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How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to World War 2?

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How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to World War 2? - Make an introduction paragraph-example-1
User Brcolow
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Always be wary of monocausal (single-cause) explanations for anything complex. Ever since WW2 and earlier, self-flagellation has been very fashionable in connection with this in Britain and America; and in pop history it is often given as the main or even sole reason for WW2. This is sometimes carried so far that Hitler’s role is not even mentioned, as in this question, for example.

Certainly, the Treaty of Versailles was harsh, but by the mid 1920s some of the most onerous terms had been mitigated. Germany had been admitted to the League of Nations, which ended its international ‘pariah’ status, reparations had been rescheduled and put on a more manageable footing in the Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929). The occupation of the Rhineland ended early. These renegotiations were led by Gustav Stresemann, who died in October 1929. However, further negotiations could have been undertaken and would almost certainly have addressed the grievances that affected most ordinary Germans. Such negotiations would of course have presupposed good will on both sides. What was not on the cards was any significant change to Germany’s borders, let alone a wholesale overturning of the post WW1 settlement.

By the late 1920s Germany was enjoying modest prosperity following the stabilization of the currency in 1923–24 and there was apparent political stability. Except for political extremists, most parties were reconciled to living with the Weimar Republic, even if they were not enthusiastic about it. However, this was rapidly destroyed by the Great Crash and the mass unemployment that soon followed. The political extremists flourished, President Hindenburg began meddling in day to day politics, and by dismissing Chancellor Brüning in 1932 he (probably unintentionally) made parliamentary democracy unworkable in Germany, given the level of unemployment and the determination of the Nazis to destroy the republic. (There were over 100 political murders during the general election campaign of July 1932).

With the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor, Germany embarked on a policy of massive rearmament and boundless expansion. It was this policy, which went way beyond redressing the wrongs of Versailles, that led to WW2.

User Bajju
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