The Treaty of Versailles: How an Attempt at Peace Inadvertently Led to the Rise of the Nazi Party

Abstract

Though we usually think of the German Nazi Party as a relic of a tragic past, the rise of Nazism continues to hold significant relevance to the modern global environment. In the last few years, there has been another increase in the popularity of fascism in the United States and throughout the world, particularly in areas with little to no diversity. It is interesting to observe how the rise of Nazism occurred in its original context, after the Treaty of Versailles, relates to and differs from the unfolding of current events. What economic and political changes triggered by the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the uprisings, the anti-Semitism, and the xenophobia in the 20th century? More importantly, will it happen again? This paper discusses the Treaty of Versailles’ economic and political impacts on Germany after World War I and observes which demographic of Germans was most likely to vote for the Nazi Party. The paper concludes that Germans living in the Polish Corridor, the geographical strip of land separating East Germany and Poland that would later become a popular haven for Nazi Party voters due its annexation to Poland and the fierce German nationalism that resulted from it.