by Sean Portland

Created on: April 25, 2009

There are a number of dimensions to this argument, of which political conditions and economics appear to be the among the primary causes of WWII. These conditions, such as the post-depression Fascist enthusiasms in Europe (owing somewhat to The Treaty Of Versailles), and the opportune (from said States) economic conditions brought about by WWI, are well studied and documented. However, it is the more personal and complex contributing factors which I wish to focus on.

When Roosevelt asked of a name for the War, Churchill said "The Unnecessary War"- and he was right.
This in itself is a direct implication of how none of the economic or political circumstances of the time NECESSARILY lead to WWII. Of course, they made possible the conditions in which Hitler's militarism could flourish, but, as is the very nature of Dictatorship, it was an individuals ideology and character which provides for us some more complicated, and somewhat more interesting reasons for the events of 1939 - 45. One might use the analogy that the political climate was the 'right weather' while Hitler himself was the 'seed'
Hitler saw and felt the effects of a repressed Germany in which the ideals of a foreign Europe, a Capitalist Europe, were manifesting themselves in every day German life. And he wasn't the only one. A disgruntled artist and WWI vet, he essentially and ironically, 'capitalized' on this condition for his own rise to power. He was a charismatic public speaker, who could evoke active hatred and anger, 'lend' his own voice to the repressed and confused people. The skill in which he did this was a psychological mastery which has been studied endlessly since.
As an orator, Hitler would survey the speaking halls prior to his stand, actually study the spatial properties of the room so he could adjust his voice and optimise his presence. Hitler knew how to win a crowd, and late 30's Germany, he recognised, was a crowd that yearned for a strong, provocative leader. As a politician, he studied Marxism and Leninism, displayed in a (failed) attempt to overthrow the German government prior to his seat - Revolutionism being a key component to Leninism. But these studies served him well later on, for Revolutionism was exactly the guise in which his Dictatorship would emerge.
First, he needed a palpable focus. Repression, in itself, is not something your average 1930's German, nor any person then and now, could actually see. And foreign powers which were restricting Germany ('restricting' is a

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