The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, officially ended World
War I but created many conditions that contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War.
The treaty placed full blame for the war on Germany and imposed severe reparations and
territorial losses on the country. The harsh terms of the treaty caused significant resentment
in Germany, which led to widespread economic hardship and political instability. This
discontent provided fertile ground for extremist ideologies, such as fascism and Nazism, to
take root. The punitive measures in the treaty were one of the key factors that paved the way
for the rise of Adolf Hitler and his aggressive expansionist policies, which ultimately led to
the outbreak of World War II.