This angered the German public as they thought that the government’s plan would just make living harder if they did increase the taxes. Taking advantage of this, Hitler told the public that the reparations and the Treaty of Versailles was to blame for Germany’s hardship. When America recalled all the loans that they gave Germany, Germany was left in immense debts. This proved Hitler’s point that the reparations and the Treaty of Versailles were wrong. After that the people of Germany began to vote for Hitler because the Weimar government had proved itself useless and Hitler was the only one offering a way out.
The peace treaty did not satisfy France as it was not harsh enough in the eyes of France. After suffered badly from WWI with umpteen casualties, France was determined to cripple Germany completely as a form of revenge as well as an assurance against future German revival. Some provisions of the treaty did meet French demands, such as the return of Alsace-Lorraine from Germany; the German disarmament which set a maximum strength of 100000 soldiers together with the dissolution of the air force and the reduction of navy to 6 batttleships; and a whopping reparation of 132 billion gold marks to be paid over 42 years. These clauses would severely weaken Germany economically and militarily which certainly catered to French aim. However, French felt these punishments were not harsh enough to eliminate the chance of future German revival.
Poison Gas: Most of people assume that poison gas was used first by the German. It’s not really accurate. It was used by the French to stop the seemingly unstoppable German army advancing throughout Belgium and North-Eastern France. In one sense, it was an act of desperation but went against the 'rules' of war. However, while the French were the first to use a gas against an enemy, the Germans had been giving a great deal of thought to the use of poison gas as a way of defeating enemy.
They believed they belonged to a Volksgenmeinschaft that proved for their needs and to which they owed their obedience. Such benefits were accompanied by a denial of human rights, and a haphazard system of government dependent upon the will of an all-powerful leader. Before the final solution was carried out, a number of acts occurred including sterilization which hardened the German people for the anti Semitic explosion of the holocaust. The Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring was passed in July 1933. It stated that anyone with anyone of the following hereditary diseases could be sterilized: Schizophrenia, manic depression, hereditary deafness and so on.
He believed the only way Russia could gain from the war was if it lasted for a long time and France, Britain and Germany exhausted themselves. Thirdly, he was unhappy with Britain not only for the policy of Appeasement but also for their slowness to negotiate. For these reasons he did not trust Britain. The Pact stated that Germany and Russia would not fight each other, rather they would work together and split what they gained between them.
The injustice of the settlement unintentionally gave birth to long term problems, including key events for the lead up to the Second World War. The peace treaties were poorly established due to the restless state of Europe after the war. It was not a reasonable time to try and create peace amongst countries that are still feeling hatred towards each other after the war. The aim of the treaties was to avoid another war. The German people resented the fact that they alone were blamed for the war.
The policy of appeasement, embraced in vain by Great Britain and France in the 1930s, was ultimately a bid to reach a peaceful understanding with Germany. However this was only a failed policy which directly would lead to war as it encouraged Hitler, abandonining policy would have prevented such a brutal war, Hitler was an unreasonable dictator and that had always intended to fight a war and that he would not be appeased. These crucial factors ensured that appeasement policy would Utltimlty the appeasement directly resulting in the Second World War Brittan and France With the rise of Hitler Germany sought to revise the terms of paris peace settlement through aggression as he stated in mieng kamf he would “break the unjust terms of the treaty of versallies”. The memories of WW1 were still alive and Britain and France were disenchanted with the idea of using force to solve European disputes as they were economically. The feeling swept especially throughout Britain that the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh, and Germany should be able to make some amendments to its more extreme elements.
This certainly suggests that countries were more concerned with themselves rather than acting in the interests of the League, which thus made the diplomatic struggle of disarmament practically impossible. Another key reason as to why disarmament failed was the installation of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party into power within Germany. As soon as he became Chancellor in February 1933, Hitler immediately started re-arming Germany. While this was mostly kept secret at first, it soon became clear that Germany was once again becoming a major military power. This caused other countries to start re-arming themselves.
The Treaty of Versailles Was an Unfair Settlement I believe that the Treaty of Versailles was an unfair settlement. The Treaty of Versailles was not a treaty, but instead a surrender document that the defeated Germans had to sign or face the risk of invasion. I believe the Treaty of Versailles was a series of penalties and punishments imposed on Germany. Rather than seeking ways to prevent future wars, the victorious allies decided instead to weaken the Germans by hurting their national pride. Both the Allies and Germany wanted to expand their territory.
It also served from the start to lift Allied morale. Thus, the Germans had made a big mistake by provoking the Americans to enter the war. In the end, the two front war proved too difficult for Germany. The Allied push continued, with the British advancing in the north and the Americans attacking through the Argonne region of France. While the Germans were losing their forces on the