Secondary school history textbooks summarize the causes of the outbreak of World War II: the uneven economic and political development of imperialism, and the dissatisfaction of the German people with the Treaty of Versailles after World War I; From 1929 to 1933, the economic crisis exacerbated the contradictions, and Germany, Italy and Japan established fascist ** rule; Britain and France pursued a policy of appeasement and connived at Hitler's aggression; The League of Nations failed and failed to effectively stop Japanese aggression. February** Dynamic Incentive Program
We need to remember history and recognize the important role played by Nazi Germany in the outbreak of World War II and the uncontrollable situation caused by their miscalculations. Such lessons still have important implications for us today.
Now, the issue of NATO's eastward expansion is also a lesson that needs to be taken seriously. We cannot easily challenge the basic defence security of a major power or an alliance of great powers, which could lead to irreparable consequences.
The outbreak of World War II was precisely because Nazi Germany misjudged the situation and excessively challenged other countries, which led to the final outbreak of war. And Hitler, despite his heroic fighting spirit, could have been a formidable "hawk" if he had been able to control the entire state apparatus.
We cannot ignore history and need to learn from it to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
Hitler was not a fanatical warmaker, and he waged war for his own purposes, not just for thrill seeking. He will not choose war if peace negotiations, diplomatic mediation, or the use of force, deception, etc., can achieve his goals, because there are risks in any military means.
The outbreak of the Second World War was largely due to Hitler's miscalculation of the limits of patience between Britain and France, especially the dominant players of the Versailles-Washington system.
And the emergence of this kind of misjudgment thinking is related to the long-term appeasement policy of Britain, France, and other countries. Next, we will sort out how Hitler gradually challenged the bottom line of Britain and France, and finally pushed Germany into the abyss of the chariot.
In September 1934, Hitler secretly drew up a rearmament plan, and a year later he publicly announced that he would expand the Wehrmacht to 300,000, a blatant violation of the Treaty of Versailles and a backlash from Western countries.
However, the ** of Britain, France and other countries only stayed on paper and did not adopt substantive military or economic sanctions. This led Hitler to think that the West was just talking, while the actual approach was weak.
In March 1936, Hitler went further, sending troops to occupy the Rhine Demilitarized Zone and build fortifications on Germany's western border, in violation of not only the Treaty of Versailles, but also the Locarno Pact.
The chart is below. 
Hitler was concerned about this attempt to push the floor, and he ordered the German troops in the Rhine to withdraw immediately in the face of French hostilities. Hitler said: "The 48 hours after the march into the Rhine were the most stressful moments of my life.
If France had also entered the Rhine at that time, we would have had to retreat. However, neither France nor Britain was willing to provoke a larger dispute, choosing to remain silent and stand still, which gave Hitler the opportunity to test their cards.
In July 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, and Hitler intervened in Spain under the pretext of opposing the "threat of communism", and signed an international agreement with Japan, which was subsequently joined by Italy.
The formal formation of the three-dimensional axis of Germany, Italy, and Japan posed a naked threat to world peace. However, Britain and France have adopted a so-called "policy of non-intervention", and the United States has also declared that it will remain "neutral".
Hitler was ambitious and intended to challenge the British and French bottom line. On March 11, 1938, with the help of Austrian pro-Germans and Nazis, he occupied Austria without blood, opening the prelude to the invasion and expansion of Central Europe.
Britain and France, fearful of setting themselves on fire, let it go. Austria was an ally, and the compromise and concession of Britain and France made Hitler even more convinced of his ambitions. So he pointed the finger at Czechoslovakia, and in September 1938, German soldiers pressed the border.
Britain and France did not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of Czechoslovakia in order to satisfy Hitler's ambitions. At the Munich Conference, they forcibly ceded the Czech Sudetenland to Germany, swearing that it would be his last claim in Europe.
This was the famous "Munich Conspiracy" in history, where appeasement reached its peak.
The signing of the Munich Agreement had a huge negative impact, exposing the extreme fear of war in Britain and France, and making Hitler even more unscrupulous in his subsequent expansion.
