Why Was Germany Most Significant Influential Country During World Wars So After Losing World War II?

Seven and a half months after the bloody fight of World War 1, which had begun on June, 28 1919; it finally ended in November 11, 1918, the Versailles Treaty was formed by the Allied nations. This treaty was formed by Great Britain, France, and the United States after defeating Germany and leaving an estimated amount of 10 million soldier and 7 million civilian casualties, when the Treaty of Versailles was formed, France wanted revenge for the suffering caused by World War I, and England agreed to this. The Versailles Treaty, lead to World War II since it produced more conflicts with Germany, when they were angered and humiliated, imposing four, harsh ways such as: territory loss, military restrictions, economic reparations, and “war guilt.”

In the aftermath of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles emerged as an influential document that shaped the course of history in the following years. Signed in 1919, the treaty marked the war's end and imposed consequences on Germany. It was crafted by the Allied powers to ensure peace and security due to the devastation caused by the war. The treaty's provisions, which included loss of territory, disarmament, and reparations, aimed to prevent future conflict. However, the treaty's controversial terms and impact on Germany's land, army, economy, and pride laid the groundwork for the rise of Nazi Germany and World War II.

World War 1, fought from 1914 to 1918, ended with Germany on the losing side, and Britain, France, the U.S., and Russia on the winning side. Many countries were unhappy due to the fact they had lost so much money and resources from the war, and vowed never to go through the terribleness of a world war again. Little did they know around 20 years later the second world war would begin. So France, England, and the U.S. Presidents met in Versailles, France to figure out how to gain peace. France was angry they had suffered so much from the war, and proposed Germany pay big sums of gold, land, resources, and reduce their military. This was agreed upon, and became known as the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was a factor that helped cause WW2 due to crestfallen Germany’s loss of money, land and military.

Germany was believed to be the cause of World War one, which made other European countries want to severely hurt Germany’s military and economy so that Germany couldn’t achieve future aggressions. The peace treaty called the Treaty of Versailles did just that. On June 28, 1919, the major powers in Europe, other than Germany, negotiated Germany’s punishment for the war. Germany’s military was limited to 100,000 men, they lost many of their colonies, they were forced to disarm their troops from the Rhineland, and worst of all they were forced to pay for all of the destruction caused by the war, which totaled to about 40 billion dollars. The Treaty of Versailles crushed Germany; they were weak and desperate, until Nazi Germany came to power.

Germany was left indebted to the United States for the relief it received. Guinnane noted that prior to entering the war, governments guaranteed their citizens that allied parties will pay for the costs accumulated during the war (9). The assurance left Germany indebted to France and Italy given that they entered the war in alliance to the nation. Guinnane reported that end of World War II marked the end of the Nazi regime and reparations from Germany to the Jewish group for the cruelty inflicted by the movement (5). The Jewish group was regarded as a nation by the United States. Germany paid an amount of $ 500 million to German-Jews to appease the damage they endured. King stated that after the war, the Soviet Union showed preference to

Treaty of Versailles Debate The great world war had essentially been won. All that was left was to iron out the terms of the Central Powers surrender. Thus a peace conference convened at the Palace of Versailles on January 18, 1919. It was there that the Allied powers, the Central Powers were excluded, laid blame upon the Germans for the start of the war and imposed stringent obligations upon them as retribution for the losses on each side.

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, and because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh against Germany. The treaty stated that Germany must accept full responsibility for the previously ended war and pay thirty three billion dollars for the damages that remained from the war. This treaty left Germany and the citizens with a shattered economy and chaos. The Treaty of Versailles left many Germans angry and frustrated due to the long term effects it

The second world war was a global conflict, beginning on the 1st of September, 1939, and finally ending on August 15th 1945. War broke out when Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party, Chancellor and Fuehrer of Nazi Germany, broke the treaty of Versailles by invading Poland on false accusations that the country had launched previous attacks on Germany. Throughout the six year world war, the conflict experienced twelve significant turning points, all heavily influencing the allied victory. These included the Nanking massacre, the breaking of the Munich Agreement, The Battle of Britain, the Tripartite Pact, the Siege of Leningrad, Pearl Harbour, the Battle of Bataan, the

After WW I Germany had many economic and political problems that allowed Adolph Hitler to become ruler of Germany. After Hitler appointed himself chancellor he started rebuilding the German military. After years of no international response to breaking the Treaty of Versailles Germany attacked Poland. From 1939 to 1941 Germany had won many victories; however 1941 was a turning point in the war. By the end of 1941 Germany would continuously lose land to the allies with the exception of the Battle of the Bulge. The main reasons for Germany 's defeat were that they were fighting the war in too many fronts, poor leadership and the invasion of Russia.

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party rose to power during the period of time right before and during World War II. Although Hitler caused many injustices and deaths, the Germans still looked up to and admired him. German citizens saw him as a leader who brought nothing but positive changes to their country. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were appealing to the Germans due to Hitler’s potential of stabilizing Germany’s economy, Hitler’s favorable ideas, and the nationalism Hitler was able to bring about.

Germany ended up defeating and taking over Poland on October 6, 1939. Both Great Britain and France knew after Poland was taken over, there was only more trouble to come from Germany. For France, it was only a matter of time before it was taken over, while Britain remained resilient against Germany and it’s forces. This early hesitation from Western Europe, specifically France and Great Britain, was a major reason to account for the Germans’ early success during World War II. However, France and Britain were not the only countries whose lack of initial involvement in the war was significant to Germany’s early success.

In 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference The Treaty of Versailles was formally drafted and World War I was finally brought to an end. The treaty was drafted by the Allied Powers, which consisted of Great Britain, France and the United States. This treaty blamed the war solely on Germany, and it required them to pay an amount of “$33 billion dollars in reparations, cede all of colonies, dismantle their air force, and greatly reduce their other military operations”(German Delegation, 291).

In 1934, after the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler took over to become “Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor.” He abolished the title of President at that time. (25) In the years that followed, he surged to such great power that he was obsessed with taking over the world.

In 1933 Germany is in a state of unrest; the people are desperate for change. During this year Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by Paul Von Hindenberg, President of Germany, in January. Hitler is elected chancellor through hesitation on President Hindenbergs part. Hindenberg is convinced to allow Hitler to be Chancellor of Germany after a series of persuasions; Hindenberg fears Hitler’s gaining popularity. Once Hitler gains power he quickly starts to take over Germany.

The defeat of Germany in World War Two was due to many factors. All of these factors were influenced by the leadership and judgment of Adolf Hitler. Factors such as the stand fast policy, Hitler's unnecessary and risky decision making in military situations, for example when attacking the USSR, and the declaration of war on the US. Plus other factors, like Hitler's alliance with Italy, despite its obvious weaknesses, and the pursuit of the final solution, can all be attributed to the poor leadership and judgement of the Fuhrer, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Third Reich.