Territorial expansion

• ANSCHLUSS WITH AUSTRIA (1938) - Part 1

  • Hitler wanted Austria to be part of the new German empire he was building due to the close historical and cultural ties between Austria & Germany
  • TOV however stated that there should be no union between these two, which many found to be unfair.
  • To achieve Anschluss, Hitler got Austrian Nazis to make trouble and push for Anschlusss with Germany
• ANSCHLUSS WITH AUSTRIA (1938) - Part 2

  • Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg protested against the union but Hitler pressured him to organise a plebiscite
  • During voting, German troops were sent into Austria to help “keep order”
  • 99.7% of the Austrians voted for Anschluss
  • March 1938, Anschluss was completed
  • Britain and France sympathised with Germany, believed they should be allowed to unite if they wanted to
  • Strengthened Germany’s position in Europe
  • Austria’s population and rich resources would help economic and military development
  • Made possibility of war greater with greater German strength
• SUDETENLAND & THE CZECH CRISIS (1938)


  • Sudetenland had many Germans.

  • Hitler got local Nazis to stir up trouble and claimed that Germans were mistreated by Czech government.

  • Threatened to invade if Czechoslovakia did not agree to hand over Sudetenland

  • Czech President Edvard Benes was prepared to fight and tensions rose. People believed war was coming.

  • Britain, France and Italy met up with Hitler in the Munich Conference & agreed to give Sudetenland to Germany in exchange for his promise not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was not consulted
• SUDETENLAND & THE CZECH CRISIS (1938) - Impact

  • Oct 1938. German trooped entered Sudetenland and began their occupation.
  • Hitler once again got what he wanted without a fight, became convinced that Britain and France would always give in to his demands.
  • Demonstrated to many that Britain and France could not be trusted to protect their allies.
• INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1939)


  • 15 March 1939, Hitler broke his promise made at the Munich Agreement and sent his troops into the rest of Czechoslovakia

  • The Czechs believed they had been forsaken by their Allies and it was futile to resist. Czechoslovakia was completely taken over by Germany.

  • Britain and France believed that he had gone too far and threatened that they would go to war if Hitler invaded Poland

  • Demonstrated that Hitler would not keep his word and would not be satisfied. Countries in Europe began preparing for war
• How Hitler’s aggressive Foreign Policy Lead to WWII

  • Hitler’s efforts to remilitarise and prepare Germany for war increased tension in Europe
  • Hitler’s demand for more land and territory violated the rights of other countries in Europe, such as Czechoslovakia and later Poland.
  • While initially Britain and France gave in to his demands, they finally decided that he was insatiable and decided to retaliate and stop Hitler from taking over more of Europe,
  • When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, sparking the outbreak of WWII in Europe.