1935 and 1936: Hitler Increases Control, Militarization, and Persecution

From 1935 through the end of 1936, Hitler intensified control of the population, militarization, and persecution. Enforced conscription of the army began in March 1935, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Between 1935 and 1937, Hitler conscripted 900,000 men. In addition, the Navy grew exponentially. On June 18, 1935, Germany and Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. Germany could build a navy up to 35% the size of Britain’s surface ships, and 45% of its submarine tonnage. Germany, as expected, understated its ships and subs, exceeding limitations.

On September 15, 1935, Germany enacted the Nuremberg Laws. Jews lost their German citizenship, losing all legal rights. They outlawed marriage and sex between Jews and non-Jews, and excluded them from many jobs and public areas. Germans boycotted Jewish businesses, with many forced to close or sell at unfair prices. All freedoms vanished when the Gestapo and local police began monitoring Jewish communities.

Another violation of the Treaty of Versailles occurred on March 7, 1936. German troops remilitarized the Rhineland, with 19,000 Wehrmacht soldiers and 3,000 armed police. This move also violated the Locarno Pact (1925). This demilitarized the Rhineland by removing the buffer between Germany and France.

Hitler used a different tactic in the summer of 1936—the Berlin Olympics. This presented a peaceful image. Goebbels saw that Berlin’s streets were spotless, the homeless did not exist, and Olympic decorations replaced all antisemitic signage. He showed the “master race” as cultured to the world. 

In October, fascist Italy and Nazi Germany became allies with the Rome-Berlin Axis. In November 1936, Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. The pact limited the Soviet Union’s ability to coordinate communist parties across different countries.

Each deliberate and strategic move on the Nazi chessboard gradually brought Germany closer to world conquest.