The Peculiarities of Treaty of Versailles
World War Two was the biggest global conflict in history that involved virtually every part of the world. It was a deadly military conflict; Allied powers had resulted in 80 million deaths. It has a profound impact on modern society, including effects like today’s lingering anti-Semitism of Jews, and the continued use and creation of Nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the war created devastating effects on western European economies so we implemented the Marshall plan in which the US provided financial aid to those countries. Today, those economies in Europe are now world powers.
Spurred by the 1939 invasion of Poland, the WW2 persisted for 6 destructive and deadly years. Its main causes include Germany’s aggression in response to the Treaty of Versailles, a peace document that held Germany responsible for world war one and imposed very harsh punishments. Moreover, hyper-inflation had hit Germany hard, and Germany, along with many other countries, was in a deep economic downfall. On top of that, militarism was rising in Germany and Japan. While Germany had taken to a brutal Nazi agenda, Japanese expansion led to a brief confrontation with Russia and a full-fledged war against China. During the majority of the war, the US claimed to be neutral and tried to stay out of European affairs. It is critical to analyze America and our allies’ involvement during the war and what we could have done differently. This helps strategize and learn how we can avoid such terrors in the future. To prevent World War 2, America and its allies could have enforced a less strict treaty on Germany, rejected appeasement, joined and strengthened the League of Nations, and taken Japan’s threat of war seriously.
First and foremost, World War Two could have been prevented if the conditions in The Treaty of Versailles had been less severe. The treaty was a guilty cause that codified peace terms between the victorious allies and Germany by implementing harsh penalties like paying reparations to the allied nations for the losses and damage they had suffered in WWI. Even though the compensation would cause tremendous distress to Germany’s economy, the treaty declared that punitive actions would be taken should Germany fall behind in payments. However, while the treaty was issued to ensure peace, it instead created fertile conditions for Nazi fascism to come to power. Insulted and humiliated by the intolerable conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, German politicians used it as a nationalist rallying point, fueling a rebellion against European countries while blaming Jews for Germany’s disastrous state. Thus, if our allies had made the conditions of the Treaty more reasonable, Germany would not have possessed intense nationwide humiliation and a deteriorating economy. This could have simply avoided World War Two as Germany would not have felt a violent need to restore national prestige. The Treaty of Versailles was harsh because many allies aimed to weaken Germany as much as possible. President Woodrow Wilson wanted to make the treaty less severe, but American isolationism (the policy so stay out of foreign affairs) squashed any incentive to become involved with the Treaty. Thus, the United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles.
Secondly, The US and its allies could have prevented World War 2 by not practicing appeasement when Hitler would invade territories. Hitler’s expansionist agenda became clear in 1936 when he took over Rhineland to grow and pursue the Nazi regime. He then annexed Austria two years later in March 1938. At the Munich Conference that September, Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of England, agreed to let Germany occupy Sudetenland in an attempt to avert war and assure a future of Anglo-German peace. The terms included Hitler to promise that he would make no more territorial demands of Europe. This action describes Britain’s policy of appeasement to Nazi Germany: to create one-sided concessions that would avoid conflict with the aggressor. Simply put, England allowed Germany to expand territories unchecked, even though he was violating terms from the Treaty of Versailles. This is significant because appeasement emboldened Hitler’s agenda by allowing him to continue to expand and build his army, preparing Germany for war. England’s hopes of appeasement failed when Hitler broke his promise and invaded Poland on September 1st, sparking the war between England and Germany. Hitler should not have been let away with expanding into new territories while violating the Treaty of Versailles. Winston Churchill at the time described appeasement as an “unmitigated disaster” and scolded Chamberlain for subserving Hitler and dishonoring England. Churchill had constantly warned the Government of the dangers posed by Nazi Germany, but his concerns went unheeded. Therefore, to have avoided Nazi Germany’s rise in power, England should have listened to Churchill and never agreed to appeasement. This would have shown Hitler that England will not cower in fear and instead will use military force should he violate the Treaty of Versailles. Moreover, this would not have allowed Hitler to continue to build up strength and would have been a large contributor in avoiding the war.
Thirdly, America and its allies should have joined and strengthened the League of Nations to avoid WW2. The League of Nations was the first intergovernmental organization that was established after World War 1 to try to maintain peace. It aimed to prevent wars through disarmament, collective security, and negotiation. After several significant successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the onset of World War Two proved it incapable of serving its preliminary purpose of preventing world wars. Its failure encouraged Hitler to continue with his regime as the League posed no threat to him. The league had several weaknesses that led to its demise. These include failure to represent all Nations (especially the US), failure to employ armed forces, unanimous voting to make decisions, pacifism, and many more. Ultimately, the main fallacy with the League of Nations is that it didn't include the US and was constructed poorly. Woodrow Wilson was an enthusiastic proponent of joining the league, but isolationists in congress prevented them from doing so. The isolationists feared the damage to America’s economy that would occur if the US joined as they were still recovering from WW1 and the Depression. With a revision in the League of Nation’s original policy, they could have lessened the tensions that had led to WW2. That means altering their principle guidelines to allow actions like a military force to avoid conflict. That could have been quite effective in conflicts like the Spanish Civil War when Germany supported General Francisco Franco in overthrowing the government to establish a fascist state. His victory advanced the fascist regime and could have been avoided should the League had been able to use military action. If the US had joined the League of Nations and re-written its policies, the League could have helped dramatically in preventing WW2.
Lastly, preparation for Japan’s threat attack on Pearl Harbor might have shortened the war or helped avoid it completely. The tension between the countries began when Japan invaded China and signed a military agreement with Italy and Germany, forming the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. If Japan had been successful in China, that would bring axis powers one step further to victory. Despite our beloved isolationist sentiment, we stopped oil and iron trade and requested that Japan remove its troops from China. Japan resented the US for this and plotted retaliation. It seems that as relations between the US and Japan soured, the war was imminent. Japan had warned the US that they would attack Pearl Harbor, but the US did not believe that Japan would wage war with them. The Prime Minister of Japan, Prince Konoye, wanted to arrange a meeting with President Roosevelt, but it kept being put off and ultimately never took place. Konoye was then replaced by a less peaceful-minded Prime Minister, Tojo Hideki. During all of this, the government still did not believe Japan was capable of attacking the US. Consequently, the US did not prepare for an attack. On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on Pearl harbor. The preemptive attack destroyed vessels, battleships, planes, and killed 2,400 Americans. It begs the question: could the meeting between Roosevelt and Konoye have revealed that Japan was serious about its war threats? It was clear that Japan wanted the US to lift the embargo, and even though it’s very unlikely that Roosevelt would, the meeting might have convinced him that the warning was credible. If we then heeded the warnings, the US could have gathered more intelligence and measured the situation better. Then the US military could have been prepared for the attack of Pearl Harbor, increasing the prospect that Japan would cancel its plan to attack.
Ultimately, the US and its allies could have ratified a fairer Treaty of Versailles, not settled for appeasement, improved the League of Nation, and prepared for Japan’s surprise attack to prevent World War 2. We can never forget the blood that was shed during the war, and we can reflect and learn from it. Many people concluded that the lesson of WW2 was to “not back down a bully.” Hitler orchestrated his power to inflict mass genocide on over six million innocent Jews. He taught us that humans can be savages and can be too easily manipulated to accept an unethical and irrational reality. He taught us the atrocities and destruction that occurs when we back down to these people. It is from World War 2 that the US has learned that isolationism simply does not work. Thus, the US cannot stand idly by when mass murder and violent discrimination is occurring in another country. It is America’s duty as a world power and leader to extend our intervention abroad to aid countries with suffering political and economic health.
