Here is a more detailed timeline of the events leading up to the invasion of Poland:
1. Treaty of Versailles and Rise of Nazism: The end of World War I resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany felt was very punitive and harsh. The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s led to a desire to overturn the treaty and reclaim lost territories.
2. Remilitarization of the Rhineland: In March 1936, Germany remilitarized the Rhineland, a region that had been demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles. This action violated the treaty and signaled Hitler's intention to disregard international agreements.
3. Anschluss: In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria, known as the Anschluss, without facing significant opposition from the international community. This emboldened Hitler and his expansionist ambitions.
4. Munich Agreement and Sudetenland: In September 1938, Germany annexed the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, following the Munich Agreement. The agreement was signed by Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and France, but it came at the cost of Czechoslovakia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
5. Invasion of Czechoslovakia: In March 1939, Germany invaded and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia, violating the Munich Agreement and further demonstrating Hitler's disregard for international agreements.
6. Pact of Steel: In May 1939, Germany and Italy signed the Pact of Steel, a military alliance that formalized the Rome-Berlin Axis.
7. Non-Aggression Pact: In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact that included secret protocols to divide Poland and Eastern Europe between the two powers.
8. Invasion of Poland: On September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland, initiating the outbreak of World War II. The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, in response to the invasion.
It's important to note that these events were part of a larger context of aggressive expansionist policies and territorial claims by Nazi Germany, which ultimately led to the outbreak of World War II.