The First World War left Germany's Weimar Republic in a political and economic mess. It was by the end of the 1920s that prosperity and stability began to return to the German state, this was due largely in part to US loans. With the Wall Street Crash in 1929 the US requested the payment back of loans from Germany; unemployment and economic collapse followed in Germany.

With many Germans dissatisfied with their government. people began to turn to extremist parties. In 1933, the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler came into power and he began to promote the Nazis aggressive nationalism in both economic and international policies.

Economic solutions:
- rearmament programme for Germany
- spread of state control of industry and investment in projects (e.g. road building)
- ending the Treaty of Versailles and terminating Germany's reparations payments
International policies:
- reclaim the land lost under the Treaty of Versailles
- Lebensraum, meaning 'living space', was the goal of obtaining land for Germans to live in eastern Europe
- destroy communism wherever it is located