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Declaring Expansion
On November 5, 1937, Hitler met secretly with his top military advisers. He bold-ly declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed the land of its neighbors. His plan was to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. When one of his advisers protested that annexing those countries could provoke war, Hitler replied, “ The German Question’ can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk. -
Invading Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Signing the Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938, French premier Edouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler in Munich. When they arrived, Hitler declared that the annexation of Czechoslovakia would be his “last territorial demand.” In their eagerness to avoid war, Daladier and Chamberlain chose to believe him. As a result they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned Czechoslovakia over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Ceasing Czechoslovakia
Despite what Hitler said at the signing of the Munich Agreement Hitler was not finished expanding the Third Reich. As dawn broke on March 15, 1939, German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia. At nightfall Hitler gloated, “Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist.” -
Signing a Nonaggression Pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. With the danger of a two-front war eliminated, the fate of Poland was sealed. -
German Air Force Attacks Poland
On September 1,1939, the German air force, flew over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads,and cities.Germans also raced tanks across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion.This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain And France Declare War
On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland,Britain and France declared war on Germany.The blitzkrieg tactics worked perfectly.Major fighting was over in 3 weeks, long before France, Britain,and their allies could mount a defense.In the last week of fighting,the Soviet Union attacked eastern Poland,grabbing some of its territory.The portion Germany annexed contained almost two-thirds of Poland’s population.By the end of the month,Poland had ceased to exist and World War II had begun. -
Invading Denmark and Norway
On April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.”But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Hitler Surrenders to France
On June 22, 1940, at Compiegne, as William Shirer and the rest of the world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi controlled puppet government, head ed by Marshal Philippe
Petain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
RAF Shoots Down German Planes
The Battle of Britain raged on till September. Night after night, German planes pounded British targets. At first the Luftwaffe, the German air force, concentrated on airfields and air-craft then turned to cities.The RAF fought back brilliantly with the help of radar.On September 15, 1940 the RAF, Britain’s Royal Air Force, shot down over 185 German planes; after losing only 26 aircraft themselves. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain forever.
