Question

neither the people nor the government of britain and france were conditioned to the idea of war.... before september 1, 1939, hitler had done nothing that any major power considered dangerous enough to warrant precipitating starting a major european war. nor was there any existing coalition that could have opposed hitlers massive forces. for britain sought to appease hitler and the french feared a repetition of the bloody sacrifices of 1914 - 1918. stalin wanted an agreement with hitler on partitioning europe and the united states rejected all responsibility for europe. source: keith eubank, origins of world war ii, thomas y. crowell co., 1969 (adapted) what evidence did this historian give for his belief that hitler would not have been stopped prior to 1939? why did the world plunge into world war ii in 1939? what is the most effective response to aggression - appeasement or collective security?

Explanation:

The text provides several pieces of evidence. First, it states that neither the people nor the government of Britain and France were ready for war. Second, before September 1, 1939, Hitler had not done anything that major powers considered dangerous enough to start a major European war. Third, there was no existing coalition to oppose Hitler's forces. Britain was appeasing Hitler, France feared repeating the sacrifices of 1914 - 1918, Stalin wanted an agreement with Hitler on partitioning Europe, and the US rejected responsibility for Europe.

Answer:

The evidence given includes:

• The people and governments of Britain and France were not ready for war.
• Hitler had not done anything major powers saw as dangerous enough to start a major European war before September 1, 1939.
• There was no coalition to oppose Hitler (Britain appeased, France feared repetition of 1914 - 1918 sacrifices, Stalin wanted a partition agreement with Hitler, US rejected European responsibility).