Document D by Moyer and Laurence Essay Example

War is like a scary movie, but instead of something that’s happening on the screen, it is happening in real life, right before you. Document D, written by Moyer, Laurence, 1995, tells how Germans were unfairly blamed for the start of World War 1 (the war they were dragged into) and severely punished by the Treaty of Versailles. There have been many debates since about what caused World War II; the answer to that is War guilt.

Similarly, Document D also tells about how “Etched deeply into Germans minds the word, Humiliation, they were made to feel disgraced and cast off. No sense of worth or value left in them, they were utterly beat into the dirt.” (Document D Moyer, Laurence) This means that having the guilt of starting the war they were dragged into made them angry and humiliated. They had no sense of pride in themselves, just resentment that was left there to stew.  This evidence supports the claim that War guilt was the most significant factor leading to World War ll because this tells how low the Germans felt. Those feelings are dangerous; they can be used as weapons, to whip people into a frenzy, they can make the people want retribution.

Another example in Document D tells how the Germans saw the Versailles Treaty as something that endangered their very way of life and must be eradicated.” (Document D Moyer, Laurence) Picture being dragged into a war to help an ally, and when the war is over and lost, you are blamed for the war. Furthermore, a crippling treaty was then forced upon you, something that was made to hurt and maim and do whatever it could to cripple your country. You would want to destroy it and the people who made it. This evidence confirms the claim that War guilt was the most significant factor leading to World War ll because it proves how the Germans felt that their way of living was threatened and how they wanted to respond and later did. 

Critics like Clemenceau, Premier Georges like to argue that War guilt was not the leading cause of World War ll and instead say that Reduction in Military was the leading cause of World War ll. On March 31st, 1920, their evidence is that Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including officers. (Document B Clemenceau) However, the facts tell otherwise, as shown in Document D, saying how “Hitler restored a sense of pride and reawakened a sense of self-respect, forcing the world to look at Germany anew.” (Document D Moyer, Laurence) This evidence suggests that Germany, after being laid low, rose to the top, letting their color fly and saying it is payback time, and the world thinking Germany was weak is brought to the realization, they are in trouble. This shows that Clemenceau, Premier Georges is wrong because the evidence from Document D shows what Hitler did and what started happening to Germany. Clemenceau, Premier Georges evidence only tells how the military will only have one hundred thousand men, including officers—telling nothing more of how Hitler starts rebuilding their confidence, pride, and strength. Basically, everything all points back to the leading cause of World War ll, War Guilt. It was War Guilt, the Humiliation, and the anger all rolled into one with the leadership of one crazy power-hungry man that pushed the Germans over the edge to seek revenge and power.