Treaty of Versailles Some commentators have stated the Versailles Treaty set the stage for World War II. Briefly detail the key points of the Versailles Treaty. Comment if they were a major factor in the outbreak of WWII within twenty years. Use examples to support your opinion.

Several distinctive factors about the Treaty of Versailles support the contention that the Treaty contributed to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and the outbreak of the Second World War. First and foremost, Germany was forced to admit total responsibility for the First World War, despite the fact that ethnic rivalries, secret treaties, and wrangling for power was characteristic of almost all of the major powers involved in World War I. Secondly, Germany was forced to pay crushing war debt that nearly bankrupted the country.

Germany's territory was greatly reduced. The Alsace-Lorraine was given to France and "Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received...

These were some of the territories Hitler vowed to re-acquire when he came to power, to avenge Germany's honor. Eupen and Malmedy were also given to Belgium; Northern Schleswig was given to Denmark; Hultschin was given to Czechoslovakia and West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia was given to Poland (Treaty of Versailles, 2011, History Learning Site). Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria (which it did, of course, in the period immediately preceding World War II). The list of the recipient nations of former German territories parallels the path taken by the invading German army in World War II. Germany was stripped of its colonies, to further neuter its power. The loss of territories was also crushing economic blow to Germany, given that it was dependent upon coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia.
A rallying cry of later German militarism was the fact that Germany was deprived of the right to have an effective military force. "Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks. She…