-
Hitler Takes Control Over Germany
On the 30th of January, Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany. Once Chancellor, Hitler immediately began to rebuild the German army and navy. The League of Nations were very uneasy about the actions Hitler was taking however, they chose not to intervene in hopes to prevent a second war. -
Hitler Sends Nazi Troops Into Rhineland
Hitler Sends troops into the Rhineland which is a German territory that lies along the border of France. The French did not like this at all and requested aid from the British. The British did not do anything due to the fact that they did not want to start a confrontation. They instead chose to do appeasement, meaning that they gave in to Hitler instead of confronting him. The British hoped that by doing this, they can prevent another war in Europe. -
Hitler Annexed Austria
Hitler annexed Austria, his native country because Hitler always wanted to unite the Austrian and German people. He claimed that Austria should belong to Germany because the Austrian people spoke German and shared similar cultures. This was called the Anschluss, When Hitler added Austria into his German empire. At this point the League of Nations were very concerned but Britain and France choose to continue the appeasement. -
Hitler Invades Czechoslovakia and the Munich Pact
A few months later, in September of 1938, Hitler invades Czechoslovakia and demanded that the Czech government to surrender to Germany. The League of Nations finally decided to do a negotiation with Hitler. This was called the Munich Pact, when Britain and France agreed to sacrifice Czechoslovakia to Hitler in return for his promise to immediately stop invading other European countries. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler feared the wrath of Stalin (The leader of the Soviet Union), so in August of 1939 he signed a military alliance with Stalin. This was called the Nazi-Soviet Pact, when Hitler and Stalin agreed to not invade each other's countries. Privately, they also agreed to invade and divide up the nation of Poland. -
The Spark That Caused The War
Hitler invades Poland on September 1, 1939, the League of Nations was forced to confront the reality that the negotiation had failed. The Nazi invasion of Poland signified that Hitler was breaking the pact. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Peace was no longer kept in Europe, World War II had begun.
