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Germany Withdraws from the League of Nations
The League of Nations was created as a way to maintain peace between the included nations. By withdrawing from the League of Nations, Hitler was making a statement. He was saying that he no longer wanted to associate peacably with the other European States. -
"Night of Long Knives"
During the Night of Long Knives, Hitler carried out a purge of the Nazi party. This showed that even those on Hitler's side weren't safe, and greatly worried the other major European powers. -
Period: to
Pre-World War II
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Hitler declares Rearmament
In declaring that Germany would not continue with disarmament, Hitler was violating the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. By violating two major treaties agreed upon by Europe, Hitler was showing that he had no regard for what the other European powers thought that he should do. Also, Hitler was making weapons, so this showed the rest of Europe that he was ready to fight. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
This was Hitler's first military conquest and one of the Allies' first mistakes. Hitler marched on the Rhineland, declaring that it "rightfully belonged to Germany" and Great Britain just let them have it, hoping to appease Hitler. -
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil war was betweeen the fascist Nationalists and teh Republicans. It kept the Spaniards sufficiently busy and out of the war, leaving Germany with one less ally on which to depend. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Formed
Hitler and Mussolini becaming allies is reminiscent of the complicated alliance system of World War I. It worried the Allies, as their enemies were suddenly ganging up on them. -
Italy Leaves League of Nations
Once Italy and Germany were allied, Italy followed Germany's lead and withdrew from the league of nations legitimatizing the alliance. This is reminiscent of the second Morrocan Crisis before World War I, which showed to the world that Britain and France were true allies. -
Germany invades Austria
Hitler's invasion of Austria would have been another great time for the Allies to step in and stop Hitler, but, of course, they did not. Now Hitler has escalated to taking over an entire state. The invasion of Austria was the push that got the proverbial ball of World War II rolling down the hill. -
Hitler demands the "return" of the Sudetanland
Hitler realized that no one was trying to stop him, so he demanded the return of the Sudetanland, which he considered to be rightfully a part of Germany. Hitler's demand for the Sudetanland to be returned was another chance for the Allies to step in. -
Chamberlain appeases Hitler at the Munich Conference
Finally, the Allies have stepped in. At the Munich Conference, Chamberlain basically told Hitler that he could have the Sudetanland, but made it seem as if he had done something grand for the people. "Peace for our time" and all. The Munich Conference was, however, too little, too late. -
Chamberlain declares war on Germany upon their impending invasion of Poland
Like any child who has ever been told to just "ignore the bully," Chamberlain apparently realized that Hitler was not just going to stop seizing territory and decided to do something about it. Chamberlain declared that if Germany invaded Poland, as he knew was inevitable at this point, Great Britain would declare war on Germany. -
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
In an act that surprised the world, Hitler, as sworn enemy of socialism, allied with Stalin, the shining example of all that is socialist. Germany and Hitler were the two most powerful countires, other than Britain and the United States, at the time, and became allied against democracy. Pretty scary.