- Define and explain Road to the Second World War in your own words
- Use key terms such as Treaty of Versailles accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This lesson focuses on Road to the Second World War: treaty of Versailles, the Depression and Hitler's rise.
Treaty of Versailles, the Depression and Hitler's rise.
Key ideas
The peace of 1919 sowed future conflict
The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany with the 'war guilt' clause, reparations and lost territory. Many Germans felt humiliated, and economic collapse in the Depression years helped extremists like Hitler win support. Historians debate how directly Versailles caused the Second World War — but few deny it mattered.
The Second World War reached everyone
Unlike earlier wars, the Second World War struck civilians directly: the Blitz bombed British cities, rationing reshaped daily life, and women entered factories and services in huge numbers. 'Total war' meant the home front was a front line too.
Key term — Treaty of Versailles: The 1919 peace settlement that blamed Germany for the war and imposed reparations and territorial losses.
A GCSE question asks you to weigh whether Versailles was the main cause of the Second World War. Plan a balanced answer.
State the case for: Versailles humiliated Germany, reparations damaged its economy, and Hitler exploited resentment of the treaty. State the case against: the worldwide Depression after 1929, the failure of the League of Nations, and appeasement also mattered. Weigh them: Versailles created grievances, but without the Depression Hitler might never have gained power. Reach a judgement: Versailles was an important long-term cause, but not the sole or main one — it combined with economic and political failures in the 1930s.
Answer: A strong answer argues that Versailles was a significant cause because it created German resentment that Hitler exploited, but judges it not the single main cause: the Depression, the League's weakness and appeasement were also essential. The best judgement is that Versailles was a necessary background condition, while the crises of the 1930s turned resentment into war.
- Blaming the First World War on one country or person The war had multiple interacting causes. Even the assassination only led to war because alliances and war plans turned a local crisis into a continental one.
- Listing causes without linking them GCSE examiners reward explanation: show how one cause led to another, for example how reparations plus the Depression destroyed faith in democracy in Germany.
Practice
The war guilt clause blaming Germany, reparations payments, or territorial losses (any one).
Mass unemployment discredited the Weimar government, and voters turned to extremists promising action.
Rival alliance systems and the naval arms race (also: militarism, imperial rivalry, nationalism).
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
Quick check
Which of these best defines "Treaty of Versailles"?
What does 'total war' mean? Give one example.
What was appeasement?
- Road to the Second World War: treaty of Versailles, the Depression and Hitler's rise.
- The peace of 1919 sowed future conflict: The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany with the 'war guilt' clause, reparations and lost territory.
- Alliance: An agreement between countries to support each other.
- Watch out for: blaming the First World War on one country or person