The Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the First World War and set the terms for the peace, was considered horribly unjust by Germany. The terms of the treaty left Germany in economic ruin and this sense of injured national pride – aided by a succession of ineffective and corrupt governments that replaced the monarchy after the war – paved the way for Hitler and his Nazi party to ascend to power.
Hitler immediately proceeded on a course of re-arming and re-militarising Germany and then proceeded down a path of territorial expansionism. When he invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Thus commenced the Second World War, which continued until 1945. In the final days of the war, Germany was encircled by the Allies (the Americans, British and French) to the west and the Soviets to the east. With the cessation of hostilities, Berlin, which lay in ruins, was divided into four sectors, each of which was occupied by one of the powers mentioned above.
Outlines:
BACKGROUND
The Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the First World War and set the terms for the peace, was considered horribly unjust by Germany. The terms of the treaty left Germany in economic ruin and this sense of injured national pride – aided by a succession of ineffective and corrupt governments that replaced the monarchy after the war – paved the way for Hitler and his Nazi party to ascend to power.
Hitler immediately proceeded on a course of re-arming and re-militarising Germany and then proceeded down a path of territorial expansionism. When he invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Thus commenced the Second World War, which continued until 1945. In the final days of the war, Germany was encircled by the Allies (the Americans, British and French) to the west and the Soviets to the east. With the cessation of hostilities, Berlin, which lay in ruins, was divided into four sectors, each of which was occupied by one of the powers mentioned above.