World History Honors: How The Treaty Of Versailles Affected Germany

Alexa Magalnick

Mr. Dimeck

World History Honors

June 5, 2023

How the Treaty of Versailles Affected Germany After four devastating and horrific years of fighting, World War I was finally coming to an end in 1918. Just about a year after the war ended, The Treaty of Versailles was created. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that was one of the most conversional treaties in history. The Treaty of Versailles placed total blame on Germany for losing to the French, British, and Americans In World War I. This forced the Germans to pay off all the damage that happened in the war and led to their economic downfall. The Treaty was signed by the Allied Powers; France, Great Britain, United States, and Germany. The Treaty imposed severe limitations

Germany was tasked with a major responsibility of paying financial reparations. One reparation was the 132 billion gold marks to cover up the damage caused by the war. There were mostly all negative effects on Germany that came out of the Treaty of Versailles. The war had been going on for four difficult and horrific years which caused many lives to be lost in the process. Some fighting continued but the first major step to ending the war was between Germany and its allies. “The Armistice was the ceasefire that ended hostilities between the Allies and Germany on the 11th of November 1918. The Armistice did not end the First World War itself, but it was the agreement that stopped the fighting on the Western Front while the terms of the permanent peace were discussed. The Treaty of Versailles formally ended the War after more than half a year of negotiation.” (Sawers). The Treaty of Versailles did way more good than bad for other countries, but for Germany, it was a different story. Great Britain, France, the United States, and Italy were all part of the “Big Four”. They created the Treaty of Versailles to make compromises and ensure that Germany can never wage war ever again. “The Treaty of Versailles was very unpopular in Germany and was viewed as extremely harsh. Faced with the revolutionary atmosphere at home, and shortages from the conditions of war, the German government reluctantly agreed

He rose to power as the leader of the nazi party. “Six million Jews murdered. Millions more were stripped of their livelihoods, their communities, their families, and even their names. The horrors of the Holocaust are often expressed in numbers that convey the magnitude of Nazi Germany’s attempt to annihilate Europe’s Jews.” (Blakemore) Hitler's goal was to take out the whole Jewish population remaining in Germany. He believed that Jews are responsible for many of the problems in Germany. Hitlers blamed Jews for everything from political unrest to the spread of communism and claimed that they were part of an international conspiracy to take over the world. Hitlers anti–semitic beliefs were a central part of Nazi ideology, and they led to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The Holocaust is linked back to the Treaty of Versailles in several ways. The harsh terms of the treaty created a fertile ground for the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler. Hitler's aggressive foreign policy eventually led to the invasion of Poland and the Start of World War II. The holocaust was a direct result of Hitler's desire to create a pure Aryan race and his belief that the Jews were responsible for Germany's defeat in World War