Which treaty is commonly cited as a long-term cause of World War II?

Which treaty is commonly cited as a long-term cause of World War II?

• A. The Geneva Conventions
• B. The Treaty of Versailles
• C. The Kellogg-Briand Pact
• D. The Marshall Plan

Answer: (B)

Punitive peace settlements after World War I and the resentment they bred in Germany create the conditions for a second conflict. The treaty imposed heavy reparations, stripped Germany of territory, limited its military, and assigned war guilt to Germany. Those terms sparked economic hardship and national humiliation during the Weimar Republic, weakening democratic support and feeding anger and resentment. When the economy tanked in the late 1920s and early 1930s, many Germans looked to leaders who promised to restore national pride and overturn the treaty. That combination of economic distress and nationalist frustration helped extremist movements, like the Nazis, to rise and pursue aggressive expansion, setting the stage for World War II. Other options miss this long-term causal pattern: humanitarian rules after wars (the Geneva Conventions) address conduct in conflict rather than causing it, a pact renouncing war did not prevent aggression, and postwar rebuilding aid happened after the war rather than before it.

Punitive peace settlements after World War I and the resentment they bred in Germany create the conditions for a second conflict. The treaty imposed heavy reparations, stripped Germany of territory, limited its military, and assigned war guilt to Germany. Those terms sparked economic hardship and national humiliation during the Weimar Republic, weakening democratic support and feeding anger and resentment. When the economy tanked in the late 1920s and early 1930s, many Germans looked to leaders who promised to restore national pride and overturn the treaty. That combination of economic distress and nationalist frustration helped extremist movements, like the Nazis, to rise and pursue aggressive expansion, setting the stage for World War II. Other options miss this long-term causal pattern: humanitarian rules after wars (the Geneva Conventions) address conduct in conflict rather than causing it, a pact renouncing war did not prevent aggression, and postwar rebuilding aid happened after the war rather than before it.