1) End of WW1

• Government propaganda had prepared the German people for an impending victory. It made the sudden defeat in 1918 even more shocking.
• The perception that Versailles was an unfair 'dictated peace', even though it was no less harsh than the Germans had inflicted upon the Russians when they were defeated in World War One, created a swell of indignation.
• Hitler's ideas were formulated in this bitter atmosphere. Hitler challenged the 'dictated peace' settlement of Versailles. It brought him into open conflict with the Western democracies in 1939.