He wanted to cripple Germany so France would never feel threatened again. Adolf Hitler promised that if he became the leader of Germany then he would abolish the Treaty of Versailles, not just because it was unfair but because it was a constant reminder to them that they were defeated in the First World War. In 1933, Hitler broke one of the Terms of the Treaty by increasing Germany’s armed forces. By doing this reduced unemployment and helped to protect Germany from future attacks. Hitler got away with this because Britain had sympathy for Germany and in 1935 signed a naval agreement with them.
This paved way for the Nazi government in 1938 to rewrite the law and confiscate all weapons from those who they viewed opposed to their way of things, especially the Jews. Hitler was able to disarm a nation because he assumed that power that was granted to him by degrees from the previous administrations before him (Simkin,, Zelman, & Rice,
In his foreign policy, it stated to destroy the Treaty of Versailles, which was what Germany had to adhere to due to their defeat in World War II. It also stated to unite all German speakers to one country and to expand eastwards into the east, which was Poland and Russia, to gain land for Germany. Germany was looking for a comeback. They wanted revenge. Hitler started to go into different parts of Europe to gain more territory.
The Weimar Republic appeared to have no idea how to solve the problems of the Depression. The Nazis on the other hand promised to solve the problems. Hitler promised most groups in Germany what they wanted. Hitler blamed all the problems on Jews and other sections of society. To Germans at the time, Hitler made sense; he united everyone by providing explanations for Germany's problems.
Modern History Essay Question: Assess the extent that nationalism was a cause of the failure of democracy in Germany in the period of 1918 – 1933 Nationalism was an important and integral factor in the downfall of the Weimar Republic and in turn, the ensuing failure of democracy in Germany in the period of 1918 – 1934. Nationalism is the desire to have your own country. The sense of loyalty and devotion to one’s nation, which the German’s had felt in their militaristic past, was ultimately, devastated by World War 1 and its consequences. In Germany, from 1918 onwards, nationalism was one of the main driving forces for the German people to make Germany a dominant power again by ultimately destroying the Treaty of Versailles. Several attempts from both the left and right sides of government tried to imbue the nationalistic beliefs that were embodied in Germany before they were destroyed by their humiliating defeat in WW1.
They were stripped of territory, arms and were required to make reparations (payments for war damages). The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed with Germany, punished Germany severely. The German government agreed to sign the treaty only after the victorious powers threatened to invade. Many Germans particularly resented the clause that forced Germany to accept responsibility for causing World War I. The next factor that seemed to emphasize the cause of the war was German's dictator, Adolph Hitler, who led the Germans with the ideas of fascists.
The Germans had come to the table hoping to hear Wilson saying, “the equality of nations upon which peace much be founded on if it is to last must be an equality of rights..” (German Peace Delegation, p. 76) Instead they were hit with several Billion reichmarks in reparations, a reduced military and many other limitations politically, economically, militarily and territory wise (The Versailles Treaty, 1918). Germany was to blame for the war, as were all of Europe. However the old adage, to the victor goes the spoils. With such documents as the Zimmerman Note, one can only speculate on the terms handed down by a victorious
The Holocaust The Holocaust (1) all started with one crazy German Nazi named Adolf Hitler. Hitler started the holocaust to start a scapegoat due to the repercussions due to World War 1. After World War 1 Germany was forced to pay for all the damages in all the places that they had invaded which had put them in an economic crisis. Hitler decided to pin the Jews at the root of all of Germany’s problems. He aimed his violence towards Jews, but not just Jews it was also towards outsiders like communists, gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, and homosexuals.
Red can possibly be left out The Great Depression provided the opportunity for Hitler to take power in Germany and start the process of undoing the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by re-arming in defiance of the Treaty. Germany walked out of the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations and began to seriously re-arm: a Luftwaffe was created, autobahns were built for easy troop movement and the army was brought into the open. In 1936 German troops re-occupied the demilitarised Rhineland
The first step of Hitler’s foreign policy was to remove the limitations, which had been placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany would regain the lands lost in the settlement, together with its overseas colonies. According to Hitler, the German people needed lebensraum or living space, which could only be provided by conquering territory from the inferior Slav races to the east of the fatherland. In 1935 Hitler decided that the time had come to further test the resolve of other European leaders. The Treaty forbade Germany to station troops or build fortifications within 30 miles of the River Rhine.