To what extent was the ideology of national socialism responsible for the outbreak of WWII?

The ideology of national socialism had several factors that were responsible for the outbreak of WWII. Primarily, the concept of 'lebensraum' created the political circumstances and environment necessary for Germany to invade Poland which was ultimately the trigger for WWII. Lebensraum is a central tenant within Nazi ideology that holds that it is essential for the German-speaking people's to have additional land and space to 'live-in'. Nazism believed in a political theory that holds it is essential for nations to have space to breath to fully accomplish their destinies. This led to things such as the 'anschluss' with Austria and in a similar, but more hostile vain, the German invasion of Poland which was the trigger for WWII. Another factors that caused WWII through national socialism was the ideologies inherent belief in anti-communism and anti-semitism which doomed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact from the beginning which was the only hope of limiting the war to just Poland. National Socialism has an inherent belief that communism is evil as it seeks to eliminate the nation state and it also sees it as a 'Jewish' ideology. Through this, it was obvious that the truce with the Soviet Union would not last as there was a clear ideological division between the two parties. I would then go on to explain how it was perhaps the economic condition of the Germany at the time and the Treaty of Versailles that were truly the causes behind WWII

Answered by Mihir J. History tutor

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