-
Germany occupies Rhineland
The Remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on March 7,1936 when German forces entered the Rhineland. Under Articles 42, 43 and 44 of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles—imposed on Germany by the Allies after the Great War—Germany was "forbidden to maintain or construct any fortification either on the Left bank of the Rhine or on the Right bank to the west of a line drawn fifty kilometers to the East of the Rhine". -
Germany occupies and then annexes Austria in the 'Anschluss'
The union of Austria and Germany was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was deeply resented by both countries for its allocation of 'war guilt' and imposition of heavy reparations. When the German army marched into Austria in March 1938, they were welcomed by cheering crowds of Austrians. (Anschluss, German for "connection") -
'Munich Agreement' cedes the Sudetenland to Germany
The Munich Conference between Britain's Neville Chamberlain, Germany's Adolf Hitler, Italy's Benito Mussolini and Edouard Daladier of France agreed that the Czechoslovakian territory of the Sudetenland and its three million ethnic Germans should be joined with Germany. Chamberlain returned to Britain claiming he had achieved 'peace in our time'. In fact, it would come to be a clear demonstration that appeasement did not work, as by March 1939 Hitler had seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Pact signed
Hitler signs an agreement with Italian dictator Mussolini. Mussolini allows Hitler to take Austria and other territories in northern and central Europe. Hitler promises to let Mussolini take over southern Europe. Later in 1940, Japan joins the alliance. These countries are known as the Axis Powers -
Kristallnacht
Night of “Broken” Glass – occasion of concerted violence by Nazis throughout Germany and Austria against Jews and their property on the night of November 9-10, 1938; an anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany and Austria on 9 to 10 November 1938. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia
At Munich in 1938, British PM Chamberlain had appeased Hitler by giving him the Sudetenland areas of Czechoslovakia, but in March 1939, Chamberlain promised to defend Poland if the Nazis invaded. The main reason for this was because on 15 March 1939, Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia – a non-German country. People realised that appeasement had failed. They realised that Hitler wanted to rule the world, and would only be stopped by war. -
Britain guarantees territorial integrity of Poland
This guarantee formally ended the policy of appeasement, and the British government reluctantly began to prepare for war. Conscription was introduced for the first time in peacetime on 27 April, with little protest. On 23 August, the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact put to rest the British hopes of a Russian ally. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain warned Adolf Hitler that Britain would support Poland if it was attacked by Germany. -
German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
On August 23, 1939, a little over a week before the beginning of World War II, Germany and Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. The terms of the pact were that if Germany attacked Poland, then the Soviet Union would not come to its aid. Thus, if Germany went to war against the West (especially France & Great Britain) over Poland, the Soviets were guaranteeing that they would not enter the war; thus not open a second front for Germany. -
Germany Invades Poland
Hitler demands that the Polich Corridor (awarded to Poland after the Treaty of Versailles) be handed back to Germany. Poland refuses. The Nazis launch a Blitzkreig (lightning warfare) on Poland. Poland falls to the Nazi attack. -
Canada declares war on Germany
On Sept. 10, 1939, a special session of Parliament approves Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request that Canada join the war in Europe. The decision, seen by most Canadians as inevitable, comes exactly one week after England and France declare war on Nazi Germany. It is the first time that Canadians make their own declaration of war as a sovereign nation.
