Re: World War II
Tabby, IMO it is not necessary to become a university level scholar in order to have an excellent overview of WW2. Nor is it necessary to read Mien Kampf.
I suspect that you could get all of the information you desire simply by watching a certain selection of movies/videos. That said, you should be aware that SOME of those films are made for entertainment purposes and NOT meant to educate.
Certainly, the series, "The World at War" is an excellent place to start.
If you have any specific interests, I for one, would be happy to offer ideas on where to start. WW2, is after all a wide ranging topic. Broadly speaking, WW2 may be broken down into 2 main topics: The European War and The Pacific War. What happened in each of those 2 theaters have totally different causes and events.