Over the next two decades, the United States would sit on the sidelines as the Treaty of Versailles and the ineffective League of Nations would set the stage for an even bloodier clash. Under the heavy weight of reparations (an estimated 132 billion gold marks, or 31.5 billion U.S. dollars), Germany's economy suffered. The Weimar Republic printed a tremendous amount of money in order to combat these costs—only to dramatically devalue their own currency and cause hyperinflation. In the midst of this economic depression and territorial loss, there was a feeling of excessive humiliation and blame being placed on Germany for the war. Propaganda began surfacing in Germany that supported this position, exciting nationalist sentiments. Likewise, Italian nationalists felt they had been cheated and began showing similar signs of unrest. With its weak structure, its low membership, and its lack of authority to carry out its purpose, the League of Nations could do nothing to prevent this and other threats to world peace.

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