In this essay I will discuss the title question and come to a conclusion on whether or not I agree. For me, one of the main causes of ww2 was the fact that The Treaty of Versailles was extremely harsh on Germany; this created a build up of anger and resentment from Germans, and also put them in a financial depression. Although Hitler had no control over this, he played on their poverty to receive votes and gain power. He also built up Germany’s resentment against the United Nations, which made his people pro war. Many people believe another fault of the League of Nations that contributed to war was; how they appeased Hitler by letting him have Czechoslovakia.
When Germany was formed in 1870, it caused tension between Germany and France because Germany took over the French territory of Alsace and Lorraine. Therefore the French wanted to take revenge on Germany. To make them unable to do this the Chancellor of Germany, Otto Von Bismarck, tried to isolate France by signing several treaties with other European nations. Bismarck signed a League of Three Emperors agreement with Austria-Hungary and Russia, followed
The reparations imposed on the country under the Weimar Republic caused many political problems within the nation. The Weimar Republic was associated with failure in WW1 since it had signed the Treaty of Versailles that had ended the war, this in turn caused a strong sense of unpopularity towards the government from the people of Germany, as it was believed that the Republic had ended the war too early and that Germany could have fought on. This left the Germans feeling humiliated, along with the harsh limitations on the German armed forces and also the concept that Germany and it's allies was to blame for starting the war, known as the War Guilt Clause.In addition, when the German people discovered that the Weimar Republic failed in making the Treaty fair towards them, the government became even more unpopular. They people were outraged at the fact that the government had accepted these conditions, despite the fact that there was not a lot else the Republic could do. This added to the already high level of unpopularity of the government, after signing the armistice to the end the war, consequently resulting in the government being named the 'November Criminals'.
Why war broke out in 1939 In 1939, Germany, after signing the German-Soviet Pact, attacked Poland. Much to Hitler’s surprise, Britain and France, who had both seemed unwilling to go to war responded to his actions by declaring war against Germany on the 3rd of September. The events leading to this war can be traced back to the end of World War I, or more specifically, the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was famous for it’s harshness and cruelty against Germany, forcing them to pay huge amounts of reparations and took away some of Germany lands, while demilitarizing some. It also severely restricted Germany’s military power.
In the crisis, people wanted someone to blame, and looked to extreme solutions - Hitler offered them both, and Nazi success in the elections grew. The Germans turned to the Nazi’s because they were desperate. To Hitler, this depression was like a gift because for every problem the Nazi Party had come up with an explanation or promise. These included; promise to get rid of the hated Weimar government and replace it with a strong leader-Hitler, a promise to get people back to work on road building and public works. In a time of chaos (the depression) people chose to support Hitler because of his discipline and his promises he inflicted on the German general public.
By definition nationalism and humanism are antagonistic as one requires fealty to a group ideology and the other to individual conscience. Fromm states that despite the devastation inflicted by World War 1, the number of lives lost, both civilian and military, and the massive destruction of property, the populations of Europe had hope for a return to peace and relative prosperity. Instead the capitalist system in Germany could not recover and was unable to provide for large sections of the population. At the same time in Russia the brutal Stalinists rose to power. Discontent and a feeling of inadequacy allowed Hitler and the Nazis to gain power and led once again to the rise of irrational nationalistic fervor.
By launching successful wars over other European countries and having the German states joining these wars , he managed to increase nationalistic feelings among people who now saw him as a national hero instead of a liberty oppressor. He also managed to unite the German provinces ( first under the North German Confederation and then, after the
Nobody was happy with it and Italy and Germany wanted revenge. The Treaty of Versailles made the country lose all colonies (it was under the control of the League of Nations) and also some territories that used to be part of Germany. Many citizens that used to live in Germany were now living in other countries, new ones, created by the peace settlement. This made Hitler make promises that he would use any means to reunite all Germans and that empire was desirable. It was obviously a threat to surrounding nations.
The Republic was weak from the beginning. Treaty of Versailles The Weimar republic was associated with failure in WWI since it had signed the Treaty of Versailles that had ended the war. Many nationalists believed the republic had sold Germany out to its enemies by ending the war too early. The treaty took territory from Germany and left the country facing crippling compensation claims. The limitations it placed on Germany's armed forces, and especially the War Guilt Clause that blamed Germany and her allies for starting the war, left many Germans feeling humiliated.
The Weimar republic was created in 1919 with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm ll, it was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost the First World War. Between 1919 and 1923 it had to deal with many problems such as extremists’ attacks, the treaty of Versailles and the reparations crisis. Firstly Germany had no tradition of democracy and had always had strong leaders; Germans weren't ready for democracy and did not agree to it. With Germany suffering very badly because of the war it added onto the hatred the democracy had made. The new government was the body that signed the treaty of Versailles, and to many it was a betrayal and most Germans referred to it as the ‘stab in the back theory’.