[Ingtar]

I agree that it was the French insistence on inflicting massive debt and other penalties on a fledgling representative government that gave Hitler a chance to rise to power.

[usa1776]

The communist decision to use violence to seize power in Germany(post ww1), the German govts inability to stop the communist (since they had socialist values themselves), the nazi's willingness to use force against communist force to stop Communist "terrorism" in Germany, combined with the nazi's nationalist message, all worked together to give the Nazi's and Hitler appeal to the average German. And its understandable, given the choice of "internationalist" "terrorist" communist, or nationalist Germans that the Nazi's would be popular. They were both socialist economically so that wasn't a factor.

Lesson: Stay away from socialism, no matter how appealing the circumstances make it. There is always another, and better, answer. This minor oversight by European nations started WW2. And the same oversight by the Americans, will start WW3.

[blu]

Not just the French, but Great Britain, Italy and Japan also demanded harsh reparations. Justifiably so.