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The day after Germany marched into Austria, Germany announced Anschluss, or union with Austrai was finished. Nothing was done by the United States, or any other countries.
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France and Great Britain promised to protect Czechoslovakia. Hitler invited French premier Édouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich. When they were in Munich, he announced the annexation of Sudentenland would be his last territorial demand. Daladier and Chamberlain chose to believe him to avoid war.
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The Munich Pact signed the Sudetendland over to Germany without any war. Daladier and Chamberlain both signed this. Winston Churchhill disagreed with Chamberlain greatly. He believed that because they signed it, they gave up their principals to appease Hitler.
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Hitler needed to finish his Third Reich, so he decided to take Czechoslovokia. Hitler bragged that "Chezchoslovakia ceased to exist."
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This pact surprised people. Stalin signed the nonagression pact with Hitler. Fascist Germany and communist Russia swore they would never attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them.
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The Lutwaffe or the German air force poured bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks were rolling across the countryside causing terror to people. This was the first blitzkrieg, or lightning war. By the end of the month, Poland had ceased to exist.
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HItler launched a surprise attack on Denmark and Norway in order "to protect those countries' freedom and independence." In actuality, Hitler's plan was to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Hitler than turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
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The Germans trapped almost 400,000 British and French soldiers as they were going to the beaches of Dunkirk on the French side of the English Channel. More than 300,000 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk.
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A few days after Dunkirk, Italy entered the war on the side of Germany. They invaded France from the south aa Germany invaded Paris from the north. On June 22, 1940 at Compiègne, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and in charge of the Nazi controlled government was Marshal Philippe Pétain.
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The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force. Every night, for two months, bombers pounded London. The Battle of Britain lasted through the summer. On September 15, 1940 the RAF shot down over 185 German planes, they lost only 26 aircraft. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain.
