While Germany was responsible for starting and sustaining both the First World War and the Second World War, there were stark differences between the Germany of 1924 and the Germany of 1929. The Germany of 1924 had just emerged from the First World War severely battered and greatly scathed. In addition, its economy was in tatters and it essentially had to depend on the Allies who defeated it during the First World War. Coupled with this, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were of significant detrimental effect to the German economy and population. One of the terms of the treaty was that Germany, as a result of being found ‘guilty of war’ had to pay war reparations. The reparations amounted to about 270 billion Marks or 32 billion dollars. Such an astronomical figure was way beyond the reach of Germany and some economists speculated that it would take Germany until 1988 to pay. Thus, the Germany of 1924 was a nation in a state of despair, a nation that had to abide by the terms dictated to it.
The Germany of 1939 was however a stark difference from the Germany of 1924. This was largely attributed to Adolf Hitler who had taken the reins of leadership at the time. The Germany of 1939 was no longer a nation in a state of despair. It was no longer a nation that had to swallow hook, line and sinker the terms that other nations dictated to it irrespective of whether or not it agreed with those terms. Indeed, such was its new found belligerence under Hitler that it even defaulted in making payments for the war reparations. Another key difference between the Germany of 1924 and the Germany of 1939 was that while the Germany of 1924 had a severely weakened army and whose growth was limited, in 1939, the country had a robust army of about 300,000 men. In addition, the Germany of 1924 had no territorial ambitions or even such goals as the unification of all peoples of German descent spread across Europe. This is in contrast with the Germany of 1939 whose key goals included territorial expansion as well as reunification of all peoples of German descent. It would also be important to note that unlike the Germany of 1924 which lacked any capability to start and sustain a war, the Germany of 1939 had the capability to start a war. This submission contends that the differences between the Germany of 1924 and the Germany of 1939 are solely attributable to Adolf Hitler. He was the architect of the state of Germany in 1939.
No doubt, Germany is one of the countries of the world that has had a difficult past. This submission contends that in dealing with this difficult past, the German people and their leadership must not seek to sweep the past under the carpet. Rather, they must evaluate and assess the past. They must do this with the aim of understanding their history so as to avoid any acts which nuance on that difficult past. Secondly, it would be critical for the concerned German authorities to ensure that public apologies are offered to those persons who were affected by the atrocities committed by such regimes as Adolf Hitler’s. Lastly, it would be imperative to examine that difficult past so as to be able to best placed on how to deal with sensitive issues at present and even in the future.
References
Chikering, R. (2004). Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914-1918. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fulbrook, M. (2004). A Concise History of Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
