History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

History - Essay Example According to him, â€Å"The main problem was that in giving free reign to ethnic claims the European map came to resemble a patchwork mosaic which had no real coherence and which shattered the balance of power that had prevailed in the nineteenth century† (Mitchell 147). He asserts that in the early 1920s, the political and economic situation in Europe was fragmented and it became a conducive place for the outbreak of World War II. He cites the two main defects of the Treaty of Versailles are: it did not give satisfaction to any country, and that there was no strong leader to back it up. France was not happy about the compensation and the security issue, while Germany was suffering from the harsh treatment inflicted on it by the winning countries, and Italy was a victim of unfulfilled promises of territory in exchange for joining the war. The other countries under the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the new and reconstituted states also had their own grievances. Because of these g rievances, the countries were divided and were never united. Aldcroft continues to assert that the Allied statesmen did not do a good job in clearing the mess after the World War I. 1 If they had done a good job, then Europe would have been more stable than fragmented. Moreover, he declares that the Allies were also disunited themselves and have different self interests and concerns. They were more concerned about their own welfare than that of Europe. On the contrary, Mark Mazower, in â€Å"Two Cheers for Versailles,† History Today (July 1997), does not support the idea that the Treaty of Versailles was responsible for the outbreak of World War II. According to him, â€Å"If we want to find guidance in the past for how to tackle the problems of nationalism that remain in Europe, we cannot do better than return to the diplomats who gathered in Paris eighty years