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Quick Time Line:

1. League of Nations founded in 1919
2. The Treaty of Versailles signed shortly after, a severe punishment for Germany.
3. Germany must demilitarize.
4. German territory loss was severe.
5. Germans struggle to pay Versailles' stiff taxes, they begin to print more money than they really have.
6. 1919-1921 Post War Revolts
7. 1921, Hitler rises to power, beginning the Nazi Socialist party.

8. Communists vs. the Nazis, political battles and protests.
9. 1923- Germans could no longer afford to pay taxes- huge inflation was everywhere, the mark's value dropped from 2.3 marks/bread loaf to 399trillion marks/bread loaf
10. Germans protest against France and Belgium, these countries had taken over industrial areas. French soldiers shot and killed German protesters.

In the short time span of four years, Germany was introduced to new era of tyranny and oppression. Most all of German conflict was caused by the outcome of the war in 1918. Because of pride, and propaganda, until the very last second the majority of German people were convinced that they were going to come out of the war victorious. The people of Germany were horribly wrong.

The Germans must have let out a simultaneous "Oh Crap," as they came to the realization that the League of Nations was creating a peace settlement and they weren't invited. Yes, their predictions for the outcome were pessimistic, however the results would exceed everyone's dark forecast. The Treaty of Versailles, published in 1919, made it clear that Germany was being blamed for the war and all of it's damages, and they were going to pay for all of it. Deutschland was forced to demilitarize, and pay a ridiculous amount of taxes. The territory loss for Germany was also severe.

Germans were not happy about this. Revolts were happening everywhere. At its weakest, it was the perfect time for a fiery, insane, and manipulative young villain to come to power. In 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist Nazi Party. This caused even more chaos, because now the Communists and the Nazis were left to duke it out with several post-war-riots. Hitler, now in power, would later become the ringleader of the holocaust tragedy.

Because of the large taxes the Treaty of Versailles tacked onto Germany, the country was backed into a financial corner. Already hurting from the costs of WWI, German leaders had no way to pay the fines. They ended up making the fatal mistake of printing more money than they really had. By 1923, the value of their currency plummeted. The mark, which could at one time purchase about .25 American cents, had now become like play money. Just one US dollar, could but you 1,000,000,000,000 marks. A 2lbs. loaf of bread that was once worth around 3 marks was now worth 399,000,000,000 marks. Everyone suffered.

Again, revolts were happening everywhere. In 1923, during inflation, Germans lead a massive strike against France and Belgium. The strike lasted for an entire 8 months, which was exhausting for the shaky, hurting government. With Hitler in jail for leading a protest, Germany didn't even have a solid political system. They didn't know who their leaders were, but they knew they were angry. France and Belgium had taken over industrial areas. Some of the fuming and violent Germans were shot and killed by the French; who spent their days attacking protesters.

As you can see, the loss of the war was a huge blow against Germany. Shame, poverty, violence, and defeat were the perfect foundation for the downhill slope the country was entering. Hitler would soon rise to power and lead a holocaust against the Jews that would serve as huge black spot on the history of Deutschland. 1919-1923 was a tragic beginning to a disastrous era.

Learn more about this author, Carmen Michener.
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