Essays

How Did the Treaty of Versailles Help Cause World War II

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This is my first essay of the new semester written for my world history class. It's pretty bad FYI

Sadly, one of the most memorable points in history is World War II. During this six-year period from 1939-1945, Adolf Hitler declared war on multiple countries in Europe. Along with these declarations, Hitler and Nazi Germany killed millions of Jewish Europeans in a genocide called the Holocaust. It is believed by many that these atrocities were brought forward by the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty written by the leaders of France, England, and the United States to end the Great War (World War I). The Treaty of Versailles was very harsh against Germany and included territorial losses, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. These parts of the treaty are attributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler to power and the start of World War II.

    Through the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost many things including land. These territorial losses included the Polish Corridor, the city of Danzig, and a part of Denmark. Germany also lost the Alsace and Lorraine territories, "reducing German coal production by 40%" (Document A). This loss of land hurt the German economy as they lost ports and resources. During the mid-1920s, Adolf Hitler published his book Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"). In an excerpt from the book, Hitler states that "the restoration of the frontiers of 1914 [territorial losses] could be achieved only by blood" (Document A). These early losses from the treaty greatly affected the German economy giving many Germans, including Hitler, a reason to retaliate against the countries that wrote it.

    Following their defeat, the Treaty of Versailles called for military restrictions within German borders. In Article 160 of the treaty, it states for military troops, "Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men... The Army shall be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of order..." (Document B). This article greatly reduced the number of military men Germany could have, especially compared to the neighboring countries whose armies ranged from 602,000-4,760,000 total men (Document B). The military restrictions also applied to the German Navy as well as the number of military supplies, such as ammunition they could have. Article 160 of the Treaty of Versailles restricted Germany's military power making it hard for them to attack other countries, however, this also caused the German people to be angry at those countries for making them feel powerless.

    In the years immediately after the signing of the treaty, Germany faced paying economic reparations for the war. These reparations were disclosed in Articles 232 and 233 of the treaty. They state that "she [Germany] will make compensations for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated Powers... The amount of... [reparations or payments] to be made by Germany shall be [paid] ... within a period of thirty years from May 1, 1921" (Document C). In 1921, the amount of reparations that Germany would pay was decided to be 132 billion gold marks, $367 billion 2010 US, although in 1929 the amount was reduced to 112 billion gold marks, $341 billion 2010 US (Document C). The reparations angered the German people as they greatly affected the economy and people's lives. The war itself had used much of the country's money and the reparation only hurt them more.

    One of the major items that angered and humiliated Germany was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles. This article is referred to as the War Guilt Clause and states that "Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage [of the war] ..." (Document D). In 1995, the historian Laurence V. Moyer published his book Victory Must Be Ours: Germany in the Great War 1914-1918. In his book, Moyer states, "most Germans saw it [the treaty] as an atrocious injustice, an evil thing which must be destroyed... Much of the exaltation [enthusiasm] within Germany arising from the Nazi regime arose [from] the way in which Hitler restored a sense of pride..." (Document D). The Treaty of Versailles critically hit Germany's pride by having them take the blame for the war. The War Guilt Clause gave Hitler another opportunity to gain political sway and the support of the German people.

    Both World Wars were horrible in the number of casualties and of their repercussions. At the end of the Great War, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This harsh treaty was written to punish Germany for their involvement in the war greatly influenced the beginning of the Second World War. This treaty affected the German economy, military, and country pride by imposing territory and military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. Adolf Hitler used the Treaty of Versailles as a weapon against the leaders who wrote it; a tool to rise to power and start the next great World War.