Wars of the World

Germany has had large roles in both of the world wars that we've experienced throughout the history of our modern world. Not only did Germany have a lot to do with the issues that caused the wars, but the significant impacts of both of these wars on Germany was substantial.

As we have learned about Germany, it has become easy to see that the country stood separated for a majority of its history. Having suffered in the past from being divided for centuries upon centuries, it seemed as though the people of Germany would never experience a truly combined state of any sort. This made it more important to the German people that this did, in fact, happen. This history along with the longing need of the general population to be unified, lead up to the events of 1871. At this point, Germany became an organized and unified country.

Having lost wars because of their separation, it’s no surprise that they were excited to finally be stronger now that they were together as a country. They quickly experienced the strain of this new unification, as they entered the beginnings of World War I. They were blamed as the cause of the war and even worse for the German people was that the war took place on their soil. This led to the great destruction of large parts of Germany. After the conclusion of the war, they were the sole country blamed for the entirety of the war and forced to pay large reparations for this.

The reparations and agreements in the Paris Peace Conference led to the League of Nations which brought about the mandate for demilitarization and reparations. Even before the demands were solidified, it was clear that they would be devastating to Germany as a whole (Schulze 203). When it was all said and done, Germany was held to the Treaty of Versailles.  Although the country was not divided, that only meant that they would suffer because of the demands together. British Prime Minister Lloyd George took the time to point out that it would be difficult to “draw up a peace which will not provoke a fresh struggle when those who have had practical experience of what war means have passed away” (Schulze 204). This statement shows everything that was wrong with the Treaty of Versailles. Because of its harshness, it would seem that once the people who fought in the war and knew why they were blamed had passed, those who grew up suffering because of the consequences would rise against the situation they were in.

This all took a disastrous toll on the country and its morale. With the country in shambles and its people struggling with their brand new yet broken country, Germany needed change. This change came in the form of a rising political power named Adolf Hitler. When there was no direction, Hitler provided a cause to unify and assemble. This gave the country and sense of strength that continued to grow into the Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party. This is more commonly known as the Nazi Party. They quickly came to power and directed Germany towards a larger Germany that was successful in terms of government and economy. That easily appeased the Germans who were tired of living in a depression. As it progressed, they gradually grew in military strength. It all started when the Nazis invaded Poland and the rest of Europe. This led to World War II which left Germany also defeated in terms of losing the war, however, their country was ridiculously humiliated by incredible demands that destroyed their country. It was still a tragic moment for Germany (especially with the actions taken against the Jewish community), but it served as a mark of a new Germany. One that became better than it had ever been before.

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