Bringing History to Life Magazine

26 June 2023

“Hitler arms Germany for war” When Adolf Hitler re-introduced military conscription in 1935, he claimed it was “a wonderful education” for Germany’s youth. It was also part of the dictator’s preparations for war. In 1936, almost half of all public expenditure went on the military. Two years later, in 1938, Austria succumbed to Hitler’s ambitions without a shot being fired as its citizens voted to become part of a Greater Germany in the Anschluss referendum. The following year, the Führer took Czechoslovakia and Poland, then he turned west. As the Great Powers scrambled to respond, the Nazi war machine stormed through Belgium and France using its new blitzkrieg tactics. Europe was on its knees and the Jews faced extinction...