>>>Germany devalued their own currency by printing money. Nobody made them do it.
>>>
>>>The rest of the world went through the same terrible depression, we didn't decide to invade Poland and kill jews.
>>
>>But the Germans were dealing with those fiscal problems all through the 20's when the US was living high. The seeds for WWII had already been sown by the time the Stock Market crashed in '29.
>
>The Germans only paid 1/8 of the reparations.
>
>I'd encourage a read of this book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_1919:_Six_Months_That_Changed_the_World
>
>" It also debunks a much-quoted theory of John Maynard Keynes, who propagated the idea that the conditions imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Adolf Hitler."

So it replaces one theory with another?
This issue is not like the theory of relativity or the theory of evolution. This issue involves people and how they react, collectively, in a given situation. One that includes its leadership, its financial health overall, the state of industry, the state of family and lots of other intangibles.
Who would have guessed that Hamas would win by a landslide in the Palestinian territory, yet they did. Who would have guessed that the U.S. would re-elect George W. Bush, yet they did!!!
Much like the theory of the GST here... revenue neutral and bringing in $28 billion. Righhht.

There are some things that are obvious despite conjecture.