The Long-Term Consequences of the TOV

• 1923 reaction of the TOV

  • By 1923, Europe’s reaction to the Treaty of Versailles began to change
  • In Britain, the public thought that the treaty was too harsh on Germany
  • People began to fear the USSR more than Germany
  • Britain wanted a strong Germany to defend Europe from communism
• initial reaction of European countries to Versailles settlement

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• November Criminals and the Dolchstoss

  • Many Germans argued Weimar Republic shouldn’t have signed the TOV
  • They believed German politicians committed a ‘dolchstoss’ - or a ‘stab in the back’ 
  • politicians who signed the TOV were called ‘November Criminals’. This was because November was the month the government signed the armistice
  • Many Germans felt humiliated and weaker than the rest of Europe
  • The Treaty of Versailles’ territorial terms increased nationalism in Germany
  • The Polish Corridor separated Germany into two
  • Around 4 million Germans lived in the Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia
• the rise of Hitler

  • The Treaty of Versailles had a devastating impact on Germany
  • Reparations caused two economic depressions in a decade
  • The German government continued to follow the treaty’s terms
  • This caused public resentment
  • Extremist parties like the KPD and the NSDAP gained support
  • The government arrested Hitler after he attempted the Munich Putsch
  • While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (‘My Struggle’)
• summary of the Munich Putsch


  hitler’s attempt to take control of Germany in November 1923. It failed and Hitler was arrested for 9 months
• key beliefs in Mein Kamp: Aryan race

  the superiority of the Aryan race

  • Hitler believed the German race was the best in the world
  • He was against Germans marrying Jewish people as he stated this weakened the Aryan race
• key beliefs in Mein Kampf: Lebensraum

  • ‘Living space’ in German
  • A theory that Germany needed more territory so that the population could grow
  • Germany should expand into Eastern Europe to destroy communism
• key beliefs in Mein Kamof:

  Revise the TOV

  • Hitler wanted to recover all of the land that Germany lost in the treaty
  • Germany deserved a strong military. Hitler wanted to ignore the treaty and rearm
• key beliefs in Mein Kampf: Grossdeutschland

  • ‘Greater Germany’ in German
  • The idea that Germany should unite under one Reich (state)
  • All German speakers should live together. This included Anschluss with Austria
• Rise of Hitler

  Hitler believed that, when he gained power, it was right to break the Treaty of Versailles because:

  • Some of the terms had already been reversed
  • For example, the Allies changed Germany’s reparations in the Dawes and Young plans
  • Other countries had not kept promises made at the Paris Peace Conference
  • The ‘Big Three’ agreed to the creation of the League of Nations
  • The League aimed to encourage worldwide disarmament
  • Countries like France refused to disarm
• rise of Hitler

  • Hitler feared the power of the countries bordering Germany
  • France had already invaded the Ruhr in 1923
  • Germany had no air force and 100,000 soldiers. It could not defend itself
  • Hitler had public support
  • In July 1932, the Nazi Party received 38% of the vote
  • It became the biggest party in the Reichstag