Thesis
Before the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Nazi-Germany was recovering from defeat experienced after World War I and the restrictions set forth by the Treaty of Versailles. Following the peaceful annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia Germany's military invasion into Poland thrust the world into its second World War. The invasion began the deadliest conflict in modern history with the ultimate goal of establishing Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Hitler's quest to conquer and acquire land and resources, beginning with the invasion of Poland, would lead the world into the most crucial turning point in the 20th century.