‘’Bearing in mind that on the request of the Imperial German Government an Armistice was granted on November 11, 1918’’ this excerpt from the Treaty of Versailles marks the end of World War One and the beginning of the of the rebuilding of the German Empire and the rise of its most notorious leader Adolf Hitler. Shortly after Germany's defeat the great depression set in, mounting more pressure on the already straining German economy. Newly drawn boundaries fueled German aggression, as large amounts of her territory, resources and armed forces were taken away. Not only did Germany owe 33 Billion US dollars in reparations but the entire blame for World War One was placed on Germany's shoulders. The treaty of Versailles can be directly linked and attributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP. …show more content…
Hitler felt that ‘everything had been in vain and the deaths of 2 million were for nothing” (Source 1). The signing of the armistice would drive Hitler to his political success; motivating him to return Germany to its former glory and beyond. This primary source reflects Adolf Hitler’s personal thoughts on the armistice and the actions of the Civilian Government of Germany. Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf (Source 2) “By placing responsibility for the loss of the world war on the shoulders of Ludendorff they took away the weapon of moral right from the only adversary dangerous enough to be likely to succeed in bringing the betrayers of the Fatherland to Justice”. Both sources reflect Hitler’s feeling of betrayal towards the Civilian Government and corroborate Hitler’s thoughts shifting from anger to having a strong reason to create