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The Road to WW II
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Invasion of the Rgineland
The remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March 1936 when German military forces entered the Rhineland. This was significant because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Marking the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region.
The first troops were ordered to retreat if they met with French resistance. Hitler refuse to retreat.
The French decided to protest but not to fight. -
The Anschluss
The Austrian leader, Schuschnigg, visited Hitler for crisis talks. He demanded that Nazis be allowed to join the Austrian government and be given control of law and order. Schuschnigg announced that there would be a Plebiscite to decided whether Austrians wanted their country to remaind independent. Hitler heard the plan and ordered the army to invade before it. On 11 March 1938 the Germany invaded Austria. "Povidence gave me a mission to restore my dear homeland to the German Reich" -
Hitler met Henlein
Hitler met Henlein, the local Nazi leader, to give him instructions. He told the Sudeten leader to keep making demands that the Czechoslovak government could not possibly accept. By dragging out the negotiations, Hitler hoped to create a crisis over Czechoslovakia -
HitlerPrepares to Act
Mussolini told Hitler that he will support him. Britain and France wouldn´t intervene if Hitler attack Czechoslovakia, so on 30 May he let his generals know that he had decided to smash it. -
The Munich Crisis
Many of Hitler leading gnerals disagreed to go war against Czechoslovakia, he refused to listen them. In September Henlein ordered to attack Czech and Jewish targets, as a result, negotiation between the sudeten Germans and Prague were broken off. Henlein left Czechoslovakia on 15 September -
Chamberlain Flies to Germany
Chamberlain met Hitler at Berchtesgaden on 15 September. Hitler complained him about the treatment of the Sudeten Germans.He agreed with him that the Sudetenland should be annexed by Germany, he asked Hitler not to use force to take control. Hitler did not want a peacefull settlement, he made now demands: the German take-over should be immediate. -
Sir Wilson visited Hitler
Chamberlain sent Sir Wilson to tried to find a peaceful solution. Hitler was not in a mood for negotiation, so he told Wilson several times that he was going to ´smash the Czechs´ -
An Invitation to Munich
Hitler agreed to a conference at Munich with representatives of Britain, France and Italy. The conference would try to explore a peaceful.
It began on 29 September. The British and Frnch agreed with Hitler on the terms of the annexation of the Sudetenland.
On 1 October German troops marched unopposed into the Sudetenland. The Czech President was forced to go inte exile
