The rise of the Nazi Party and its leader, Adolf Hitler, during the 1920s was no coincidence. The world, especially Germany, was ripe for dictatorship following the Great War. The Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany and laid the foundation for another World War. Germany, ravaged by war, was facing a crisis caused by rising unemployment, substantial inflation, famine, allied control, and outrageous war reparations. Moreover, the growing dissent in Germany caused by the Treaty of Versailles and the Weimar Government's failure to restore order prompted the rise of one of the most dangerous leaders in history - Adolf Hitler. He and his political party, the Nazis, drew popular support. Hitler promised to raise Germany from the rubble and restore its glory. When the Second Great War broke out in 1939, Hitler had fulfilled many of his promises while setting the world on a course of death and destruction.
Germany was a country built upon its proud military history. Parades, marches, displays of pageantry, and military bands were common sites throughout cities in Germany long before the Prussian Empire. Order, discipline, and pride were traits that defined Germany. In 1914, Germany provoked a World War that plunged the country into chaos rather than build a strong empire that dominated Europe (Beck, et. al, 617). By 1919, streets were no longer filled with military marches. Instead, the poor scuttled through the streets searching for food and work. The order and discipline that had defined Germany for so many years was lost (Beck, et. al 762).
In 1919, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed his dream that World War I would be "the war to end all wars." Through his League of Nations, Wilson hoped for "a just and lasting peace" (Beck et. al 760). However, his Allied counterparts disagreed. At the Paris Peace Conference, in which Germany did not receive an invitation, Georges Clemenceau of France hammered out a plan that would punish Germany for its actions.
