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Period: to
WW2
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Hitler's "Saturday Surprises"
March 8th was Hitler's first Saturday surprize. It took place on a weekend when British leaders retreated to their country homes. Hitler announced that he was rebuilding the German air force, reinstating the draft, and rearming the nation. -
Taking Austria
In the fall of 1936, Hitler allied with Italy. The ageement had a number of consequences. It gave Mussolini German support for his invasion of Ethiopia. It also opened the way for the Anschuluss, or union of Germany and Austria. -
Appeasing Hitler
In 1938, with secret funding from the Nazis, many of those Germans agitated for a return to the Reich. By summer, Hitler was openly supporting those demands. -
Death Threats and Broken Promises
Six years after Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Hitler told the Reichstag that other nations were hypocritical in their complaints that Germany mistreated the Jews. -
Targeting Poland
The Nazis took a group of prisoners from a concentration camp to Gleiwitz, a twon on the Polish border. After being dressed in Polish army uniforms, the prisoners were killed. -
Conquest in the East
The Nazis shipped 167 professors at Cracow Uiversity to Sachsenhausen, a concenttration camp outside Berlin. Later that week, they arrested a thousand Polish intellectuals. -
Conquest in the West
The Nazis turned their attention to the West. in April, they conquered Denmarck and Norway. -
The Invasion of Russia
Hitler ordered the invasion of Russia to destroy once and for all the Jewish-Bolshevik menace. The German army advanced. -
The United States Enters the War
Hitler declared war on the United Sates. It was Germany against three powerful Countires.
