In the face of Hitler’s aggression, most politicians in Britain and France were uncertain as to the best course of action. At this time the US had withdrawn from involvement in European affairs and so the main role of preserving stability in Europe was in the hands of Britain and France. Hitler’s policies caused concern among Germany’s neighbours, especially Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1936 he moved German forces into the Rhineland area of Germany which bordered France – which was forbidden by the Treaty. In 1935 he broke the Treaty by rearming Germany, expanding its armed forces dramatically. When Hitler became Chancellor in Germany in 1933 he already had plans to, as he saw it, restore Germany’s greatness. Another indisputable fact is that the radical Nazi party and its charismatic leader Adolf Hitler used the resentment against the Treaty to gather support for the Party. What is not debated is that the Treaty was bitterly unpopular in Germany because it was seen as unfair.
Debate still continues today about whether or not the Treaty was fair or reasonable, or whether the Treaty was a direct cause of the Second World War. The Treaty put various limitations on Germany’s armed forces, took away German territories and forced Germany to pay reparations for the damage caused in the war. At the end of the First World War Germany lay defeated and was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
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