The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist started World War 1.
Outside of the French there was never any serious intention among the Allies to strip Germany of statehood after World War I.
The Allies wanted to weaken, punish, and contain Germany, not erase it from the map.
Hitler exploited what Versailles created.
The Treaty of Versailles shrunk Germany’s borders (Alsace-Lorraine to France, large territories to Poland, Denmark, and Belgium). Germany lost all overseas colonies. Military was capped at 100,000 men, no tanks, no air force, and no submarines. Reparations were imposed, and Germany was branded with the “war guilt” clause (Article 231).
A humiliated, economically crippled, and politically unstable Germany rose from the ashes.
Facts are not apologetic or disappointing. |
