Adolf Hitler Case

On June 28th, 1919, the Peace Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied powers, ending WWI. In the early 1930's, the Great Depression resulted in the political and economic collapse of the Weimar Republic, which was Germany's post WWI experiment in democracy. The Treaty of Versailles was a low blow toward the Germans, and it slowed them down economically. The Great Depression and the Treaty of Versailles gave Hitler the opportunity that he needed later on to eventually seize power7.

At first the Germans refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Since Germany was being blamed for WW1, they thought the treaty was unfair. They believed that the total amount of reparations4 that the treaty ordered them to pay was too much, and they were overwhelmed. The Germans were very angry about their small army. Basically, the Germans said that "They were helpless against other countries.2" At first, they refused to reduce the army, and sailors sank their fleet, rather than handing it over. The Treaty of Versailles also limited the German army to a maximum of 100,000 men and placed a ban on the use of gas, tanks, and aircraft. Given the difference in strength between the German Navy and the Royal Navy, the German strategy at sea during WWII was to avoid a traditional naval battle and attack allied merchant ships with surface raiders and submarines (U-boats). The German navy was restricted to shipping less than 10,000 tons and a ban was placed on submarines6. They felt like the reduction and the process was to weaken and make them helpless. They felt like they were unable to defend themselves from other countries. On May 15th, 1919, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, leader of the German delegation to Versailles made a statement saying, "Those of you who sign the treaty, will be signing the death sentence of many German men, women and children." After that, the German newspaper, Deutsche Zeitung, talked about the feelings of the German people with the statement, which explains the course of action taken by the German people. In the newspaper, there was a quote which said, "The disgraceful Treaty is begin signed" (June 28, 1919). During this time, Hitler fought in WWI and received five medals, including the Iron Cross medal. The medal was a military decoration, though there were instances where it was awarded to civilians for performing military functions1.