> Germany is pretty much the go to case. They lost WW1, then the American hegemony financially repressed Germany through external debt so they had a pretty good

> Germany is pretty much the go to case. They lost WW1, then the American hegemony financially repressed Germany through external debt so they had a pretty good reason to start a new war. I have no idea who teaches this version of history, but it's like saying that the US Civil War started because of States's rights. The German economy was in full swing by the time WW2 started and Germany had already shrugged off all of its post-WW1 commitments. The causes of WW2 are complex, but they're well understood today https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_II One major cause is that Hitler came to power. He did take advantage of the bad economy, but that was one rung on the ladder to power, one of the first. He knew he wouldn't get far with it alone, that's why he also recruited the stabbed in the back theory. Ludendorff and Hindenburg were the big promoters of the stabbed in the back theory, because, as the former military leaders of the German Empire in WW1, it shielded them from the consequences of their defeat. Ludendorff elevated Hitler politically and basically saved his life in the Putsch. Then Hindenburg got rid of all controls and gave Hitler total power. If it wasn't for Ludendorff and Hindenburg Hitler wouldn't have risen to some power and then had the keys to Germany handed to him. Another important cause comes from how the other powers dealt with Hitler. They let him run amok, threaten war, and get his way, time and time again. Until they drew an arbitrary line in the sand (Poland) that didn't make a lot of sense for anyone. Hitler didn't think it was as a big a deal to invade Poland as France and Britain. Stalin and the USSR contributed to starting WW2, it's not clear that Hitler would have invaded Poland if there hadn't been a treaty with the USSR. And of course, another key cause of what we know as WW2 is the collapse of France. The war would likely have been contained and Hitler might even have been quickly defeated. That is its own complex topic. But no. WW2 didn't happen because of economic oppression by the victors of WW1, just like the US Civil War didn't happen because of state's rights.