German dictator and leader of Nazi Party who rearmed and expanded territory, beginning World War II in 1939.

• A. Adolf Hitler
• B. Benito Mussolini
• C. Joseph Stalin
• D. Harry Truman

Answer: (A)

Hitler is the German dictator who led the Nazi Party and drove the aggressive steps that rebuilt Germany’s military, expanded its territory, and ultimately sparked World War II in 1939. He openly rejected the restraints of the Treaty of Versailles, pursuing rearmament and expansion to unite all German-speaking peoples and gain living space for the regime. This path included the annexation of Austria, pressure on Czechoslovakia, and finally the invasion of Poland, which marks the outbreak of the war. His leadership as the Führer centralized power and made these actions possible, linking the Nazi ideology directly to both the rise of Nazi Germany and the start of the conflict.

Benito Mussolini led Italy and allied with Germany, but he did not start World War II in 1939. Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union and pursued his own strategic goals, not the Nazi program. Harry Truman was the United States president later in the war, not a German leader.