Question

How do you think Germans felt in the postwar years? Check any boxes that you agree with.

Answer 1

The correct answers are the following:

• They may have been angry about paying high taxes and high prices.
• They may have blamed the Allied nations for their money troubles.
• They may have resented people who had a lot of money.

Germany had been considered guilty for all the losses beared during WWI and was oblied, through the Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919, to pay economic reparations to some of the victorious powers. It was also forced to delimitarize and to keep its armed forces and weapon production at a minimum.

These requirements severely damaged the German economy, causing a big recession and even an hyperinflation crisis. Germans felt humilliated by the Allied nations and this is one of reasons why, subsequently, when right-wing extremist and nationalist forces, leaded by Hitler, emerged promising to stop that situation and to restore German pride, Germans supported Hitler. Also, resent against the Jewish population arose during this era, when they saw how Jews still had a lot of money while Germans were broke and starving.