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Hitler Joins the Nazi Party
In September of 1919 Hitler joined the German Workers' Party, a small, extreme nationalist group. It soon changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeitespartei – NSDAP or 'Nazi' for short.) -
Hitler Becomes the Leader of the Nazi Party
Hitler joined the Nazi party the year it was founded and became the leader in July of 1921 -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or fÜhrer of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany. -
Third Reich is founded
Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state (also referred to as the Third Reich) quickly became a regime in which Germans enjoyed no guaranteed basic rights. -
Austria is Invaded and then taken over
German troops marched into Austria without any form of fight. A day later German troops left Austria and announced that "Anschluss" or the union of German speaking countries was completed. -
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was a settlement permitting Nazi Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders mainly inhabited by German speakers, for which a new territorial designation "Sudetenland" was coined. -
Sudetenland Occupied
Sudetenland is northern, southwest, and western areas of Czechoslovakia which speak primarily German. In October of 1938, German soldiers occupied Sudetenland after occupying Austria in March. -
Poland is Invaded
German forces occupied Poland on September 1, 1939. In Poland, German forces employed a military strategy known as blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. -
Occupation of Denmark and Norway
In April 1940 German forces occupied Denmark and then went across the North Sea and in the same month occupied Norway. In this picture a Norwegian boy is standing with his families possessions after they are forced to relocate after the occupation. -
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are Occupied
In May of 1940 German soldiers moved fast and within 31 days occupied Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France. The image shows German soldiers on the main street in Paris, Champs-Élysées.
