Germany began aggressively expanding its military in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler sought to gain "living space" or Lebensraum by taking land from countries he viewed as inferior. Germany aided Franco's nationalists in the Spanish Civil War to test its new military tactics. Germany later formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan to oppose communism. Despite condemning Germany's rearmament, the League of Nations took no action to stop it. Germany continued expanding by remilitarizing the Rhineland, annexing Austria, and taking the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia with the appeasement policy of Britain and France proving ineffective at halting German aggression.

1. Road to WWII
1) Germany ignores the Versailles treaty
A. doesn’t pay reparations
B. builds up its military
2) Lebensraum living space for the German people
A. Hitler believed it was ok to take land from “inferior
people”
3) Spanish Civil War
A. often called the dress rehearsal for WWII b/c
Germany supplied troops, weapons and tactics
4) Comintern Pact alliance between Germany, Italy and
Japan to fight communism. Later called the Axis
powers
5) Non-aggression pact agreement between Hitler and
Stalin to not fight each other.

2. Germany re-arms
1) Increases the size of the navy
--including submarines!
2) Brings back the draft
3) Creates an air force called the Luftwaffe
--with over 2600 planes
The League of Nations condemns Germany’s
actions but does nothing to stop them. This
policy of giving in to Hitler’s demands to keep
the peace is called appeasement.

3. Germany starts taking over Europe
I: Rhineland area between Germany and France
A. was supposed to be empty to act as a barrier
II: Anschluss annexation of Austria
A. claimed he was uniting German speakers who lived there

5. III: Sudetenland western part of Czecholslovakia
A. wanted the military factories there
B. and to unite German speakers
C. Hitler claims he will take nothing else
1. the British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain agrees with Hitler and
declares “peace in our time”
D. Hitler takes the rest of Czech.