Germany occupies the Rhineland
The Allies occupied the Rhineland after the First World War to force Germany to honor the agreements in the Treaty of Versailles. In 1930 Allied troops leave the area, but Germany is not allowed to place troops there.
Hitler invades the area in 1936 and meets no resistance.
© Anne Frank HouseGermany annexes Austria
On March 13, 1938, in Vienna, Adolf Hitler proclaims the “Anschluss” (English: connection) of Austria to Germany. German troops invaded the country a day earlier.
As a result of the Munich Agreement on September 30, 1938, Germany annexes the Sudetenland, an area in Czechoslovakia where many Germans live.
In November Hungary annexes parts of Slovakia where mainly Hungarians live.
© Anne Frank HouseGermany annexes Czechia
The loss of Sudetenland has weakened Czechoslovakia. Slovakia declares independence on March 14, 1939 under pressure from Hitler. It becomes an ally of Germany.
The next day German troops march into the Czech Republic and a day later Hitler declares that the country no longer exists. Instead, it is now the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, over which Germany has control.
Hungary now annexes Karpatho-Ruthenia, which, like Slovakia, has seceded from Czechoslovakia.
© Anne Frank HouseLithuania hands over the Memelland to Germany
Germany had to cede Memelland to Lithuania in 1919. Under strong pressure from Germany, Lithuania hands Memelland back to Germany on March 22, 1939.
© Anne Frank House
