1. War in Europe Hitler dominates Europe

2. Austria & Czechoslovakia Fall Hitler wanted to absorb Austria & Czechoslovakia in the Third Reich. On March 12, 1938 Germany marched into Austria unopposed. About 3 million German speaking people lived in the Sudentenland. Hitler accused Czechs of abusing the German people.

3. Conquering Europe France and Great Britain promised to protect the Sudetenland initially. But when all parties met at the Munich Conference British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chose to appease Hitler and hoped it would be his “last territorial demand”. This was known as the Munich Agreement.

4. Response Chamberlain’s satisfaction was not shared by everyone. Winston Churchill his main political rival thought he had given far too much to Hitler.

5. German Offensive As Churchill had warned Hitler was not done expanding the Third Reich. Stalin & the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler. They also agreed to divide Poland between them.

6. Blitzkrieg Known as lightning war advancement in military technology led to speedy advancement by the Germans. It only took hours for some nations to fall. This led to France & Britain to declare war on Germany.

7. France & Britain It didn’t take long for Germany to control both the north and south of France. When France fell the famous French general Charles de Gaulle fled to England where he declared “France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war.”

8. Battle of Britain The Germans began bombing runs over Great Britain in 1940. Every night for two months, bombers pounded London. The British used their planes to bravely fight and eventually Hitler called off the bombings.