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The Terms Of Wwii

After WWI, Germany was left defeated, weak and powerless. Its people were willing to believe anything anyone said, to take whatever actions necessary, to relieve themselves of feelings of defeat. Because of this, Adolph Hitler was able to rise to power so swiftly with false promises and selfish intentions. Sebastian Haffner’s memoir Defying Hitler explains how everything began, and how Hitler’s promise to unite the German people for a strong Germany did just the opposite.
According to the Pillars of Society reading, at the end of WWI, an already shamed Germany was further embarrassed by being forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was fundamentally used by the allies to punish Germany. According to the treaty, Germany and Germany alone had to take complete responsibility for the war. Along with this, Germany had to surrender its naval fleet, and permanently reduce its military numbers. The British navy also continued the blockade that was set up around Germany during WWI even after the war was over, which kept Germans from trading with other countries. Because of this many Germans died from starvation. However, the most crippling blow was when an already financially unstable Germany had to pay reparations to the victors of WWI. Having to pay these reparations prevented Germany from getting back on its feet, so-to-speak.
When the Great Depression hit in 1929, the worlds economies suffered but Germany once again suffered a crippling blow. Inflation rose to the point of having, as the article states, four trillion German marks equal only one whole dollar. Money lost its value and Germans lost their life savings in a matter of days. All of these factors paved the way for Hitler and the Nazi party to come into power because Germany was desperate for anyone to take them out of what they were in.
By using fear and intimidation and by preying on the weaknesses of the German people, Hitler was able to rise to power. By using propaganda, the Nazi party...