To what Extent Was Naz Germany to Blame for the Outbreak of world war 2?

Question:

To what Extent Was Naz Germany to Blame for the Outbreak of world war 2?

This is a essay question I have been asked to do at school that I need a Little Help with the question is To what Extent Was Naz Germany to Blame for the Outbreak of world war 2?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Realistically, everyone, including Allied countries, shares some of the responsibility.

The Treaty of Versailles saddled Germany with war reparations which were ridiculously punitive. The US and Great Britain did turn around and loan Germany money to rebuild, but had the terms at Versailles not been quite so punitive, Germany would not have been as devastated and so ready for a savior in whatever guise.

Other nations are also guilty of allowing Hitler to rebuild his war machine, in direct defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. While the war reparations were too punitive, in my mind, the limitations on military rebuilding were appropriate. Everyone in the world knew he was rebuilding, and that the things he was building could only be used for war, yet no one stepped in and called his bluff, which would have forced him to stop re-arming Germany. It's not like he suddenly surprised the world when he invaded Poland. He had already annexed Austria and the Sudetenland, and he had made it very clear that he was land hungry. Since he was building submarines and warships, and since neither of those annexations involved war at sea, the appeasers knew very well that he had his eyes on more than just some lebensraum for the German people. But people chose to look the other way.

In all fairness, there were people like Winston Churchill who sounded the alarm very early on, but Churchill was not in a position at that point to effect any major changes in policy. So he did what he could in his little sphere of influence, which was build diplomatic ties and prepare for the inevitable war.

Despite the things I have mentioned above, the ultimate responsibility still rests with Nazi Germany. Yes, everyone knew it was coming. Yes, Hitler had been trumpeting his intentions fairly clearly since taking power in the 30s, but the simple fact is that they are the ones who fired the first shot and got the ball rolling. The saddest thing about WWII is that it wasn't just Germany that paid heavily for it--everyone suffered. Both the Allies and the Axis powers suffered devastating losses in the war.

And don't even get me started on the Holocaust...