What country could've most prevented WW2?

Question

In your opinion which of these countries could have done more to prevent WW2:
Britain, France, Russia, Japan, USA or Germany?

Answer 1

Britain, France, the USA.

Adolfie began to demand nearby countries, beginning with Austria, and later Checkoslovakia. After he seized these countries he was strong enough to begin an invasion ( of Poland, in spite of being protected by Britain and France )

Had Britain and France stopped Adolfie rearming a certain demilitarized zone, and later stopping the seizing of the mentioned countries, then Adolfie could have been stopped.
But no. They wanted peace, no matter what they had to do.
They thought that hitler would be satisfied with the countries he seized and would stop there.

He didn't

According to Goering, in Munich, when Hitler demanded the sudets ( a part of Checkoslovakia ) he ( Goering ) expected a reaction, but no. Both the rulers of Britain and France said yes meekly.
After the reunion, according to Goering, when they left the room, hitler said, with disgust: "It is terrible ! How useless !"

Answer 2

Well they were all responsible for the war - Germany and Japan as the aggressors but also Britain, France and the other countries from the Treaty of Versailles for punishing them.

France was particularily harsh - but, again, that had historical roots because that was partially in response to the damage done to their country and in remembrance of the humiliation they suffered during the Franco-Prussian War.

In some respects, yeah, the USA was responsible too. Until the great depression which was a phenomena sparked by America Germany had been recovering. It was the extreme poverty allowed by the crash of the global market that allowed Hitler to rise to power. Without the over-speculation, over-production and other flaws in the American economy Germany might not have had the same extreme hatred and nationalism that caused them to turn to the likes of Hitler.

So I'd almost say the USA by default. If they hadn't been so intent on a laissez-faire economy and had some checks on the stock market and such World War II might have been prevented.

Answer 3

The answer is clearly Germany. Disregarding the more blatant evils of Nazism, Germany had risen from the humiliation of Versailles and showcased the Berlin olympics, winning world acceptance and even sympathy amongst many western nations. Hitler was able to achieve most of his aspirations without a struggle because the allies were eager to avoid war, leaving him the strategic initiative. At that time, Bolshevism was seen as a greater threat by many. It was Hitler's unbridled ambition and belief in nationalistic superiority that brought about his downfall. The Nazi staff even believed war with the west could be avoided after invading Poland, but that was one step too far. It is unlikely Japan would have embarked on its pattern of conquest if the allies were not preoccupied in Europe. The world would be a different place today, and more moderate German thinking would have eventually prevailed, but the path they were on led to catastrophe.

Answer 4

The weather was a big part of the Nazi's slow advance but here are a few other reasons. 1. Hitler became obsessed with taking Stalingrad and diverted a huge force to take the city, (he failed) instead of heading straight to Moscow. 2. The Russians were received a large amount of supplies from the allies to keep the fighting going. 3. The Russians moved their factories back east when they were certain Japan would not enter the war against them. This allowed the Russians to keep producing tanks and other weapons and move them west to the front lines. The Nazi bombers were only twin engines bombers so they could not reach the factories and allowed the Russians to produce goods unhindered. 4. The Russians used a policy called scorched earth and this means they burnt and destroyed any and everything that could have been used by the Russians. Shelter, food, railroad tracks, everything. 5. The Russian partisans (civilian fighting force) hindered the Nazis at every turn. They ambushed patrols, destroyed supply depots, and provided information to the Red army. 6. Lastly, and probably one of the biggest reasons was the allies landing at the beach of Normandy. With this timely invasion, (although Stalin wanted the invasion earlier) it forced Hitler to reinforce the western front with troops that could have been used in the east.

Answer 5

If Britain (and to a lesser degree France) had not imposed the Versailles Treaty on Germany, it's doubtful Hitler could've used the resentment and suffering it caused to come to power.
Britain (and again, to a lesser degree, France) also erred egregiously in engaging in an "appeasement" policy with Nazi Germany. An attack by these two countries while Hitler's war machine was growing (immediately after he attacked Czekoslovakia) might've prevented the full drawn out, protracted war that WWII became.
Without Germany as an ally, I doubt Japan would've attacked Pearl Harbor or engaged in so much military conquest in Asia.

Answer 6

I believe Britain and France. There is post war evidence that there was a lot of opposition to Hitler's decision to remilitarize the Rhineland, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Had the two allies reacted vigorously, with bith diplomatic and military pressure, Hitler would have been overthrown.

Note this would not have changed the actions of Japan and there would likely have been a Pacific war, but history would have been quite different.

wl

Answer 7

Germany

Germany upset the balance of power in Europe, sought to forge an empire, and pissed off enough people that they all ganged up and beat them to a pulp - eventually.

Frankly, were it not for the Axis alliance between Germany (and Italy) and Japan, the western world would have kept on ignoring Japan's empire-building in East Asia, as they had already done for ten years before Pearl Harbor.

Answer 8

France.

The Treaty of Versailles was harsh and put unreasonable demands on Germany. The German people were required to pay reparations to France (and allies) for the war, however, their industrial complex was destroyed and the country forbidden from building more factories. This completely crippled the German economy.

While France is not solely responsible for the Second World War, the Treaty of Versailles can be considered a catalyst.

Answer 9

Germany and Japan were both aggressor nations and if they would bave been happy with the military and land gains they had made prior to 9/1/39 then war still could bave been averted.

Answer 10

France and Britain. Had they not been so aggressive in their attempt to make Germany suffer after the end of WWI, Hitler may have never been able to gain the support that he did.