After the aftermath of World War I, the world's major superpowers came together to decide the fate of the enemy, Germany. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed and entered into force, thus limiting the power and influence of the Germans, the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarians. This limited their power due to the massive restrictions implemented by the Allied powers in the Treaty of Versailles, as well as the effect that the creation of the League of Nations – proposed by Woodrow Wilson in its 14 Points – had on global affairs. The culmination of all these restrictions and plans limited Germany's true potential, playing a major role in their inevitable defeat during World War II. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Before Hitler's rise to power during World War II, the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria - Gavrilo Princip wanted the liberation of the Bosnian people from the then evident Austro-Hungarian domination. The treaty was primarily driven by the Allies with little German contribution which damaged them politically and economically. I love cheating so much, this essay was written by a college freshman who loves the topic. I copied it. This treaty greatly limited most of the power America had and completely destroyed them economically, among other things. Because of the treaty, Germany would have to pay £6.6 billion in reparations by 1921. With these economic sanctions put in place, it pushed Germany back even before the Third Reich came to power economically. They suffered the “injustice” of the Treaty of Versailles and had little foundation to build on, which pointed to an obvious reason why Germany failed in World War II. Inflation soon became a problem in Germany. The country could not keep up with the demands implemented by the treaty and the League of Nations, leading to inflation in its economy. Hyperinflation became a problem even before World War I because the government believed the war would end quickly; this led them to abandon the gold backing of its currency and to depend heavily on borrowing its money. Abandoning the gold standard was a bad move because gold is the richest element in the world and serves as a good standard for currency. By abandoning it, Germany's money had lost its value and it had to borrow money from many other countries. Inflation became a big problem in Germany and people had no value behind their money because of the treaty and its consequences. This hurt the country and its ability to advance, keeping it one step behind the other Allied powers: which was exactly what the rest of the world wanted to do, too. This kept Germany below par in terms of technology because it did not have the money to finance it, ultimately serving as a noticeable factor during World War II and its ultimate outcome. If Germany had not suffered such harsh economic repercussions, it potentially would have been better off during World War II, which would have had a completely different outcome for the war and history. Aside from the economic repercussions, Germany was forced to completely demilitarize under the Treaty. of Versailles. Fearing another uprising, the Allies decided to limit the German army to the minimum necessary to have a safe buffer zone between them. Due to the poorGerman entry in the treaty, the German Army was forced to drastically reduce to “6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, the Navy could have no more than 1500 officers” – they were banned from using the tanks and their army could not exceed 100,000 volunteers. Many Germans then, as well as historians today, might argue that these demilitarization policies were a little too extreme, to the point that Germany could not defend itself against all these large countries during World War II. Somehow under Hitler, the Third Reich managed to pull through and become a dominant military force because Adolf ignored the treaty and did what he thought would benefit the country. He had no respect for the treaty because he wanted the best for Germany and did everything in his power to achieve this, just like the Italian fascist Mussolini: something Hitler admired. The removal of German troops and armory had a huge effect on the outcome of World War II because things could have been completely different if the Nazi Party had been provided with a regrouped army. The League of Nations was one of the main points of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points; which he proposed in opposition to the Treaty of Versailles. The Fourteen Points were a set of ideas that the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, gave to world powers for consideration when drawing up the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson promised the Germans that his plan would be accepted, which they were open to and would agree with. Therefore, when the Fourteen Points failed, the Germans felt betrayed by all other countries because they would now suffer much more than they were ready for. This is believed to be too extreme for them and has proven to be too extreme. Germany had to wait for Adolf Hitler to come to power from the Nazi party in 1933: following the American market crash of 1929, the loan that Germany had acquired from America to pay for its repercussions, defaulted leaving it in a disastrous state. With little help from the League of Nations, Germany was left to its own devices, which led to the election of Hitler as chancellor who later declared himself absolute ruler. The League of Nations was created by Woodrow Wilson but he never convinced the American legislative system to join so it was led by the “Big Three” which were Great Britain, France and Russia, all allied powers. This was one of the main reasons why Germany resented the League of Nations. The League was responsible for “establishing arbitration procedures and creating mechanisms for economic and military sanctions” and was led by resentful opponents of the First World War. The League of Nations determined many of the global affairs regarding military and military matters. economic sanctions, both heavily applied to the Germans thanks to this committee. The creation of a league that would impose these sanctions angered the Germans because they believed it was not right. This dramatically damaged the country during the 1920s and 1930s. It was only when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party ignored everything the League of Nations had said, as well as what the Treaty of Versailles proposed, that led to growth in Germany; but it was too late, it was not enough to change the outcome of the Second World War. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The aftermath of World War I demonstrated to the globe that wars were neither easy nor cheap, let alone world wars. Out of fear.