Question

The Treaty of Versailles’s terms indirectly led to the rise of extremist ideologies across Europe by the 1930s, leading to destabilising politics. Explain.

Answer 1

Instructions:


Solution: The terms applied under the Treaty of Versailles to defeated countries such as Germany led to huge economic losses such as loss of colonies, standing army and even war fines.
These terms had an insulting and humiliating impact on the minds of the people of the defeated countries. The post war economic crisis of 1929 further created anxiety amongst the masses who distrusted their own governments.
In such an environment of distrust, new leadership emerged who proposed the idea of national unity as a means to grow stronger and gain control over other nations. These ideologies promised national revival to war and poverty torn countries.
Two such extreme ideologies to arise at this time were Fascists in Italy under Benito Mussolini in 1922, Nazism in Germany in 1933 under Hitler.
Nazis under Hitler for e.g. demanded that people dedicate all effort towards making Germany great and most powerful without questioning the authority of the state.
Therefore the harsh and unfair conditions of the treaty sowed the seeds for fear and anger in the minds of the defeated countries who took to new ideas for national revival in the face of international humiliation.