German rearmament and the road to war

• 1933 - Hitler said he would disarm Germany if every other nation did the same. Otherwise he wanted an army equal in size to France. France refused, so Hitler left the League of Nations Disarmament Conference, then the League altogether
• July 1934 - The Dollfuss Affair

  Hitler was born in Austria, and felt the two countries should become one. Aware of his intentions, the Austrian chancellor Dollfuss banned the Nazi Party in Austria. In response, Austrian Nazis murdered Dollfuss. The Austrian army supported the government against the Nazis so Hitler backed down, claiming the Austrian Nazi Party had acted alone
• January 1935 - The Saar Plebiscite

  The Saar was a rich industrial area given to the League of Nations for 15 years under the Treaty of Versailles. This agreement was due to expire, so a plebiscite was held on who should govern the area. 90% voted to rejoin Germany and Hitler used this as a propaganda victory
• March 1935 - At the 'Freedom to Rearm Rally', Hitler showed off weapons and troops he had secretly been building. He also announced that he was reintroducing conscription, expanding his army to one million men and building a Luftwaffe
• April 1935 - Stresa Front

  An agreement between Britain, France and Italy that they would work together to protect Austrian independence and stop Hitler from breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
• June 1935 - Anglo-German Naval Agreement

  Britain signed an agreement saying Germany could have a navy of 35% of the size of the British one, with 45% of the number of British submarines. Britain hadn't consulted France and Italy before signing this - when Germany offered to restrict the growth of its navy they felt it was too good an offer to be refused - Appeasement