Abstract After War World I, the allied forces of Europe sought to usher in an era of peace by sanctioning Germany and reconciling the European nations. The Treaty of Versailles was created for this cause, however, Britain’s appeasement policies only served to strengthen Germany’s quest for lost territories and military rearmament. In the end, Adolf Hitler manipulated British appeasement policies which only served in aiding his rise to power. Hitler would go on to lead Europe and the United States into World War II. Treaty of Versailles The end of World War I was officially marked by the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles by the ‘Big Three’ world powers on June 28th, 1919.
Who was to blame for the outbreak of World War Two? ESSAY QUESTION: “The Treaty of Versailles was the single most important cause of the outbreak of war in 1939.” How far do you agree with this statement? Determined to achieve greatness in Germany and for the Germans, Hitler took along that task to conquer Europe and the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles is definitely one of the causes of the Second World War but it is not the most important one. Hitler’s Foreign Policy, his aims, actions and the Appeasement Policy are to be blamed as well.
Firstly, they were, under a ‘War Guilt’ clause, expected to accept all of the blame for the war. The Allies maintained that this was because they had, rather than fight Russia, on whom they had declared war, followed the Schlieffen Plan and opted to invade France first. To do this they marched through Belgium, which was a neutral country and not a part of any major alliances, leading to the British, Belgian and French declarations of war on Germany. The Germans felt that this was unfair because Britain could have kept out of the war as it was not being threatened – they felt that they were expected to accept the blame because they had lost, rather than because it was their fault. Secondly, all of Germany’s colonies were taken away, and Germany itself had its borders redefined.
It is fair to say however that Germany, in any of these scenarios, was very much responsible which is why their aggression points towards the outbreak of a general European war. German aggression was responsible for the outbreak of a general European War and in Source 1 Corrigan offers the Fischer idea support stated very clearly by the use of the words ‘undeniable’ and ‘aggressive’ to explain some of Germanys actions. He points towards the September Programme as a reason for Germany’s responsibility because ‘Germany’s foreign policy aims were focused on annexation’. Fischer’s argument for this was that as Germany had planned their ‘peace talks’ within a month of the war starting Germany’s leaders must have had these ideas before the war had even started in August 1914. The fact that the September Programme detailed territories in Northern France, Belgium and buffer states between them and Russia (such as Poland) very much show that Germany’s expansionist aims would cause a general European war.
When the Treaty of Versailles was written up, Clause 231 stated: “The Allied governments affirm, and Germany accepts, the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied governments and their peoples have been subjected as a result of the war.” Germany was guilty for causing the war. But although Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, it refused to accept the blame. Historians have argued about this issue ever since. Was Germany really guilty for causing WWI? Would the war have happened without Kaiser Wilhelm II’s aggressive foreign policy?
HISTORY REVISION 5 MARK QUESTIONS PRACTICE (A) ON TREATY OF VERSAILLES: What were the main terms of The Treaty of Versailles? War guilt was one of the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Clause 231 made Germany accept full war guilt. Reparations was another main term. The amount of compensation that Germany should pay France was not determined at this conference, but later on the amount was decided.
It is futile nonsense for the rest of the world to pretend today that I did not reveal this program until 1933 or 1935 or 1937. Instead of listening to foolish chatter, these gentlemen would have been wiser to read what I have written thousands of times.” - Hitler, talking on 15 March 1939 One of Hitler’s main aims was to abolish the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany after her defeat in World War I. Hitler felt the Treaty was unfair, and most Germans supported this view. This was already expected as Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf” explaining his aims, “Hitler's foreign policy should not have been a surprise to students of Mein Kampf” -Despatch 3165 from the American Embassy in Berlin, 24 December 1936. There were various reasons why he wanted to abolish the treaty as they all stopped him from achieving his primary aim. Some of the things about the treaty that Hitler hated were tiny armed forces, the Saar was under League of Nations control, the Rhineland was demilitarised, Anschluss with Austria was forbidden, Germans were obliged to leave in Czechoslovakia and Poland and finally Danzig was under League of Nations control.
The treaty demanded that Germany, Austria, and Hungary accept responsibility for causing the war. Under the treaty’s provisions they were to repay heavy reparations to certain countries, disarm their armies, and concede territorial claims. The treaty however, did not pacify Germany as it was thought to do. The treaty inevitably leads into WWII. Along with the treaty America, Britain, and France tried to put into place Wilson’s 14 point system.
Woodrow Wilson wanted peace out of the treaty, he wanted disarmament and to set up the League of Nations so that countries could settle disputes without violence. The League of Nations was later set up June 1919. He also wanted to give independence to Poland and give them access to the sea. David Lloyd George wanted to make Germany pay which he said so in a speech because he knew British people would want to hear that, he also wanted justice which he tried to get through making a compromise between
Causes of WWII World War two started in September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. WWII broke out for many different reasons; the effects of the harsh Treaty of Versailles; the Great Depression, which directly lead to the rise of Hitler, whose actions and speeches are considered as a major cause of WWII. Furthermore, the weakness and complete failure of the League of Nations and policy of appeasement followed by Britain and France helped cause WWII. In the following essay the major reasons of why WWII started are to be explained thoroughly. The first major reason was the Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919 after WWI ended.