This video challenges the standard narrative that World War II began solely with Hitler’s rise, instead tracing its deeper roots to the flawed economic decisions made after World War I. It examines how the punitive Treaty of Versailles created an unsustainable debt trap, with massive German reparations fueling hyperinflation, political instability, and resentment in the Weimar Republic. American loans via plans like Dawes propped up Germany temporarily, while Allied war debts to the U.S. created a circular financial mess. The piece also highlights corporate ties—such as between Standard Oil, I.G. Farben, Ford, and others—that armed the Nazi machine, along with institutions like the Bank for International Settlements that continued dealings with Nazi Germany. Ultimately, it argues WWII was not just the work of one madman but the inevitable outcome of a broken international financial system designed by shortsighted victors.
