Democracy under Siege

Dateline: Germany, 1933. Jan. 30: Hindenburg names Hitler Chancellor.
Feb. 27: The burning of the Reichstag. Hitler blames his political opponents and enacts repressive laws. Mar. 5: The Nazi Party wins the Federal elections amid a climate of fear and intimidation. From this point on, with a precise and constant rhythm, Hitler dismantles all of the democratic institutions of the fragile Weimar Republic and inaugurates a reign of terror, gradually establishing a ruthless and violent dictatorial regime.

The above is history, but what would have happened if instead of bringing Europe into a maelstrom of war, the infamous Austrian corporal had abandoned his plan of global domination and taken the path of peace? Would World War II still have broken out? Or would the Nazi hierarchy and German industry still have pushed the Führer to war with Poland? What would the dream of a Greater Germany have been without Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the other German territorial claims? Would the Western plutocrats or