Why War Broke Out in Europe in 1939 When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1939, he was not at all secretive about his plans for Germany. He had four main aims, which were: - Abolish the Treaty of Versailles - Expand German territory - Defeat communism - The creation of One Reich He, like many others, believed the Treaty of Versailles was unjust and planned to abolish it. He called the German leaders who signed the Treaty the “November Criminals”. The treat was a constant reminder of Germany’s defeat in the First World War and their mortification by the Allies. The first step of getting revenge on the Treaty would be rearmament. When Hitler came into power thousands of unemployed workers were drafted into the army. He kept the rearmament secret at first, yet he soon withdrew from the League and openly staged a massive rally celebrating Germany’s armed forces in 1935. He managed to get away with the rearmament, which also boosted the Nazi support. Hitler planned on reintroducing conscription (which he did in 1936) and remilitarising the Rhineland. Hitler wanted to get back Germany’s territory as well as unite with Austria (Anschluss). He wanted German minorities in other countries, e.g. Czechoslovakia to rejoin Germany, and provide Lebensraum (living space) for the German people by taking over land in the east. This would help create One Reich and being back Germany’s self determination which was taken away from them at the end of World War 1. Hitler also hated Jews, communists and all other “sub humans”. He wanted to destroy Bolshevism, as he believed Bolsheviks helped defeat Germany in the First World War as... ... middle of paper ... ...urces and power to make a difference. France and Britain had too much trust in Hitler. They let him go too far and trusted a bit of signed paper (Appeasement). If they had acted sooner e.g. when Hitler went into the Rhineland, they could have prevented the war. The USSR was also partly responsible for the war. Germany might have been scared to act alone without the support of the USSR. It would have meant they would be fighting on two fronts again. If the USSR had not supported Germany then but stayed with the allies, it might have delayed or even stopped Hitler’s attack. These are all factors that speeded up and made the Second World War possible. However, we cannot forget that Hitler’s actions were the main reason the war had occurred and these factors mentioned merely added onto this not the other way round.