Question

Choose two of the terms from the Treaty of Versailles that were meant to punish Germany and explain how each one helped to lead to World War II.

Answer 1

The Treaty of Versailles included terms that punished Germany and contributed to the outbreak of World War II. Germany was required to pay massive reparations and limit the size and quality of its armed forces, which created economic hardship and resentment among the German population and facilitated the rise of Adolf Hitler.

Step-by-step explanation:

Two of the terms from the Treaty of Versailles that were meant to punish Germany and helped to lead to World War II were the reparations and the limitation of Germany's armed forces.

1. Reparations: Germany was forced to pay $33 billion in reparations to the Allied Powers to compensate for their losses in the war. This immense financial burden put a strain on the German economy and led to widespread economic hardship and resentment among the German population.
2. Limitation of Germany's armed forces: Germany was required to drastically reduce the size and quality of its armed forces. They were prohibited from developing offensive weapons such as submarines or military aircraft. This limitation weakened Germany's military power and created a sense of frustration and humiliation among the German people, fueling their desire for revenge.

These punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, who exploited the anger and discontent among Germans to gain support and eventually lead to the outbreak of World War II.