It was a bloody mess.

             QUESTION ONE (part 2): What were the reasons behind World War II? The bold calculating arrogance of Adolph Hitler, in combination with his uncanny ability to stir the German citizens into a frenzy of hatred and aggression and hunger for power and security, was a big part of what started WWII. That, fact, along with the way the Treaty of Versailles was decided, pushed the buttons that started the war. According to author Keith Eubank, who wrote The Origins of World War II, after WWI the Treaty of Versailles (the peace agreement between all warring nations) was not strong enough. It left Germany "still unified, undamaged, and unoccupied." .

             Because Germany was defeated in WWI, but really not destroyed or punished severely, their dream of victory lived on. Germany, indeed, "suffered less damage than the other European powers and still remained the largest nation in Central Europe," Eubank explains. If Germany had been occupied by an allied force, and made to pay a real price for their aggression in WWI, it might have been different, the author points out.

             Also, the reviewer of Eubank's book, Amy Sims, writes that leaders of the other European nations that were involved in WWI deluded themselves into believing that another war of such devastation could "never be repeated." That was because they believed "sufficient security measure were in place to maintain peace.".

             Meanwhile, France and Britain wanted to avoid war at all costs, but nobody and nothing was going to stop Hitler from launching a war "that would ultimately" involved most of Europe. And so, Hitler built a massive army backed by hitherto unprecedented machines of war, and, using the Treaty of Versailles to stir his people into believing that German had indeed been punished unfairly, he mapped out his plan to take over all of Europe, and eventually, the world. And the United States got into it only after being attacked in Hawaii by Japan, December 7, 1941.