Post by Tristan Herman on Jul 28, 2012 18:50:44 GMT
Adolf Hitler is widely recognized as being the reason the second world war was set into motion. For all intents and purposes, this remains true. A fact often overlooked is that many historians do not recognize two wars, but a single massive war with an interlude.
The second world war was proliferated by Germany's loss of the first world war. The signing of the treaty of Versailles effectively forced the Germans into a state of (more or less) unconditional surrender, and forced them to take full responsibility for all the atrocities committed during the conflict; financially or otherwise.*
In the course of a few short years this bankrupted Germany to the point where their currency had no effective value. With Germany unable to pay debts, and the Entente borrowing money that didn't exist, the stage was completely set for the eventual economic crisis known as "the Great Depression".
Hitler was able to exploit this time of vulnerability to rise to power. Through a series of political marches, rallies, speeches, and fairly illegal actions, Hitler was eventually appointed Chancellor by former president Hindenburg of the Wiemar Republic. From that point forward, Hitler would prepare to realize his dream of German Empire: the Thousand Year Reich.
On the first of September, 1939, Hitler's Wehrmacht and para-military Schutzstaffel units invaded Poland at the early hours of the morning. With later aid from the Soviet Union, the Poles were crushed in a matter of weeks, and the country divided between the two countries. Within days of the invasion, Great Britain and France declared war upon Germany, vowing to "protect" the Polish state; a promise that was never kept the duration of the war, even during the Warsaw Uprising.
The next few years saw the Germans fighting on numerous fronts. The Ostfront in Russia, North Africa, France, the Balkans, and Norway. The German war machine seemed unstoppable until 1943 when the tide turned against them. A gradual loss in Italy, combined with a major defeat in North Africa shattered morale and ranks. The Soviet war machine had come to bear, and with the arsenal of Democracy showing its true might alongside the rest of the Allied power in 1944 with Operation Overlord, the defeat of Germany was at hand. It would take less than a year from the "Thousand Year Reich" to fall in early May of 1945.
The result was the division of Germany and her lands among the victors. The Soviet Union annexed most of the gained territory while the soon-to-be NATO countries liberated and reinstated the statehood of the former German territories. Nazi officials were rounded up and effectively sold to the highest bidder, and their technology was exploited for use in the upcoming series of proxy-conflicts that would be known as the Cold War.
If you wish to know more about any particular part of Germany's involvement during, before, or after the war, post below and I will answer any questions you might have.
*An interesting side note, when taken into consideration, it is not too far off to say that the Entente and her allies were in fact the "bad guys" in the conflict to a certain extent. Germany went to war alongside Austro-Hungary, whom had declared war upon Serbia. Germany was then attacked by the Russians (who sided with the Serbians on the grounds of "slavic brotherhood"). The war escalated from there, with both sides of the conflict building up arms until Germany attacked France, Belgium, and the Netherlands on the grounds of a possible attack from them. Back then it was called "aggression". Now it is called a "preemptive strike".
