Watch World War II - Lecture #1: The Causes of World War II

An episode of collective madness orchestrated by three lunatic dictators, World War II had three main causes at its root. The first was "the German problem" that dominated Europe from the rise of the kaisers in 1871 through World War I. Adolf Hitler made that nationalist arrogance an even bigger problem when he added the energizing but destructive Nazi ideology to Germany's politics and culture. And he used both of those pokers of pride to stoke the fire of lingering anger over how World War I ended for the Germans. Learn more about those factors that influenced World War II, as well as the agendas behind it and the depth of destruction that resulted, in debut episode of our series.