The Treaty of Versailles

Paper Summary:

This paper puts forth the thesis that the harsh punishment meted out to Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and the suffering the German people had to go through as a result of it, gave Hitler the issue he needed to convince citizens they needed a powerful nationalistic leader like him. According to the paper, Hitler played on the fears and anger of the German people and emerged as dictator largely because of that.

From the Paper:

"Moreover, Germans were ordered to pay reparations for the damage the war - launched by Germany - had done. The Weimar (German) government signed the Treaty because, as Jim Cort writes (Learning Through History), "they had no choice." The feeling soon became widespread, however, that the Germans had been "betrayed" (Cort, 2006). Enter Adolph Hitler, who worked his way up into a leadership position, became Chancellor and then dictator. Hitler was very effective at stirring up passions - social, economic, and political passions - to entrench himself as ultimate leader. Cort writes, "Into this stew of national resentment and wounded pride a war veteran named Adolph Hitler." Indeed, Hitler's is speech on September 19, 1939, at Danzig, Germany - eighteen days after German tanks had attacked inside Poland, basically starting WWII - was emotionally-charged rhetoric based on the Treaty and also on Hitler's hatred of Jews."

Sample of Sources Used:

• ABC-CLIO. "World History: Modern: The Rise of Fascism in Europe."
• Cort, Jim. "The Rise of Adolph Hitler and National Socialism." Learning Through History. 4.6 (2006): 6-9.
• Hitler, Adolph. "Danzig - Speech of September 19, 1939." Essential Speeches. (2003). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Academic Search Premier (AN #8859957).
• Towle, Philip. "Forced Disarmament in the 1920s and After." The Journal of Strategic Studies. 29.2 (2006): 323-344.

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