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Treaty of Versailles
Some commentators have stated the Versailles Treaty set the stage for World War II. Briefly detail the key points of the Versailles Treaty. Comment if they were a major factor in the outbreak of WWII within twenty years. Use examples to support your opinion.
Several distinctive factors about the Treaty of Versailles support the contention that the Treaty contributed to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and the outbreak of the Second World War. First and foremost, Germany was forced to admit total responsibility for the First World War, despite the fact that ethnic rivalries, secret treaties, and wrangling for power was characteristic of almost all of the major powers involved in World War I. Secondly, Germany was forced to pay crushing war debt that nearly bankrupted the country.
Germany's territory was greatly reduced. The Alsace-Lorraine was given to France and "Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received...
These were some of the territories Hitler vowed to re-acquire when he came to power, to avenge Germany's honor. Eupen and Malmedy were also given to Belgium; Northern Schleswig was given to Denmark; Hultschin was given to Czechoslovakia and West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia was given to Poland (Treaty of Versailles, 2011, History Learning Site). Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria (which it did, of course, in the period immediately preceding World War II). The list of the recipient nations of former German territories parallels the path taken by the invading German army in World War II. Germany was stripped of its colonies, to further neuter its power. The loss of territories was also crushing economic blow to Germany, given that it was dependent upon coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia.
A rallying cry of later German militarism was the fact that Germany was deprived of the right to have an effective military force. "Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks. She…
References
Treaty of Versailles. (2011). History Learning Site. Retrieved:
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_versailles.htm
His rage was motivated by something else, something more personal; indeed, from the point-of-view of Adolf Hitler, the Second World War was merely an extension of "Mein Kampf" (my struggle). No sane leader would have dared to take on the leader of the free world at that point in time. By declaring war on the United States of America at that point in the war, Hitler was effectively taking
One of the critiques of this theory is that it assumes that groups coalesce or converge in an environment which is normless. While the theory is suited to an explanation of spontaneous group formation, it does not address the fact that movements such as fascism are grounded on prior normative formations and value systems that lead to the collective behavior. At the same time it must be acknowledged that this
. Hitler was also politically astute. He understood that "power lay with the masses." (Bullock 55) Therefore, if he was to obtain the allegiance of the people he would have to do so through the subtle use of propaganda. "The Key, Hitler became convinced, lay in propaganda." (Bullock 55) He therefore devoted a great deal of thought and time into developing his understanding of propaganda. This can be seen in