That is not what history says. The reparations for WWI were so stiff in 1918 that Germany was mired in poverty thereafter. My late father told me that inflation was so high that you would have to walk around with a suitcase of money in order to pay for things.

It was the poverty that allowed Hitler to rise. He found a scapegoat for the poverty. He also got people to work by inventing a 'people's car' (Volikswagen) and other industries.

Dictatorships are not purposely maneuvered. They are the outcome of a particular set of circumstances where some take advantage. The people allow them to because they are desperate.

The situation in America is a direct result of cultural beliefs.