The Treaty of Versailles was the Main Cause of WW2

Thank you, Justin.Since Con did not define any words or terms, I will do it myself.Definitions:1. Treaty of Versailles - "A treaty signed in 1919 that brought a formal end to World War I" (1).2. Main - "Chief in size or importance" (2). 3. Cause - "A person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition" (3).4. World War II - "A war fought from 1939 to 1945, in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and other allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan" (4).The problems that added up to the beginning of World War II:Main idea: The purpose of the Treaty was to weaken Germany as much as possible,and the Germans thought it was a harsh peace. The Treaty turned out to be disastrous, and I will show why.A. Financial ProblemsAs per Article 231 (The War Guilt Clause), Germany was ordered to pay reparations for all damages thatthe Allied forces faced (5). So, Germany made its first annual payment in 1921 since the Allies threatenedto occupy the Ruhr Valley. However, Germany (considering that its debt increased due to WWI). As a result, the French government sent its troops to occupy the said area. Consequentially, the "inflationarypressures that had begun in Germany at the end of World War I intensified during the French occupationof the Ruhr" (6. Spielvogel 805).As per the Treaty, Germany was supposed to give up many of its lands (which I emphasized in thenext section) that were vital for its economy. For example, Germany lost seventy-five percent of its iron-ore supply when Alsace and Lorraine were given to France (7. Keynes 87). When Germany lost Upper Silesia and Saar Basin to Poland and France, it lost its major supply of coal (Keynes 82-84). This was problematic sincecoal was needed to keep factories and locomotives running (8. Bessel 111). Logically put, this caused many Germansto lose their jobs, hence the increase of unemployment.After Germany lost World War I, there was a German democratic state called the Weimar Republic (9). In the years 1922 and 1923, the runaway inflation had serious social outcomes. "Widows, orphans, the retired elderly, army officers, teachers, civil servants, and others who lived on fixed incomes all watched their monthly stipends become worthless and their lifetime savings disappear. Their economic losses increasingly pushed the middle class to the rightist parties that were hostile to the republic. To make matters worse, after a period of prosperity from 1924 to 1929, Germany faced the Great Depression. Unemployment increased to nearly 4.4 million by December 1930" (Spielvogel 817, emphasis added). Germany's economic hardships paved the way for Hitler's rise to power. Because of Hitler's economic plans, the masses found the Nazi Party more appealing.When the Nazi party rose to power, Hitler tackled unemployment by providing various jobs and improving working conditions (higher wages, less work hours, more safety, etc.) (10). B. German ResentmentDue to the fact that the Treaty was austere (since Germany took a lot of blame for World War I AND had to pay for the reparations), German people were angry at the Allies. Germans blamed the Treatyfor their economic problems (like unemployment, inflation, etc.), and thought of themselves as a nation surrounded by vengeful enemies (11. Watt 504). As a result of their hatred, Hitler had the opportunity to manipulate it into feelings of hardcore nationalism. "The Nazis proved very effective in developing modern electioneering techniques. In their election campaigns, party members pitched their themes to the needs and fears of different social groups. But even as they were making blatant appeals to class interests, the Nazis were denouncing conflicts of interest and maintaining that they stood above classes and parties. Hitler, in particular, claimed to stand above all differences and party infighting. His appeal to national pride, national honor, and traditional militarism struck chords of emotions in his listeners" (Spielvogel 819, emphasis added).As a result, people began to support Hitler's party in an enthusiastic manner. Moreover, Spielvogel said that Germany's territorial losses comprised the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to France and sections of Prussia to Poland on page 799. On the same page, he added, "German lands west and as far as 30 miles east of the Rhine was established as a demilitarized zone and stripped of all armaments or fortifications to serve as a barrier against future German military moves westward against France."So, Germany wanted to reunite its land and people (12. Mayer 774), especially considering that German lands given toCzechoslovakia and Austria had left around ten million Germans behind (in total) (13. Grunberger 116-117). This contributed to their hatred, which Hitler was also able to manipulate to his advantage.C. Appeasement PolicyAccording to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was supposed to reduce the number of soldiers to 100,000 men, curtail its naval power, and have no air force (Spielvogel 799). This was known as the disarmament policy. On March 9, 1935, he announced the "creation of a new airforce" and "military draft that would expand Germany's army from 100,000 to 550,000 soldiers" (Spielvogel 841).On page 842, Spielvogel says that Britain accepted Germany's rearmament when it agreed to the Anglo-German Naval treaty. This pact allowed Germany to have a navy that's 35% the size of the Britishnavy. Hence, he writes, "The British were starting a policy of appeasement, based on the belief that ifEuropean states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers, the latter would be content, and stability and peace would be achieved in Europe" (Spielvogel 842).Hitler's troops entered the demilitarized Rhineland (violating the terms of the Versailles treaty again) (14), but France couldn't react since the British viewed it "as another reasonable action by a dissatisfied power."Due to the appeasement policy, Hitler kept conquering more areas like Austria and Czechoslovakia (15).The main issue, however, is that Hitler started his conquest when he was weaker than the Western nations.As a result of letting the Nazis gain more power, the German leader became a more formidable enemy.Simply put, the British thought it was reasonable for Germany to take these actions because they were discontent with the terms of the Versailles Treaty. In other words, Britain came up with the appeasement idea BASED ON the Treaty's austerity towards the Germans. Hence, they missed the chance to put an endto Germany in the FIRST place (when they were not as strong as the Allied forces). Because they missed it, Germany continued taking over more areas freely until Poland got subdued. Thus, the Second World War began. Once again, Germany was already getting stronger at this point.Conclusion:The Versailles Treaty was indeed the MAIN cause of WWII because it ruined the German economy, the emotional wellness of its people, and it led Britain to let Germany increase its power on the grounds that it was dissatisfied with its previous conditions.Sources:1. http://tinyurl.com...2. http://tinyurl.com...3. http://tinyurl.com...4. http://tinyurl.com...5. http://net.lib.byu.edu...6. Jackson J Spielvogel, Western Civilization. (Boston: Wadsworth Pub Co, 2009)7. John Maynard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of Peace (New York: Penguin Books, 1995) 8. Richard Bessel, Germany After the First World War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) 9. http://dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu...10. http://tinyurl.com...11. Richard M. Watt, The Kings Depart (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968)12. Arno J. Mayer, Politics and Diplomacy of Peacemaking (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1967) 13. Richard Grunberger, Germany 1918-1945 (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1964)14. http://www.bbc.co.uk...15. http://tinyurl.com...