On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany blitzed Poland and World War II broke out. The Second World War swept across the globe, involving most of the world's countries and populations, and the war caused huge losses of people and property. As the initiator of the war, Germany was severely punished by the Allies. Not only was Germany beaten in the war, but it was also divided in two after the war, which caused a long-term division of the country, and it can be said that the Germans paid a heavy price for launching the Second World War. But for provoking World War II, the Germans have no regrets, if history can be repeated, the Germans will still choose that way. Many people can't help but ask, why did the Germans so stubbornly start the Second World War? This starts with the First World War.
Like World War II, Germany was the main initiator of World War I. However, World War I was different from World War II, and World War I was mainly a war between the emerging industrial powers led by Germany and the old colonial powers for hegemony and sphere of influence. Of course, whatever the reason, the Germans are inseparable from the world war, and the Germans are the first perpetrators of the world war. So after the war, Germany, as the culprit, was severely punished by the Allies. In order to weaken and punish Germany, Britain and France ruthlessly plundered and oppressed Germany, which was the direct cause of the Germans' launching of World War II.
After World War I, in order to make up for the trauma of the war, the Allies demanded that Germany bear huge reparations, especially the direct victims of Britain and France. According to the decision of the Allied Compensation Commission, Germany would have to bear a huge compensation of 226 billion marks, which is nothing less than an astronomical amount even now. As a defeated country, Germany could only sign the instrument of surrender. At that time, Germany was in a very difficult situation at home and abroad. During world war I, Germany's economy and infrastructure were severely damaged, the country was in disarray, industrial production was almost stagnant, and the country was on the verge of collapse. In order to make Germany pay off its debts, Britain and France took German ships, machinery, equipment, precious metals and other valuables to pay off their debts, which made the originally very bad German economy worse. It can be said that the Germans simply could not repay such a huge amount of war reparations. However, although Germany's situation is very poor, the reparations still have to continue to be lost, and the Germans have no choice but to print more money and repay the debt by issuing huge amounts of money. Since Germany had almost spent all its gold reserves during the war, the German mark had no gold content at all, just like waste paper.
Germany's indiscriminate issuance of money soon had a negative impact on the economy, and there was severe inflation in Germany. A hamburger cost 100 million yuan, and a bottle of drink cost more than 300 million, and the German economy at that time can imagine how bad it was. Ordinary people live in such an environment, and the area of their life pressure and psychological shadow can be imagined. The Germans hated Britain and France, as well as the unequal terms and huge reparations imposed on Germany by Britain and France. In this way, the seeds of revenge grew wildly in the hearts of the Germans. Of course, Britain and France did not care whether the Germans were dead or alive, especially the French, and were eager to squeeze Germany to the greatest extent possible. In order to make the Germans pay back, in 1923, France and Belgium and other countries sent troops to Germany and occupied the Ruhr industrial area in Germany, which triggered the anger and passive resistance of the Germans, and of course caused the United States and Britain to worry. Under Pressure from Britain and the United States, the French had to withdraw their troops from the Ruhr. The Ruhr crisis made the United States and Britain aware of the difficulties of the Germans, so they deferred German reparations, while providing loans and investments to Germany to help Germany recover the economy and let the Germans continue to pay reparations.
With the help of the United States and Britain, Germany's economy gradually improved, re-emerging as Europe's largest economic and industrial power. But the rise of Germany did not mean that the Germans were better off, because the war reparations still had to be repaid, germany was still in turmoil, unemployment and inflation were still widespread, and the hard-earned money of the Germans was given to Britain and France as reparations. In fact, the German people not only hated Britain and France, but also strongly resented the weakness and incompetence of the Weimar regime. In 1929, a global economic crisis of unprecedented proportions swept across the world, and the Germans were not spared. Under the impact of the economic crisis, the German economy experienced a serious recession, unemployment remained high, the country was in turmoil, strikes and riots became more and more serious, and there were even serious revolutionary tendencies in Germany. In the turbulent environment of war, the Nazi Party, which advocated improving the lives of the people and restoring Germany's status as a great power, took the opportunity to come to power.
Hitler was a very talented doer, not only good at fooling, but also very good at governing. He preached propaganda that inflation was caused by the Jews, and the Germans believed that Hitler could help them get rid of Jewish exploitation and capital control and solve the severe inflation. He promised to revive Germany and improve the lives of the people, and as a result, the people were driven into cars, and people became more supportive and trusting of Hitler and his Nazi Party. In this way, Hitler and his Nazi Party pulled Germany back from the brink of collapse and insurrection, and the Germans rose day by day, and the Germans seemed to have regained their pre-World War I glory, so they frantically supported Hitler. Hitler thus became a hero to the Germans. Hitler naturally became more and more energetic and crazier in this environment. The German people also became excited and impulsive, they strongly supported Hitler, and after solving the problem of food and clothing, they hoped that Hitler would lift the shackles of the Versailles contract on the Germans, hoped that Hitler could lead the Germans to revival, and hoped that he could restore dignity to the German people.
Hitler also regarded the rise of Germany as a top priority, and after he came to power, he frantically expanded the armament war, negotiated with Britain and France, abolished treaties such as arms limitations, and refused to continue to repay reparations on the grounds of economic crisis. Although Britain and France were unwilling, in the face of Germany's strong military strength and strong sense of revenge, they were afraid of going to war with Germany again, so they were unwilling to engage in more and more stalemate with Germany, because the lessons of the First World War were too painful. In the end, Britain and France chose to make concessions to Germany and vigorously promote a policy of appeasement, so that Germany could grow step by step. But the anglo-French concession did not satisfy the appetite of the Germans. When Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, the Germans began to show their fangs and once again showed their fierce side. Hitler's ambitions and German revenge intertwined, putting the Germans on the road of no return for foreign expansion, and in 1939 Germany invaded Poland and challenged Britain and France, and World War II broke out.
There is no doubt that Hitler was a remarkable man, and his success had his own personal factors, but more importantly, the factors of the times, and Germany's war and revenge on Britain and France were the common will of the Germans. The Germans are oppressed and afraid, and the hard life has been too long, so they prefer to get rid of the shackles that are put on them, and they want to live a good life, and they are not even willing to care who leads them, in what way to achieve it, as long as they live well. As Hitler said: "With the german sword, the land is obtained for the German plough, and the bread of the day is obtained for the German people." Therefore, as soon as Hitler came to power, he was doomed to take the road of war in Germany, which was due to the social situation at that time. A loaf of bread is a hundred million, and you will also fight with Britain and France.