How did the Treaty of Versailles, as it applied to Germany, lead to Hitler’s rise to power?

The Treaty of Versailles did not directly lead to Hitler's rise to power. But its terms, which were harsh and punitive toward Germany, did help create a politically toxic environment in Germany that Hitler could exploit, as he did in the early 1930s. The treaty forced Germany to accept sole guilt for the outbreak of World War I, stripped Germany of a great deal of prewar territory, placed major restrictions on the size of its armed forces (but not those of neighboring France) and mandated billions in reparations payments. Germans bitterly resented the Treaty and the new Weimar Republic government that was responsible for signing and ratifying it. Because Germany had surrendered without being invaded by Allied troops, Hitler and others were able to argue that Germany had not truly been defeated, but that its army had been stabbed in the back by those that sought an armistice and ultimately signed the treaty. So the Treaty helped create a powerful sense of victimhood and betrayal that was still quite powerful in the 1930s.