How far was the Treaty of Versailles to blame for the outbreak of ...

[aero]

This is my history homework,i need help plz someone help me!>

[federox]

It treated the Germans very harshly. It disbanded their military, made them pay reparations to France and other countries, and they weren't allowed in the Rhineland. It destroyed their economy and by the time Hitler came around, Germans were looking for someone to blame for their misfortunes.

[Hungry!]

many historians believe that the treaty was the main reason for ww2 occuring. the treaty was far too harsh upon the germans forcing them to repay millions of pounds to the suffering countries and taking responsibility for ww1. the war was not caused by the majority of the german population and yet they were being made to suffer by the rules of the treaty. the effects of this undoubtedly caused resentment amongst the population making them more open to Hitler's propaganda

[formula1]

after World War 1, the Treaty of Versailles took away Germany's colonies and forced the country to pay $33 billion (a huge amount of their GDP) to Britain and France. this, in turn, economically enslaved the German people. unemployment and inflation were out of control. the German Mark would devalue so much that people had to use carts full of money to buy bread.
this left Germany with grievances. Hitler promised to rebuild the nation and seek revenge against the Allies. this made him and the Nazis wildly popular in Germany during the 1930s. in just a few short years, Hitler revived the economy, built up a massive army, re-militarized the Rhineland, and took over neighboring countries. all of this led to war in 1939.

[Yolanda]

It had to do with the amount of reparations heaped on Germany after WWI.  It practically bankrupted Germany.  There are stories of poverty so great that it would take a wheelbarrow full of marks to buy a loaf of bread.  It fostered a great deal of bitterness against other nations, so when Hitler came to power, he preached that the German people were better than anyone else.  When you've been reduced to as low a standard as they had reached, you'd believe that kind of thing, too, almost as if to say, "How dare they heap this on us--they have no right!"  It caused the German people to believe in him, and when their economy began to improve under him, he became even more of an idol to them, no matter what he said or did--he'd saved them from the crushing poverty they'd been suffering.

[TI]

The Treaty of Versailles basically humiliated the Germans (or at least they thought so, and that WAS one of the goals of the European nations who created the Treaty after World War I) because Germany had to

1) accept the blame for starting World War I
2) give up its colonies
3) give up the territories it won in Europe
4) give up most of its navy and army and give up ALL its air force
5) pay reparations to the other nations involved in the war

All the Germans hated the Treaty, so when Hitler and the Nazis promised to reverse the treaty they gained power. Once Hitler was in power, he rebuilt Germany's armed forces and took back the lands that Germany had gained during WWI that Germany had been forced to give up by the Treaty of Versailles. The British and French let the Germans get away with invading and conquering and taking back their "territory" at first, but England finally defended Poland, leading to an outbreak of war between England and Germany, which led to more war. Hence, World War II.

I hope this has helped. Check out this great website for more information.

[Hawke]

the treaty was all one-sided. the allies really put the screws, so to speak, on the losing side, made unusual $$$ demands on the axis powers to the tune of millions of dollars. totally unreasonable since if it was enforced, their debts would just be about repaid, today some 90 years later. like wow! colonies were stripped away and given away to anyone other than original owners. the ottoman empire was crushed, germany defeated with disdain, oh the list is endless and unreasonable. some 20 years later, and with ill feelings still brewing within, germany reasserted themselves by way of adolf. the german people rightfully felt cheated. they went about it all wrong but at the time, when little or no other options were available, they felt, 'what the heck'!  the rest, as they say, is history. at the end of ww2, the allies did it right this time, enabled the war torn areas to rebuild without major cost, and as you can see, europe became big, better, best. it was one of the best things done ever! if your opponent is down, don't kick him; assist him up. you might have another round with him later, but saving his face and dignity is vastly remembered than whether the battle or war was once or lost.

[Jones]

In my opinion, it takes almost all of the blame. The reparations Germany was required to pay were a rediculous amount, putting Germany in debt for many years.

[coco]

The Treaty of Versailles WAS FAIR. It restored freedom and independence to many nations as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Lithuania etc. They regained the land which ALWAYS belonged to them but was stolen and OCCUPIED for hundreds years by aggressive, imperial states like Germany (Prussia before), Russia and Austria. Native inhabitants of those lands  were oppressed in brutally way by Germans and others many times during the all 19th century and their culture was consistently destroying by occupiers. The reason of WWII was not the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair for Germany, but the fact that Hitler made Germans believed that they are privileged nation that had right to regain some lands that in fact NEVER belonged to them, but were OCCUPIED by Germany before WWI. Germans didn't deserve more than others because they were born as "a better sort of people". Nations of Central Europe had the same right to freedom as others. They weren't WORST than Germans. Remember that history didn't start in the 20th century. Don't try to justify Hitler, because it was German superiority complex which was the main reason of the WWII not the "injustice" experienced by Germany caused by the Treaty of Versailles. Blaming of the Treaty of Versailles commonplace in the UK, France or America caused by remorse is an absurd. Go to one of these in Central and Eastern Europe countries and try to tell them that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair. For them that treaty meant giving back the FREEDOM and INDEPENDENCE.  So for example regaining of the independence by Ireland in 1921 or Finland in 1917  was not fair too?  So what was fair?  Bismarck policy of germanisation of Polish population of "Eastern Germany" lands in the 19th century? It was fair?
But I understand that historians from countries with  just as rich  tradition of imperial policy towards other nations as Germany has, don?t notice such "imperceptible" facts and try to justify German aggression by blaming too restrictive policy of the winners towards these ?poor? Germany after WWI.
An imperialist always understands other imperialist.