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Originally Posted by adaher
From what I've read, unlike in 1914, Germans didn't take to the streets in joy in 1939. German support for Hitler did increase as the victories piled up, but they were also unaware of what was going on in the occupied territories. And keep in mind that except for France and Britain, most of the regimes Hitler took down were no angels themselves. Especially Stalin's, which might have been worse.
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I agree, the enthousiasm for war was very reduced in 1939, nevertheless the Germans followed Hitler into all of his war...
@Gort Certainly the Versailles system was too harsh to build up a stable peace system in Europe, but nevertheless you cannot explain the war against the USSR because of Versailles, a country that was not included in the peace negotiations and itself for the most part excluded from the system. IMO the international system after 1919 was not all to bad (just look how Germany looked like in 1945, in there was a stable developpment afterwards), but it lacked the abilities to impose its decisions on major countries. If nations like the US or the SU would have imposed the order on Germany it would have worked like in 1945, maybe not for the reparations which were simply too high and indeed caused hyperinflation.
But anyways, Hitler wanted a major war in Europe to get a Weltmacht and to get his Lebensraum in the East. The frustration over Versailles only gave him public support for his early actions, such as the re-integration of the Saar or his actions in the Rhineland.