Many historians view the Second World War as but a second part of World War I.1 One of the key elements in that continuation theory was the creation and subsequent failure of the German democratic experience between the wars the Weimar Republic. This failure of German democracy had paramount importance, not only to Germany, but to the rest of the world as well.
Other historians found a continuity between the German national character, the aims of the Kaiserreich in World War I, and the rise of Adolf Hitler and the outbreak of World II.2 In any case, an examination of the political and diplomatic consequences of Weimar is nevertheless necessary in order to understand the rise of National Socialism in Germany. This paper will present a five part overview of the situation leading to World War II. Of course, no account this limited can hope to adequately explain every aspect of such a complex situation, and will thus focus on Versailles and the creation of Weimar, the Weimar government and its weaknesses, the ____________________
1 For instance, Robert Goldston, The Road Between the Wars: 1918 1941, (New York: The Dial Press, 1978); Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August, (New York: Macmillan Books, 1962).
2 See Fritz Fischer, Griff nach der Weltmacht translated as Germany's Aims in the First World War, (D?sseldorf: 1961, London, 1967); Hans Ulrich Wehler, The German Empire, 1871 1918, trans. by Kim Traynor, (New York: Berg Publishers, 1985).
seizure of power by Adolf Hitler, Hitler's consolidation of power and the rise of National Socialism, and will conclude with a section on the movement toward Nazi power.
On September 29, 1918, the German High Command told Germany's emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, that Germany had lost the war and must attempt a peaceful settlement. The major German military leaders were convinced that Germany could not win the war militarily, and recommended that Wilhelm use civilian bureaucrats to...