World War II was the first global war the world had ever witnessed. This war killed more people, involved the most nations and cost countries millions of dollars. The war started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. The Second World War was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. The United States remained neutral during the majority of the war, until they were forced into war by Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. After the war, many countries experiences economic hardships and there was an atmosphere of international distrust. Even though World War II might have begun anyway because many countries' were resentful and were in economic depressions, the war could have been prevented if the Treaty of Versailles resolved the proper issues, the economic sanctions imposed on Germany were not so harsh and if the League of Nations acted as a true collective security and peace-keeping body.
The Treaty of Versailles was formed at the Peace of Paris it specifically deals with Germany and blamed the country for the entire war. France was able to retrieve Alsace and Lorraine with the Allies would the western bank of the Rhineland and the Saar basin.1 Germany also had to pay reparation of 132 billion gold marks for the damage and casualties the war had cost. Among paying the Allies, Germany had to reduce the size of their army, all but eliminate its navy, stop the construction offensive weaponry and provide free coal every year to France and Belgium.2 The treaty also created the League of Nations. The treaty was supposed to create a durable peace; it had the opposite effect. The German representatives protested against the signing of the document and, many felt, as the treaty was not perfect by any means.3 John M. Keynes had criticism of the treaty and wrote a volume about the errors. He said that the claims that Germany had to pay were impossible, the economic solidarity of Europe was too tight knit that these claims could ruin everyone and the cost of damage made by France and Belgium were exaggerated.
