IRL 11, January 6, 2010

URL; http://german-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/versailles_and_the_second_world_war

This is an article written by a History student in college named George Julian, about the Treaty of Versailles and how it affected the origins of World War II. According to the article, the Treaty of Versailles cost Germany much of its important land, and limited the German army to 100,000 men, and limited their navy to 1/3 of its original strength, and gave them no air force. There were other issues such as reparations that the Germans had to pay to the countries they fought against, but the most significant issue with the Treaty was the land that Germany lost, and the limitations on their military. Germany lost Saarland, Alsace and Lorraine, among other smaller bits of land to Czechoslovakia and Poland, and German attempts to take back this land, which went against the Treaty, caused conflict with the surrounding countries and created a warlike mood in Europe, despite the original intentions of the Treaty, which were to prevent future wars and eliminate Germany as a threat.

This source is useful because it clearly outlines the ways in which the Treaty of Versailles affected the Germans, which in turn affected their actions and ultimately led to conflict, and this is what we studied in more detail in class. The information here adds value to what was learned in class because it also outlines how Germany was forced to take the blame for World War I and it describes how this created animosity between Germany and surrounding countries, which was another reason that the Germans were not inclined to obey the Treaty - they felt it was unfair to them. There is one key limitation here - one is that the author of this article did not emphasize his points in great detail - he gives a basic outline of the information which IS helpful but an example is where he says that Germany attempted to reclaim land lost by the Treaty of Versailles - how did they do this? Greater detail would definitely be beneficial because it would provide more information about the claims already made, and it's more difficult to see exactly what is being discussed when there isn't that extra detail.