Question

Which statement best compares the Allies' strategy toward Germany after World War I and after World War ll?

Answer 1

You didn't list choices, but I've seen a question like this before and the answer should be something like this:

• After World War I, the Allies imposed punishments that crippled Germany's economy and made it possible for Hitler to rise to power.  
• After World War II, the Allies prevented Germany from buillding up its military (as they had tried to do after World War I also) ... but this time provided  financial aid so the country could rebuild its economy.

Further details:

The Treaty of Versailles, which came out of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, after World War I, was very punitive towards Germany.  Germany was forced to admit responsibility for causing the Great War (World War I).  We now call that "the war guilt" clause of the treaty.  Germany also was forced to pay large reparation payments to the Allies (who opposed Germany in the war).   The German economy and national pride were deeply wounded -- and the Great Depression made things worse.   The bad situation in Germany made it possible for a radical leader like Hitler, making all sorts of bold promises, to win over enough people to rise to power.  

In the aftermath of World War II, the Allies took a different approach.  The Marshall Plan (as it was called) was a $15 billion "European Recovery Program" that helped rebuild Germany and Western Europe after the war.  The economic aid program was named after its chief architect, US Secretary of State George Marshall.