[horseychar123]

Hi! In our last history lesson, we were studing the undoing of The Treaty Of Versailles. We didnt really go into much depth, and I am interested in what actually happened, I've found this website, http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/biogra...H/hitler/2.html but really I wanted to know more! Can anyone tell me exactly what happened? This isnt homework or coursework by the way! I just like knowing what actually happened not just the outlines!

Thanks

Charlotte

[Mrs Faithorn]

It's good to hear that you want to do a bit more research on this topic. The more you know, the better your understanding will/should be.

The web page you refer to does have quite a lot of information on "undoing the Treaty of Versailles" but it's a bit buried in all the other stuff about Hitler's life. Look under the headings "Nazification" - 1934-1937 and especially "Breaking the Versailles Treaty" - 1934-1937. That page doesn't seem to go any further than 1937 so you'll need more on the years 1937 - 1940.


Basically .... Hitler broke/undid the Terms of the Treaty of Versailles by:

• Leaving the League of Nations in 1933. Although Germany had not originally been allowed to join they had been admitted in 1926 and accepting the L of N had been the very first thing that the T of V had said those who signed the Treaty must do. And, of course, pretty much every thing that Hitler did was against the principles on which the L of N was based - particularly the use of aggression to get what he wanted.
  
• Not paying any more reparations to the Allies. Though this had not actually been happening anyway after 1930 when Germany was badly hit by the economic consequences of the Wall St Crash.
  
• Rearming - secretly at first, and then openly after 1935. To find out more on this see this page: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/germa..._rearmament.htm
  
• Reoccupying the demilitarised Rhineland in 1936. See this page: http://www.historyle...neland_1936.htm
  
• Uniting with Austria in 1938. See this page: http://www.historyle...ia_and_1938.htm
  
• Invading Poland in 1939 since this meant taking the 'Polish Corridor' given to Poland by the T of V. See here: http://www.historyle...k_on_poland.htm
  
• Invading France and Belgium in 1940 since this meant taking back Alsace Lorriane given to France by the T of V and Eupen and Malmedy given to Belgium. See here: http://www.historyle...aginot_line.htm

NOTE: There are one or two events in the period leading up to WWII/Hitler's actions that didn't strictly speaking 'undo' the T of V.

• In 1935 the people of the Saar held a plebiscite/popular vote (as the T of V had said they should) and chose to return to Germany. Of course, Nazi propaganda and pressure made sure that the outcome of the vote went that way.
  
• In 1938 (at the time of the Munich Agreement) the Sudentenland area of Czechslovakia was actually given to Hitler, though this was to delay the outbreak of war. See here: http://www.historyle...ovakia_1938.htm

ALSO: Hitler never regained Germany's overseas colonies - taken away by the T of V. Nor did he directly attempt to do so.

I hope this helps?

[horseychar123]

Thanks, thats really usefull, I am quite interested in all off Hitlers life. Do you know why Hitler hated Jews so much, and what prompted him to for fill the Holocaust? Again, this is my own interest and not coursework/homework!
Thanks

[Mrs Faithorn]

horseychar123, on Mar 2 2006, 11:09 AM, said:

Thanks, thats really usefull, I am quite interested in all off Hitlers life.

Then probably the best, detailed site with a straightforward account of Hitler's life is this one:
Hitler's Life to 1933 (when he came to power in Germany)
Hitler's Years in Power up to the outbreak of WWII (1933 - 1939)

... but the section on this site about Hitler and WWII is not yet complete.

Quote

Do you know why Hitler hated Jews so much

That's not a question that can be answered simply or with an absolutely definite answer. One thing that you do need to understand was that Hitler was not alone either in Germany or Europe as a whole in his dislike of the Jews. What was unique about Hitler was that his hatred was taken to such extreme lengths.

