To what extent was the Treaty of Versaillesthe cause of World War 2?

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To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles the cause of World War 2?

The harsh treaty of Versailles, was simply unjust, and conjured up within the once proud German nation, feelings of hate towards the allies. Germany was forced to sign, what was referred to as a “diktat”.

This huge conflict had left Europe devastated, claiming the lives of millions. Europe had become financially exhausted at the expense of weapons.

Germany was compelled to accept full responsibility of the damage caused by the war, the “war guilt clause” it was called. Due to the war guilt clause full payments had to be made to the allies for the damage caused by the war. As if this wasn’t enough, Germany’s territory was literally chopped off.

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These clauses within the treaty that Germany was forced to ratify, would be considered harsh, even if it was set to an unaffected country, that had suffered no structural damage, wasn’t completely bankrupt and didn’t loose territory. How harsh would a person be if they not only unjustly asked huge amounts of compensation from you, but also took away your means of getting this money? This was certainly the case when the allies carved up Germany. Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay. Germany lost her main coal producing territories of Upper Silesia.

Wilson had published his 14 points, one of which ...

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