In the late 1930's, Adolf Hitler felt confident enough that he had the support of the German people to make his first move.  Since the people of Austria all spoke German, he convinced the Austrian leaders to join Germany in its new quest to build a greater German empire.  Hitler also sought friendship from the leader of Spain by sending weapons and help to fight a civil war which was happening in that country in 1937.  The leader of Italy also promised to help the Germans.

However, Hitler was amazed when there was resistance from Czechoslovakia where many German-speaking people lived in those parts of that country which had belonged to Germany before World War One.  They did not want to be part of his new German empire.  In 1938 he sent his soldiers to invade the western half of that country, before turning his attention to Poland, the other country where parts of it had once been part of Germany too. 

In 1939, Poland and Britain were great friends.  Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain visited Hitler to ask him not to invade Poland.  Hitler lied, promising that he would not do so ..... but in September of that year did indeed send his soldiers over the border to invade the country. 

As a result, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany, and so the second war in Europe began, only 21 years after the previous one had ended.

 

 

 

 

Britain's Prime Minister in the late 1930's - Neville Chamberlain