I disagree, I think that Versailles did cripple Germany. The ridiculous reparation payments, the refusal of Germany to join the League of Nations and a huge blow to its national pride, great unemployment and hyperinflation were also results of the treaty as well. Versailles crippled Germany and it was only as a result of the Nazis coming to power and the policy of appeasement that Germany was able to re-establish itself and become a credible threat once more.
Hmmm, you make some good points.

I would argue that Germany wasnt crippled, it was weakened. Sure, the occupation of the Ruhr was pretty much a direct consequence of the Treaty of Versailles, and that lead to hyperinflation and so on. But, and this a big but, Germany recovered in quite a few years due to Stresseman and negotiations such as the Dawes Plan. That period after the deoccupation of the Ruhr was known as the Golden Twenties: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Twenties

The fact that Germany recovered so fast, the fact that Germans enjoyed the highest recorded standards of living according to some sources, shows to me at least that the Treaty of Versailles did not cripple Germany effectively. If Germany had been crippled it would not have recovered in such a short space of time. I do see your point that militarily it was still pretty weak, but economically it wasnt. And the fact that it was economically stable allowed for Hitler to build his army up. Of course, if Hitler had been prevented from doing so, history would be very different.


errr...wait..you're a history teacher aren't you. Maybe I shouldnt be arguing.
Also the United States wasn't simply isolationist due to the Depression; the United States reverted to its policy of isolationism following the first World War. Economically, there was a system of tariffs in place that meant that it was difficult or expensive to get foreign goods in the United States (many countries responded with similar policies in respect of American goods) and politically the US refused to join the League of Nations, whilst (I believe) placing stricter regulations on immigration. I forget the specifics, but it was something along the lines of the quota for immigrants being set at something like 10% those that were currently already in the US; this meant that it was biased towards people from countries such as the UK, who already had a lot of people living in the US compared to somewhere like - say - Poland that had relatively few
Yeah, the US had a history of isolationism. Interesting, I didnt know about that immigration stuff.