Constructed-Response Practice Set 1
Document A: "Article 231: The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." War Guilt Clause, Treaty of Versailles, 1919
<!-- layout: oebn, pssk -->Document B: "In the years 1929 and 1930, German political life was poisoned by the collapse of the economy and the bitterness of Versailles. The unemployed turned to the Nazi Party. By 1932 the Nazis had become the largest party in the Reichstag. In January 1933 President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor." Description of Hitler's rise
<!-- layout: devm, pssk -->Question 1: Based on Document A, identify one provision of the Treaty of Versailles.
<!-- layout: payq, pssk -->Strong sample answer: "Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles required Germany to accept responsibility for causing the war and all the resulting damage. This 'war guilt clause' made Germany legally liable for reparations to the Allied powers."
<!-- layout: axrv, pssk -->Question 2: Based on Document B, identify two factors that contributed to Hitler's rise to power.
Strong sample answer: "Document B identifies two main factors in Hitler's rise: the collapse of the German economy during the Great Depression, which caused mass unemployment and pushed voters toward the Nazis, and the lingering bitterness over the Treaty of Versailles. Together these conditions made Hitler's nationalist promises appealing to millions of frustrated Germans."
Question 3: Using both documents and your knowledge of social studies, explain how the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the outbreak of WWII.
Strong sample answer: "The Treaty of Versailles, as Document A shows, imposed war guilt and reparations on Germany. These terms produced deep resentment that Hitler exploited, promising to restore German honor and overturn Versailles. As Document B describes, when the Great Depression destroyed the moderate Weimar government, Germans turned to the Nazi Party, which had built its political identity on opposition to Versailles. Once in power, Hitler systematically violated Versailles provisions by rebuilding the German military, remilitarizing the Rhineland, annexing Austria and Czechoslovakia, and finally invading Poland in 1939. The harshness of Versailles, without the strength to enforce its terms or the generosity to make Germany a stakeholder in the new order, thus produced both the grievances that fueled Nazism and the strategic weakness that allowed German aggression to succeed until war became unavoidable."