Question

Question #5430f

Answer 1

The Versailles treaty, explanation below.

Explanation:

The Second world War was very much a continuation of the first. The first world war ended in 1918 with the Versailles peace treaty which was very harsh on Germany. Germany had to pay massive reparations around 132 billion gold marks which is roughly 30 billion dollars today. This along with other requirements like Germany had to limit their Army and leadership led to Germans feeling very resentful to the treaty that had happened when they seemed to be winning the war, no allied troop had entered German territory.

This resentment came to a head in the Rhineland which was demilitarised under the treaty. After failing to pay reparations France marched in and started using the coal and ironwork factories and mines as their own. The Weimar government's weak response led to protests supported by Nazi propaganda. The German people didn't want to be controlled by other powers.

Another factor was Hitler's use of Scapegoats. The Versailles treaty had ended the war while most germans considered they were winning to the point where soldiers were cheered home in the belief that they had won the war. The Versailles treaty and the belief that Germany had lost the war severely dampened German Nationalism. Hitler's scapegoat that it was the fault of the jews was very appealing to Germans as they did not think the German Army should have lost.

The final factor on the road to war was the failure of the Weimar Government. The Versailles treaty and the government set up, as a result, was very dysfunctional. The German people used to the organisation of the Monarchy were not used to democracy and did not like the long arduous process of discussion that hampered the government's ability to act. Only once in the time of the Weimar government did a majority form that could pass laws without opposition and you can probably guess whose party that was, Adolf Hitlers NSDAP.

The Versailles treaty severely hampered the German economy and people and very much was a major factor on the road to war. As a result, it can be said that World War One was a continuation of World War two.

(This argument only focuses on Germany an argument can be made for Russia as well)

Hope this helped.