War I. This had a crippling effect on Germany as they did not believe they had really caused or had lost the war. The bitterness from humiliation as well as the poverty this treaty bestowed upon the people was too much for Germany. This would lead to World War II in later years. Adolf Hitler had a plan to handle these problems that the Germans faced as a result of the war. It is probably best described as National Socialism.
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.
Germany suffered many territorial losses after the treaty was signed (History Learning Site, 2000). On the east side of Germany, they lost their land to create Poland, but also had to return Alsace and Lorraine back to France (Bolotta A., Hawkes C., Jarman., Keirstead M., Watt J., 2000). More land had to be given to Belgium, France, Denmark and Poland (History Learning Site, 2000).Thus, caused Germany’s population to decrease (Macro History and World Timeline, 1998).Not only that, the Paris Peace Conference also produced the League of Nations to make sure that war does not break out ( Sturgeon A., 2009). They had to take control of all German overseas colonies ( History Learning Site, 2000). Obviously, the Germans were really angry at the terms, especially the territorial ones because Germany had lost 10% of its land, 12% of its population and 16% of its coal-fields (Johndclare.net). As a result, all the power and taxes Germany lost were given to Germany’s enemies who were the triple alliance (Johndclare.net). In fact, Germany was also banned from joining Austria on purpose, just to keep Germany weak (johndclare.net). Although, Germany hated the government for signing the treaty, they had no choice because the allies would have continued the war and invade Germany itself (Bolotta A., Hawkes C., Jarman F., Keirstead M.
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.
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 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.
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.