Churchill believed that Hitler's ability to trigger World War II was the result of the stupidity of the victorious countries and the connivance of the weak politicians. He argues that the war could have been avoided. So why did Churchill view the war this way?On June 28, 1919, after the end of World War I, the victorious powers and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty required Germany to admit full responsibility for the First World War, reduce its army and equipment, and agree to pay a huge reparation. This made Germany feel unfair, leading to political turmoil in the country. Churchill criticised the agreement as "shameful and stupid, to the point of utter unrealizability". The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles put Germany in a deep predicament and laid the foundation for World War II.
However, the Versailles Conference did not specify the number of compensation, only mentioning the formation of a compensation commission to finalize the total amount of compensation. This displeased Germany, because it was a blank cheque that the Entente could ask for as much as they wanted, which was unacceptable to them. In 1921, the Compensation Commission published a figure - £11.3 billion, and paid it in **. Even the leaders of the Entente doubted that Germany could afford to pay such huge reparations.
Rabbits bite when they are in a hurry, and dogs jump over walls when they are in a hurry. Foreign Minister Cozen once said: "This will not bring peace, but a 20-year truce." "Germany at that time was an arrogant empire that did not actually admit defeat in the First World War, so there was a revenge mentality. The advent of the Treaty of Versailles exacerbated German losses and social discontent, strengthened the determination to adopt aggressive diplomacy, led to the rapid development of ultra-nationalism, fascism and other ideas, and laid the foundation for Hitler's rise to power.
The Treaty of Versailles brought great humiliation to Germany, where strong national hatred was brewed, and war reparations were not even actually implemented. On the contrary, Britain and the United States provided huge loans to Germany, which facilitated Germany's rapid revival. In 1933, after Hitler came to power, he began the "revenge plan" to quickly reorganize the armament. Britain, France, the United States and other countries adopted a policy of concessions to Germany's rise and left it alone, which stimulated Germany's ambitions. On March 16, 1935, the Third German Reich tore up the Treaty of Versailles.