World War II: Hitler's Rise to Power

Hitler's Expansionist Policy

• Hitler's primary goal was to unite all Germans and expand their living space (Lebensraum)
• To achieve this, Germany:
  • Rearmed their nation
  • Sent troops to remilitarize the Rhineland, which went unopposed by European powers

The Rome-Berlin Alliance

• Germany formed a military agreement with Italy, led by Mussolini
• The alliance established a partnership between Germany and Italy

Annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia

• In 1936, Germany created "Greater Germany" by annexing Austria, a German-speaking country
• Germany then took control of Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, where thousands of Germans lived

Appeasement Policy

• France and Britain responded to Hitler's aggression with a policy of appeasement
• The Munich Conference established an agreement allowing Hitler to occupy Sudetenland in exchange for a promise to take no more land

Broken Promises and Further Aggression

• Despite the agreement, Hitler seized Bohemia and Moravia, part of Czechoslovakia
• Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, a non-aggression treaty

Invasion of Poland

• Hitler demanded the return of Danzig and free access to East Prussia from Poland
• Germany ultimately invaded Poland, leading to the outbreak of World War II