Events leading up to WW2

Re-armament

Hitler's initiative to rebuild Germany's military strength

Anti-Comintern Pact

Agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan to combat communist influence globally

League of Nations

International organization promoting peace and cooperation, from which Germany withdrew in 1933

Conscription

Mandatory military service introduced by Hitler in Germany

Saarland

Territory returned to Germany after a plebiscite in 1935

Rhineland

Region remilitarized by Hitler in 1936 against Treaty of Versailles

Greater Germany

Concept of expanding Germany to include Austria, Sudetenland, and the Polish Corridor

Pact of Steel

Military alliance between Germany and Italy in 1939

Lebensraum

Hitler's policy to acquire 'living space' in Eastern Europe for Germans

Anschluss

Union of Germany and Austria into one country in 1938

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Agreement between Germany and the USSR in 1939 for non-aggression and territorial division

Sudetenland

Region in Czechoslovakia with a large German-speaking population annexed by Germany in 1938

Communism

Belief in equality, associated with the Soviet Union

Plebiscite

Public vote, like the one held in Saarland in 1935

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to demands to avoid conflict, as seen in the Munich Agreement

Treaty of Versailles

Post-World War I treaty imposing harsh penalties on Germany

Munich Agreement

1938 pact allowing Germany to annex Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia

Polish Corridor

Territory created to provide Poland access to the sea, a point of contention for Hitler

Axis Powers

Military alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II

Non-aggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and Poland in 1934 to respect borders for ten years