Just one year later, in March 1939, Hitler effortlessly annexed all of Czechoslovakia, an important industrial manufacturing base in Europe and the birthplace of the "Czech" light machine gun as we know it.
This move significantly increased Germany's military industry and economic power, and accelerated the pace of Hitler's aggression. In the face of this aggressive act of Hitler, Britain and France were already terrified to the bone marrow, and did not take any substantive sanctions, except for verbal **.
At this point, looking back at Germany's territorial map, we can see the impact of this historical period on Europe and the world.
Let's get an insight into the geography of the era by comparing the territory maps of the Weimar Republic after World War I.
Let's finally compare the territory of the Second German Reich after the unification of Germany by Bismarck, the iron-blooded chancellor.
The "Greater Germany" project sought to restore the territory of the Holy Roman Empire to include Austria; The "Little Germany" program was to unify the territorial boundaries of pre-war Germany.
As one of the three great men recognized in the world, Bismarck's wisdom and talent are unmatched, and he even made Li Hongzhang of the Great Qing Dynasty admire him to the ground. However, his lifelong struggle could only realize the "Little Germany" program, not the "Greater Germany" program, and finally completed the reunification of Germany.
On the stage of history, there are those whose influence transcends military and economic power, and who can achieve their goals by virtue of their eloquence and means. This person was the German Führer in 1938.
Through diplomatic fraud, violent intimidation, and abduction, he realized Germany's "Greater Germany" plan, which was even comparable to Bismarck, a great figure in history.
If he had been able to avoid a sudden death and a suddenness from the Traveler, his place in German history would have been even more prominent.
Hitler's survival and the "appeasement" of Britain and France enabled his expansionist ambitions to materialize, which made him overconfident in his own capabilities and military prowess.
He mistakenly believed that even if he acted, Britain and France would only make superficial **. As a result, he misjudged the bottom line of British and French tolerance, and set his sights on Poland, which at that time was considered the "first cosmic" power in Europe.
However, from an objective point of view, Hitler's misjudgment of the situation and Poland's judgment of the situation are both at the level of political novices, which can be said to be irrational.
Historically, Poland, although the road to restoration was bumpy, never gave up the dream of becoming the "first power in the universe". In order to achieve this, they are always looking for opportunities in various matters.
For example, when Germany annexed the Sudetenland in 1938, Poland not only betrayed Britain and France, but also made overtures to Hitler and sent 100,000 men to Germany's aid. At the same time, they also sent troops to Lithuania, forced Lithuania to recognize the Polish territory of Vilno, and successfully annexed Teshin.
They tried to restore the former Grand Duchy of Poland-Lithuania. For Hitler, Poland's accession was undoubtedly a good opportunity, so he made a small request to Poland to return Poland's Danzig corridor to Germany.
Despite the displeasure of Poland with this request, they decided to cooperate with Germany, hoping to realize their dream.
The refusal of the Great Bobo to return the Danzig Corridor not only displeased Hitler, but also stabbed Germany in the back. This gave Hitler the illusion that Britain and France would not stop the annexation of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
However, Britain and France were concerned that German expansion would threaten the balance of power in Europe and attract the "scourge" of the Soviet Union. Eventually, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and Germany's ally, the Soviet Union, joined the fray.
Hitler was initially surprised when he heard the news of the declaration of war between Britain and France, and he did not understand why Britain and France had severed relations with him because of a "second bastard" in Central Europe.
In fact, Hitler did not realize that his actions would lead to chaos in the whole world, allowing the situation to develop in an uncontrollable direction. The logic behind it is actually not complicated.
Britain and France connived at Germany because they wanted Germany to confront the Soviet Union, but they did not expect that while Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union also attacked from behind. In this way, the two major forces joined forces, and the future of Britain and France was worried.
However, Hitler did not realize this at the time, and his misjudgment of the situation led him to stride forward and ultimately suffer defeat. Although the Germans also achieved some victories in the early stage, it was difficult to escape the fate of annihilation in the end.
As for Hitler's pre-war expansionist behavior, I will elaborate in the next part about how NATO expanded eastward after the war.