Explain how the Treaty of Versailles caused World War Two.

The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the start of World War One. Taking the blame made Germany mad; Hitler used this to his advantage to get into power. Once appointed Chancellor, Hitler gained ultimate power through the Enabling Law and thus eliminated all opposition to him. He then began to destroy the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by stopping payment on reparations, secretly rearming the country, regaining lost territory, including the Anschluss with Austria, and remilitarizing the Rhineland. At this time, the League of Nations (Britain and France) appeased Hitler, thinking that if they gave him what he wanted, he would eventually go away. Through this, Hitler saw that no one would stop him as he broke the Treaty. He took advantage of this and continued to take new territory, including the Sudetenland. It wasn’t until he broke a promise with Chamberlain about Czechoslovakia that anyone thought they needed to stop him. At this point, Britain informed Hitler that if he touched Poland, they would declare war. He did invade Poland, and World War Two started.

The Treaty of Versailles caused World War Two because the Treaty forced Germany to pay reparations. The cost of the reparations was extremely high and Germany was unable to afford the annual payments. In 1923, France invaded the Ruhr because they demanded their missed reparations payment. The Weimar Government told the folks in the Ruhr to stop working (passive resistance). When this occurred, there were no goods to be had, so France began to take, by force, anything that was owed to them. The Weimar Government printed more money in order to pay off the French, but this caused hyperinflation. Stresemann then created a new currency to get out of hyperinflation and borrowed money from the USA (Dawes Plan). In 1929, the American Stock Market crashed, causing a depression. America demanded its money back from Germany, causing Germany to then fall into a depression. Through the depression, Adolf Hitler came into power, telling the German population, who had fallen into desperation, that he would help them out of the depression by creating jobs, abolishing the Treaty of Versailles, and restoring Germany to its splendor. Once appointed Chancellor, Hitler gained ultimate power through the Enabling Law and thus eliminated all opposition to him. He then began to destroy the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by stopping payment on reparations, secretly rearming the country, regaining lost territory, including the Anschluss with Austria, and remilitarizing the Rhineland. At this time, the League of Nations (Britain and France) appeased Hitler, thinking that if they gave him what he wanted, he would eventually go away. Through this, Hitler saw that no one would stop him as he broke the Treaty. He took advantage of this and continued to take new territory, including the Sudetenland. It wasn’t until he broke a promise with Chamberlain about Czechoslovakia that anyone thought they needed to stop him. At this point, Britain informed Hitler that if he touched Poland, they would declare war. He did invade Poland, and World War Two started.

The Treaty of Versailles caused World War Two because it wasn’t fair to everyone: Germany was treated more harshly. Germany was blamed for the starting of World War One; Germany also had to pay reparations for the cost of the war; Germany also lost 10% of its territory; and Germany was forced to reduce its army. 

Germany losing its territory led to World War Two because losing its territory caused them to be upset and consequently work to regain that territory in later years. According to the Treaty, Germany was never allowed to unite with Austria again. This upset one individual in particular, Adolf Hitler. Hitler believed that Austria and Germany should be united because Austria was Hitler’s homeland; he believed that the two countries should be one and the same. 

Hitler used the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles, including regaining lost territory, as a platform to come into power in the 1930s. Once appointed Chancellor in 1933, Hitler assumed total power through the Enabling Act. He then began to systematically destroy the Treaty of Versailles by rearming Germany, remilitarizing the Rhineland, and reuniting Austria and Germany (Anschluss). During this time, however, Britain and France were appeasing Hitler. They never stopped him, thinking that if he got what he wanted and abolished the Treaty, he would eventually go away. However, Hitler saw that no one would oppose him, so he pushed as far as he could go. It wasn’t until after the Munich Agreement settling the issue with Sudetenland, that he went too far. He invaded the remainder of Czechoslovakia to the anger and dismay of Britain and France. At this point, they told him that if he proceeded into Poland, they would declare war on him. He invaded Poland in 1939 and Britain and France declared war: World War Two had started.

The Treaty of Versailles caused World War Two because Germans were mad and wanted revenge. They wanted revenge because they were forced to lose their army. This made Germany weak and vulnerable to attack or invasion by other countries. Adolf Hitler used the weakness of Germany, forced upon them by the Treaty of Versailles, to get into power through his speeches, etc. He grew in popularity until he was put in place as Chancellor in 1933. Once in power he passed the Enabling Act, making him a dictator. He then quickly and secretly rearmed Germany, building up its stores of weapons, tanks, planes, etc. He also remilitarized the Rhineland, against the terms of the Treaty, and he bombed Guernica in Spain during the Civil War, showing that he had successfully restored Germany to power. This put other nations on alert, though they did nothing until the debacle in Czechoslovakia. It was then that the British and French issued him a warning about invading Poland; Hitler still invaded and Britain and France declared war.