The Pankian Metaphor 3165

A lot of what was done back then was borderline legal within the limits of the Versailles treaty, Hitler carefully kept up appearances as long as possible. Hence the "pocket battleships" - just within the tonnage limit imposed by Versailles but a hell of a lot more firepower than usual. Or the development of tanks as "tractors".

Also it seems that in the 1930s, most of the powers who had dictated the Versailles treaty weren't really that much interested in enforcing it anymore.

Well, the battle cry was "Volk ohne Raum" (roughly: nation without space to live) and the ideology said to just grab said space from whoever could not hold onto it. Basically it was the well used idea of building an empire by wars of aggression and the dictator who wants to do it needs some slogans to sell the idea even to his own subjects. Of course there was also the same ludicrous idea that all nationalists have that your own people are much better than everybody else and should therefore rule all those other, lesser mortals.

Regards, Alex. -- "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison