There's a mixtape of opinions on what caused WWII in Europe. Some soundtracks include

• Nazi Nudge: Nazism, and their pushy policies, were the major party crashers.
• Hitler's Gambit: He wasn't planning a grand world showdown. He was just grabbing opportunities as they came.
• Distraction Tactic: Hitler wanted to look cool overseas, so folks back home wouldn't notice the shaky ground he stood on.
• Appease the Beast: Giving in to Hitler's whims? Bad idea. It only made him more daring.

• Hugh Trevor-Roper + McKercher & Legault
  • 📖 Read: "Hitler's got a game plan!"
  • Pointed to Mein Kampf as evidence.
  • Compared WWII reasons to a game of "Capture the Lebensraum and Beat Bolshevism."
• AJP Taylor
  • 📖 Read: "Hitler's just rolling with it!"
  • Nazi foreign policy was basically just the remix of pre-WWI German vibes.
• Richard Overy
  • 📖 Read: "Britain and France said: Enough!"
  • Thought Hitler was improvising, but by '39, UK and France played the party police after Poland got taken over.
• Martin Broszat
  • 📖 Read: "Nazi's inside drama!"
  • The chaotic world of Nazi HQ made Hitler amp up the boldness to win over fans.
• Winston Churchill
  • 📖 Read: "You can't make friends with a croc!"
  • 🐊 Quote Alert: "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last."
  • Slamming appeasement as the reason for the war.
• Keith Eubank
  • 📖 Read: "1919's mistakes brewed 1939's storm."
  • Thought the peace deals post-WWI left Germans bitter.
  • Even though Hitler played the appeasement card, that wasn't the chief cause for the showdown.
• Adam Tooze
  • 📖 Read: "Hitler was on a tight schedule!"
  • Highlighted how Germany's pocket and military weren't ready, but they still rushed into war. Time was ticking!