Title: How the Versailles Treaty Contributed to Hitler's Rise
Headings: How the Treaty of Versailles Contributed to Hitler's Rise
How the Treaty of Versailles Contributed to Hitler's Rise
Its provisions left Germany in ruins, fertile ground for the Nazis
The 'Stabbed in the Back' Myth
The Collapse of the German Economy
Hitler's Rise to Power
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Content: Hitler was obsessed with the belief that Marxists and Jews had been behind the failure in World War I and had to be removed to prevent failure in World War II. The Collapse of the German Economy
It can be argued that Hitler may not have taken power without the massive economic depression that struck the world, including Germany, in the late 1920s. Hitler promised a way out, and a disaffected populace turned to him. It can also be argued Germany’s economic troubles at this time were due—at least in part—to the Treaty of Versailles. The victors in World War I had spent a colossal sum of money, which had to be paid back. The ruined continental landscape and economy had to be rebuilt. France and Britain were facing huge bills, and the answer for many was to make Germany pay. The amount to be repaid in reparations was huge, set at $31.5 billion in 1921, and, when Germany couldn't pay, reduced to $29 billion in 1928. 1 ﻿
But just as Britain's effort to make American colonists pay for the French and Indian War backfired, so did reparations. It wasn’t the cost that proved the problem since reparations had been all but neutralized after the 1932 Lausanne Conference, but the way the German economy became massively dependent on American investment and loans.