preview

How Did The Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War Ll?

Good Essays

How did the Versailles Treaty Help cause World War ll? Around 17 million soldiers and civilians are dead, a defeat against Germany, and all that was gained was a treaty. The Versailles Treaty was created to set the terms of the peace between nations, and was signed on June 28, 1919. From August 1914 to November 1918 Germany and Austria-Hungary pitted against France, England, Russia and eventually the United States went to war, also known as the Great war, known as World War I. (Hook) But did the Versailles Treaty help cause World War II? At the conference of the treaty Germany was given no voice, but Georges Clemenceau the Prime Minister of France didn’t agree that the treat would guarantee independence for the national groups in Eastern Europe and the creation of the League of Nations. France had suffered terribly in the war and wanted Germany to pay.(B. Essay) The Treaty of Versaille had punished Germany too heavily in four way: in land, in gold, in resources and in reduced military strength. The Treaty of Versailles contributed to WWII by severely weakening Germany economically through territorial losses. Before the war Germany was using 139,000,000 tons of coal from their land. Once their industrial land was given away, Germany only had access to about 78,000,000 tons of coal per year. They lost 60,800,000 tons of coal from the lost areas. Germany coal production was reduced by 40%. Germany had lost Alsace and Lorraine, and was returned back to France. The Treaty required Germany to permanently give up its colonies. German colonies included all or part of the modern nations of Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, Namibia, and Botswana, as well well as Pacific territories such as Samoa and the Marshall Islands. The British took over most of Germany’s overseas colonies. (Doc. A) With all this loss of land how is Germany supposed to pay back all the payments. “...the restoration of the frontiers of 1914 could be achieved only by blood. Only childish and naive minds can lull themselves in the idea that they can bring about a correction of Versailles by wheedling and begging, No nation can remove this hand from tits throat except by the sword.” -Adolf Hitler. Hitler had already thought about war before he had came

Get Access