War by miscalculation?

There is no doubt that Hitler was determined to break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, especially those restricting the size of the German army. He planned to re-establish Germany as Europe's dominant power. He would achieve this by moving Germany's borders to bring states like Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland under direct German rule or influence. However, this does not mean that he wanted a general European war - let alone a world war.

Hitler may have wanted a short, limited war in Europe. There is some evidence to suggest that Germany was only capable of fighting a short war in 1939, and Hitler knew this. But this does not explain entirely why a war broke out. Why was Germany able to threaten the peace of Europe in the 1930s but not in the 1920s? What other factors inside and outside Europe contributed to a situation which made war likely?

Neil Demarco: The era of the Second World War; Oxford University Press, 1993/2000, page 14