Cold War - Paper 2

Some historians believe World War I and World War II are actually the same war.   They point to the Treaty of Versailles and state that it did not solve any problems but merely put the war on hold until Germany could rebuild to continue fighting. In my opinion, the historians’ beliefs are accurate. Political, social and economic aspects during the period of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, and World War II for the most part remained the same.

From a political perspective, Germany used tactics that were essentially the same initial battle plan in both wars, only more refined and using better equipment in World War II than they did/had in World War I, leading to a more dynamic success. Following World War I, Woodrow Wilson (United States), David Lloyd George (England), Vittorio Orlando (Italy) and Georges Clemenceau (France) created the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 with intentions to punish Germany for war aggression and the hope of permanent peace. Little did the creators know the Treaty of Versailles did nothing but exacerbate the problem even with the creation of the League of Nations. In Article 159 of the Treaty of Versailles, the clause state that “The Germany military forces shall be demobilized and reduced as prescribed hereinafter”. With the Treaty of Versailles demobilizing Germany’s army and placing guilt on them for causing the First World War, helped to fuel the country’s fervent nationalism, which aided the rise of Fascism and Adolf Hitler for that reason sparked World War II or the continuation of World War I.

From a Social aspect, World War I and World War II were basically the same war just different leaders. For example, in Germany during World War I the country was being led by Kaiser Wilhelm but by World War II the country was being led by Adolf Hitler. During both World War I and World War II, the people of Germany were drained from political setbacks but were also content with their higher wages, improved living conditions and high...