Violating the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler sent German military forces to invade the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany, on March 7, 1936. Following the Rhineland, Hitler steals Austria without taking a shot and threatens them to vote for the Nazi Reign. He would then invade Austria taking it over on March 11, 1938. Later in 1938 Hitler tried taking over the Sudetenland, encouraging the Sudeten Nazis to demand union with Germany. Neville Chamberlain would appease into Hitler’s demands of aggression by an agreement rather than punishment. This agreement was called the Munich Conference which was held on September 29, 1938. In this conference Britain and France would give Hitler the Sudetenland as long as he promised no more expansion and not to invade Czechoslovakia which had been his former plans. The Munich Agreement was a settlement permitting Nazi Germany’s invasion into portions of Czechoslovakia which was mainly being inhabited by German speakers. However even though Hitler promised, on March 15, 1939 his troops marched into the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler threatened war after the Germans in Danzig demanded union with Germany and his plan to take over Poland began to unfold. If Hitler attacked Poland Britain promised they would support the Poles. Hitler thought making a secret meeting with Russia would stop Britain and France from helping Poland. However in April of 1939, ending appeasement, Chamberlain announced the “Polish Guarantee” which was a promise to defend Poland if Hitler invaded. On September 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. World War II began on September 3, 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany’s invasion of Poland which triggered the outbreak of the war. World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945 when Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Dakota Wilson & Brianna Watt