lemurian
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Hitler blunted the ambitions of the Soviet Union in Europe, fair enough.
But in fact the Soviet Union emerged from WW2 stronger than before, even becoming a fully-fledged superpower in the post-war period. Which might not have happened if not for WW2.
If the Soviet Union was such a threat, why didn't Germany ally with the rest of Europe in order to present a united front against the Soviet Union? Instead Germany expanded in all directions (opening wars on all fronts) before they took on the USSR.
Germany + Europe would have stood a much better chance against the USSR, compared to Germany fighting against both Europe and the USSR at the same time.
One consequence of WWI was that all the parties involved were quite unhappy. The state of Poland had been formed and even fought a war with the Soviets in the Inter war era. Germany had been weakened and humiliated, but not quite finished off. Poland gained a sea corridor through Free city of Danzig, which effectively cut off Prussia from the rest of Germany. Austria-Hungary was now just Austria, with predominant German population. The immediate focus of Hitler after 1933 was reunification of the German population, in Austria, Sudetenland, as well as Danzig- which ultimately started WWII.
This united front against SU is just hogwash. Poland had problems with both SU and Germany. Germany and France were at odds. Britain was more or less neutral. America was in isolationist mode. Mussolini had plans of creating a new Roman empire in the Mediterranean, at the cost of British and the French. The smaller countries just wanted to stay neutral.