Question

Explain the following statement with reason.

‘The Treaty of Versailles’ had the seeds of the Second World War. The Text does not have any comment to this effect.

Answer 1

1. The Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Allied nations and Germany at Versailles palace in 1919. It was drafted by American President Woodrow Wilson.
2. The Treaty of Versailles was very harsh on Germany because Germany had lost the war.
3. Germany was forced to accept the responsibility of the war damages suffered by the Allies.
4. The victorious powers had deprived Germany of huge tracts of its territory. Germany was burdened with an immense war indemnity.
5. The peace settlement at Paris was made in a spirit of revenge. The Germans felt that too much injustice had been done to them.
6. The German economy ruined completely. People were starving and the government was in chaos.
7. It was impossible for a proud German race to forget the consequences of the war, which they had lost so humiliatingly.
8. This fuelled the rise of Nazism in Germany which adopted the policy of aggression. In this way, Treaty of Versailles sowed the seeds of the Second World War.