The Versailles Treaty
Anahi Cornejo
Period 1
History
May 21, 2014
The topic this essay will discuss is how the Treaty of Versailles caused WWII. On June 28, 1919, the Versailles Treaty was signed by the victorious Allied Nations and defeated Germany. The Allied Nations was made of Britain, France and the United States. The treaty was made to ensure that another tragic war like WWI would never happen again. However, two decades later, Europe was in WWII. Many argue the Treaty of Versailles was what led to WWII. The Treaty of Versailles caused WWII because of German’s territorial losses. The topics this essay will cover are troop reduction, the humiliation of Germany, and German territorial losses. One underlying cause of WWII was the humiliation of Germany. In 1919, Germany took responsibility and blame for the damage caused during WWI. However, they felt that the Treaty of Versailles was an “atrocious injustice”. They saw the treaty as a humiliation and were infuriated for having to pay reparations. “The way in which Hitler restored a sense of pride, reawakened a sense of self-respect, forcing the world to look at Germany anew.” (Document D) This quote is significant because it shows how Hitler repaired and brought back pride in Germany. After WWI, Germans felt disgraced and wanted to regain themselves. The Treaty of Versailles worsened things by adding to the humiliation. This sparked Germans to fight back and take revenge. Hitler reunited Germany and convinced them to fight back. The next topic this essay will be discussing is troop reduction. Another significant cause of WWII was troop reduction. The size of the military of Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland was much greater than Germany. By far, Germany had the most smallest and defenseless military with only about 100,000 troops. The country with the largest military was Poland with about 3,500,000 military troops. “Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including officers.” (Document B) This is
Period 1
History
May 21, 2014
The topic this essay will discuss is how the Treaty of Versailles caused WWII. On June 28, 1919, the Versailles Treaty was signed by the victorious Allied Nations and defeated Germany. The Allied Nations was made of Britain, France and the United States. The treaty was made to ensure that another tragic war like WWI would never happen again. However, two decades later, Europe was in WWII. Many argue the Treaty of Versailles was what led to WWII. The Treaty of Versailles caused WWII because of German’s territorial losses. The topics this essay will cover are troop reduction, the humiliation of Germany, and German territorial losses. One underlying cause of WWII was the humiliation of Germany. In 1919, Germany took responsibility and blame for the damage caused during WWI. However, they felt that the Treaty of Versailles was an “atrocious injustice”. They saw the treaty as a humiliation and were infuriated for having to pay reparations. “The way in which Hitler restored a sense of pride, reawakened a sense of self-respect, forcing the world to look at Germany anew.” (Document D) This quote is significant because it shows how Hitler repaired and brought back pride in Germany. After WWI, Germans felt disgraced and wanted to regain themselves. The Treaty of Versailles worsened things by adding to the humiliation. This sparked Germans to fight back and take revenge. Hitler reunited Germany and convinced them to fight back. The next topic this essay will be discussing is troop reduction. Another significant cause of WWII was troop reduction. The size of the military of Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland was much greater than Germany. By far, Germany had the most smallest and defenseless military with only about 100,000 troops. The country with the largest military was Poland with about 3,500,000 military troops. “Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including officers.” (Document B) This is