All European nations suffered devastating postwar economic consequences, which further increased the reluctance to use military force to subdue Hitler. The United States enjoyed a postwar boom, given that none of the battles had been waged upon its own territories. But the Republican-dominated Senate refused to allow the U.S. To become a member of the League of Nations, and the absence of strong American leadership made the League ineffective as a peacekeeping force. Germany was also stripped of all of its colonies: the fact that many new nations were created in the redrawing of the map of Europe meant that many of the recently evolved national identities and infrastructures of new countries were quite fragile. Although they were 'older' nations, Germany and Russia were particularly politically unstable, as a result of the conditions spawned by World War I. Despite its early exit from the War, Russia's economy was undergoing an enforced collectivization and industrialization program. Two defining ideological strains dominated Europe from the left and from the right -- fascism and communism. However, because of the shocking...

Communism identified itself openly as an international revolutionary movement. Thus European leaders were inclined to 'look the other way' in terms of threats from the nationalist right. However, the most dedicated anti-war movements within Germany had been stridently leftist. During the 'German Revolution' of 1918-1919, a civil uprising that resulted in the abdication of the Kaiser, the moderate Social Democrats allied with right-wing parties, bolstering the latter's support in the nation, and weakening the most dedicated left-wing activists ("German Revolution," Spartacus, 2010).
Works Cited

"German Revolution." Spartacus Schoolnet. April 14, 2010.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERrevolution.htm

"Wars and Battles, World War I." U.S. History. April 14, 2010.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1334.html