In the first half of the 20th century one man, Adolf Hitler, gained total control of Germany. To get this power he, and his party the Nazis, used a combination of popular appeal and force.
In 1919 WWI drew to a close when Germany, the loser of the war, signed the 'Treaty of Versailles'. It was a peace treaty written by the winners Britain and France. Under the treaty, Germany was blamed for the war and had to pay huge amounts of reparations to the victorious Allies. It also took away Germany's overseas colonies, gave away some of her land to surrounding countries and greatly reduced her army. Many Germans felt the treaty was unfair and added further humiliation after losing the war. As a result of this, many Germans started to become very nationalistic. They resented the winners of the war and wanted Germany to become great again.
In 1921 the amount of reparations owed by Germany was officially announced to be £6,600,000,000. …
