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Military Conflicts Historical Current Event Example
Military Conflicts Period 8 February 27, 2017 Historical Current Event #1 (1939) ______________________________________________________________________________
“Hitler Strikes Again at Versailles Treaty”
The article, “Hitler Strikes Again at Versailles Treaty” by John C. De Wilde, explains how
Hitler revised the Treaty of Versailles applying to Germany. Hitler believed that the Treaty of
Versailles was specifically meant for Germany and Germany only. Prince Max of Baden, the
new German Chancellor, made an offer with allies. His offer included ceasing all hostilities on
the basis of the Fourteen Points that President Woodrow Wilson had written to congress in
1918. The allies accepted this offer from the chancellor. The Allied and Associated Powers
came up with the peace conditions on the treaty. To a vote of 237 to 138, the Weimar Assembly
voted in favor of the treaty. Germany then decides to surrender to a new Poland. The treaty
limited Germany to certain things to keep them powerless. Germany was restricted in their army
size, limited them to 100,000 long-term volunteers. The army was not allowed to use airplanes,
tanks, armored cars, heavy artillery and poison gas. The Reich’s navy was also restricted to
things, as Germany was. The Reich’s navy was limited to only six battleships, six cruisers, six
destroyers and twelve torpedo boats. As John C. De Wilde states, “...the Reich was made to
acknowledge “responsibility” for all the loss and damage inflicted “by the aggression of
Germany and her allies.” Germany was admitted to the League of Nations, as part of the
Locarno Settlement in 1925. The Dawes and Young Plans lowered the problem for Germany
paying for all the war costs. Then in 1932, the Lausanne Settlement cancelled the rest of
Germany’s payments.
This news affected the people living in the area at the time greatly. Hitler was completely reorganizing the Treaty of Versailles based on Germany’s liking. No other countries were being considered. It also affected Germany’s actions in the war. Being limited to certain things, like army size and certain numbers of supplies, affected their performance. If they had more soldiers, more boats and more supplies, the war would be completely different now. If Germany had done differently, the country and its people would be much different now.
If I read this news article in 1939, I would be outraged. Hitler changed the Versailles Treaty to advocate Germany. Hitler was a very powerful leader and he definitely persuaded people’s views. Everything he did was to support his country and the German people. But, mostly to support himself. This article shows you just how much Hitler persuaded the Allied and Associated Powers, by the powers agreeing to voting in favor of the treaty and Hitler.
This news connects to what were are discussing in class in many ways. In class, we have been discussing how Hitler was a huge part of World War II. One thing he is most famous for is his speeches. Hitler was a very powerful speaker, persuading people that his views on the Jewish and non-Aryan people were correct. Hitler did whatever he had to do to get his way. He wanted to eliminate the entire Jewish race and everyone who was not Aryan. He did everything in his power to try and accomplish this.
I chose this article because I wanted to see how Hitler actually changed the treaty. I did not know he changed the treaty in favor of Germany and believed the treaty was meant for Germany. H did many things to persuade people and countries to go along with his ideas and plans, I did not know this was one of them. By reading this, I know more about this topic and what went on during this time.
Citation
De Wilde, John C. "Hitler Strikes Again at Versailles Treaty." Historical Newspapers. N.p., 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.