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The Anschluss
Austria was annexed into Germany on 12 March 1938. There had been several years of pressure by supporters in both Austria and Germany for the "Heim ins Reich" movement. Earlier, Nazi Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party in its bid to seize power from Austria's Austrofascist leadership.
By adding Austria into German territory Hitler made his empire stronger as well as stating to the world that he had more people backing him up than was thought. -
The Munich Conference
On 29 September 1938 the Munich Conference was called. Here Hitler met with representatives of the heads of state from France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. An agreement was reached that Hitler could annex the Sudetenland provided he promised not to invade anywhere else. All four countries signed the agreement: Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, and Benito Mussolini.
The Munich Conference is just another example of Hitler's cunning and the rest of Europe's failure to act. -
The Nazi Soviet Pact
On August 23, 1939–shortly before World War II broke out in Europe–enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years.
This pact was used by Hitler to make sure that Germany could invade Poland unopposed. -
Danzig and the Polish Corridor
Germany annexed the Free City of Danzig. Adolf Hitler advised the United Kingdom and France that he would withdraw from Poland if allowed to keep Danzig and the Polish corridor.
Hitler was advancing eastward, but he didn't want to start a war with two of Europe's most powerful nations just yet. -
The War Begins
On September 1, 1939, the beginning of the German attack, Great Britain and France sent Adolf Hitler an ultimatum - either withdraw German forces from Poland or Great Britain and France would go to war against Germany. On September 3, with Germany's forces penetrating deeper into Poland, Great Britain and France both declared war on Germany.
Hitler has already gained as much as he could hope for without starting a war, so the time has come for a war if he wishes to expand even more.
