what countries did germany take over during world war 2?
France
entailment
 Germany reoccupied the demilitarised zone in the Rhineland in March 1936 , in violation of the Versailles Treaty . Hitler also sent troops to Spain to support General Franco during the Spanish Civil War after receiving an appeal for help in July 1936 . At the same time , Hitler continued his efforts to create an Anglo @-@ German alliance . In August 1936 , in response to a growing economic crisis caused by his rearmament efforts , Hitler ordered Göring to implement a Four Year Plan to prepare Germany for war within the next four years . The plan envisaged an all @-@ out struggle between " Judeo @-@ Bolshevism " and German national socialism , which in Hitler 's view required a committed effort of rearmament regardless of the economic costs . 

entailment
 German successes in Europe encouraged Japan to increase pressure on European governments in Southeast Asia . The Dutch government agreed to provide Japan some oil supplies from the Dutch East Indies , but negotiations for additional access to their resources ended in failure in June 1941 . In July 1941 Japan sent troops to southern Indochina , thus threatening British and Dutch possessions in the Far East . The United States , United Kingdom and other Western governments reacted to this move with a freeze on Japanese assets and a total oil embargo . 

entailment
 After the declaration of war on Nazi Germany by Britain and France in the aftermath of the German invasion of Poland , nine months of stalemate took place along the Western Front . After the Polish Campaign , in October 1939 , the planners of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe ( Luftwaffe High Command ) and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( Supreme Command of the Armed Forces ) turned their attentions to Western Europe . 

entailment
 Germany 's foreign policy during the war involved the creation of allied governments under direct or indirect control from Berlin . A main goal was obtaining soldiers from the senior allies , such as Italy and Hungary , and millions of workers and ample food supplies from subservient allies such as Vichy France . By the fall of 1942 , there were 24 divisions from Romania on the Eastern Front , 10 from Italy , and 10 from Hungary . When a country was no longer dependable , Germany assumed full control , as it did with France in 1942 , Italy in 1943 , and Hungary in 1944 . Although Japan was an official powerful ally , the relationship was distant and there was little co @-@ ordination or co @-@ operation . For example , Germany refused to share their formula for synthetic oil from coal until late in the war . 

entailment
 In Germany , there were major issues to be decided . Germany was still occupied by the Soviet Union , the United States , Great Britain and France . Dealing with the wartime allies was a major task for the high commissioner . West Germany , made up of the zones occupied by the three western powers , had been granted control of its own affairs , except for defense and foreign policy , in 1949 . While most Germans wanted a neutral and reunited Germany , the Eisenhower administration sought to reduce its defense spending by rearming Germany and replacing American troops with Germans . Meanwhile , the House Un @-@ American Activities Committee slammed Conant 's staff as communist sympathizers and called for books by communist authors held in United States Information Agency ( USIA ) libraries in Germany to be burned . 
