German Expansion (1938-1939), Nazi-Soviet Pact, and the Outbreak of War - Events
Hitler’s seizure of the rest of Czechoslovakia (March 1939)
- Only six months after the Munich Agreement, HItler started his expansion on the rest of Czechoslovakia and Lithuania.
- In March German troops marched into the remaining Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia), turning them into a German protectorate.
- In the same month, he forced Lithuania to cede the Klaipėda (Memel) region.
- The region had German speaking inhabitants that had been cut off from Germany because of the Treaty of Versailles.
Tension grow over Poland
- Between October 1938 and January 1939, the German government put pressure on Poland over a series of territories.
- In particular, Germany was focused on Danzig, a city with a German speaking population that had become a “Free city” under League’s control.
- Hitler also wanted free movement through the Polish Corridor.
- The corridor gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea and separated East Prussia from the rest of mainland Germany.
- Poland resisted Hitler’s pressure because they were confident in the support of France and Britain.
- Hitler did not think Britain and France would defend Poland, but he was indeed worried that they would secure a deal with Stalin in order to protect Poland from German invasion.
- To get ahead, Hitler sent his Foreign Minister, Ribbentropp, to have secret meetings with his Soviet counterpart, Molotov.
Poland had a mutual defense treaty with France that dated back to 1921, and both Britain and Poland had been vocal in favor of Poland once Hitler betrayed the Munich Agreement.
