It was a war that cost the lives of ten million soldiers and seven million civilians and injured ten million more. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Türkiye fought on one side, while France, Italy, England and Russia fought on the other. Peace was necessary, so at the end of the war the leaders met for a treaty. The Treaty of Versailles provoked German anger and humiliation that led to World War II. It did so by imposing territorial losses, military restrictions, economic reparations and war guilt. The Treaty of Versailles contributed to the territorial losses suffered by Germany after the First World War. Germany lost a large amount of territory. They lost the Polish Corridor, Alsace Lorraine and part of Denmark. This was significant because the loss of the Polish corridor divided Germany in half. The major port cities also lost. The Germans were very angry at these losses. Hitler said that the restoration of 1914 could only be achieved with blood. In addition to territorial losses, Germany also suffered military restrictions resulting from the Treaty of Versailles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAccording to Article 160 of the treaty, the German troops were allowed a total number of one hundred thousand people. Germany was surrounded by other countries with large military troops. France had the largest army of all the nations and was in control of it. With such a small army, the Germans felt insecure and afraid. This was troubling to many Germans and another reason why they were against the Treaty of Versailles. Another important factor that the Treaty of Versailles played on Germany was the payment of economic or war reparations. Article 232 of the treaty provides that the Allies demand and Germany undertakes to compensate all damages caused to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated Powers and to their property during the period of belligerence. Payments were to begin on May 1, 1921 and end by May 1, 1951. The reduced amount Germany had to pay was 112 billion gold marks, equivalent to 341 billion US dollars. The original reparation amounted to 132 billion gold marks. In the 1920s the Germans were angry and paid nothing. in 1929 they only paid 2 billion marks, then finally in 1933 the payments stopped when Hitler took power. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles made Germany responsible for war guilt. Germany was blamed for World War I and people didn't like that. They felt the treaty was evil and unjust. What they knew about the treaty was indelibly imprinted in their minds and could be summed up in one word: humiliation. When Hitler came to power, he gave them back their pride. He was able to get them out of all the war guilt they had.
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