There are various theories about why Hitler's anti-semitic hatred was so strong. Some people have put it down to the fact that his much-loved Mother was unsuccessfully treated for cancer by a Jewish doctor. Others pin point the fact that Hitler came under the influence of really virulent anti-semitic views whilst he was living as a young man at an impressionable age in Vienna in the years before the First World War. In his autobiography 'Mein Kampf' ('My Struggle') Hitler himself refers to a moment when he was living in Vienna and saw Jewish people of the streets on Vienna and (since these people were Orthodox Jews who wear very distinctive clothes and long beards) it struck him that they were 'outsiders' who had no place - in his view - there. But as I said above .... the answer to your question is very complex and really you would be best talking to your teacher about such complicated issues.

Quote

and what prompted him to fullfil(note your misunderstanding of the right word to use there) the Holocaust? Again, this is my own interest and not coursework/homework!
Thanks

And again this is an extremely complex question about which whole books have been written so it's hard for me to answer your question simply here. One interpretation (and I emphasise that this is an interpretation and that others will have differing views) is that Hitler's original plan was to drive Jewish people out of Germany - and Austria after 1938 - by making life as difficult as possible for them there, but that his plans changed once he invaded the USSR in 1941. They changed because now there were millions more Jewish people in the lands ocupied by Germany and forcing them to emigrate was no longer a possibility during wartime. Thus, some historians will argue, the 'Final Solution' (ie the extermination of all Jews in countries occupied by Germany) came about since it was seen as the one sure way of achieving what the Nazis wanted. ie a nation in which the only people would be those who were pure-blooded Aryans.

Other historians will argue that Hitler always intended to exterminate the Jews and that killing millions of people in the extermination camps such as Auschwitz (ie the Holocaust) was the plan right from the start. However, my own view is that there is little evidence to support that interpretation.

As I said, this is a very complex question but I hope that my answer will suffice at this stage.

[christian ankerstjerne]

It is important to note that the re-armament took place prior to 1933 as well, though. Forbidden to manufacture or import armoured cars and tanks under article 171 in the Treaty of Versailles, work on a medium tank began as early as 1926 (JENTZ, Thomas L. & DOYLE, Hilary Louis. PANZER TRACTS No.4 - Panzerkampfwagen IV : Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Darlington (MD) : Darlington Productions, 1997.)

An excellent source for the Treaty of Versailles is this page: http://history.acusd.edu/gen/text/versaill...ercontents.html

[Mrs Faithorn]

Thank you for your contribution Christian. You are, of course, quite right in pointing out that terms of the Treaty of Versailles were being broken before 1933 and you might have gone on to point out other ways in which this was taking place eg as a result of theTreaty of Rapallo.

However the important thing on this Forum is to ensure that the help given is relevant and appropriate to the student who has asked the original question. Horseychar123 was clearly just beginning to get to grips with the topic and as a student of about 15 directing her to that site is not really very appropriate since it is so detailed (although extremely useful for more academic study).

Furthermore the topic has had no further queries for several weeks so your contribution may well be wasted.

You are very welcome here, but do please note what I have said if you are thinking of contributing to other threads in the future.

[christian ankerstjerne]

You're of course quite right - I'm used to a rather academic approach, both in terms of sources and width of subject, so I guess I was a bit off-topic.
I usually try to stay away from Internet sources, since their accuracy is often quite uneven. This is why I am all the more excited when finding primary course information online (or close to anyway - being transscribed, there is always the risk of error and, although probably to a lesser extent in this case, omissions or additions by the author). I agree that it is probably somewhat of a mouthful, but nonetheless facinating reading (I've used it while studying economics as well, looking at the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the economy of the Weimar Republic and the German hyperinflation during the twenties).

Being a pseudo-student at the moment (I started my BA in history last year taking evening classes, but had to put it on halt this year because of work), I guess I fall outside the primary scope of the forum.

I hadn't noticed the time which had passed by since the initial question - since I saw it on the first page, I assumed taht it was a fairly recent thread.

[Mrs Faithorn]

Yes. I understand.

It's not that we don't welcome help being offered to students who ask questions here, but the important thing - as I have said - is that the level of help offered is appropriate to the person asking the question. If you have no teaching experience then this may be difficult for you to judge.

As you will gather, this is first and foremost a place where secondary school age students (11- 18) in the UK can ask for assistance.