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To: Fiji Hill; SunkenCiv; Robert A. Cook, PE
Fiji Hill quoting: "Thanks for the memory
In every German's mind,
When you broke the ties that bind
And dictated a pact called
the Treaty of Versailles.
How rotten that was."

The problem with Versailles is not that it was too "harsh" -- it was after all, well within limits established by Germany itself in its treatment of defeated Belgium and Russia.
The problem was that Germans did not feel defeated militarily, and so did not think they deserved any punishment for the war.
Nor did average Germans even know their own national leadership had started the war in the first place.
They believed the "war guilt" portion of Versailles was totally unjust.

Germans had hoped they would be treated by President Wilson according to his "peace without victory" promise and "14 Points".
When that didn't happen, it was a major grievance.
Nevertheless, as the German economy slowly recovered during the 1920s, Hitler's appeal was very minor.
Only with the coming Great Depression in 1930 did Hitler's words begin to gain traction amongst Germans.

75 posted on 05/22/2016 1:28:46 PM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: BroJoeK
The Allies should have also figured that cutting Germany in two with the Polish Corridor could create a casus belli in the future.
76 posted on 05/22/2016 2:46:26 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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