Hitler's Countdown to War Season 1

What historical events led Hitler to declare war and why? In this history series, we take an intriguing look at the countdown to World War 2 through the eyes of Adolf Hitler himself. The countdown started on 12th March 1938, when Hitler and his Nazi troops crossed the German border and invaded Austria and ended on the 3rd of September 1939, when both Britain and France declared war on Germany following the invasion of Poland. The war wouldn’t have happened without the decisions and actions taken by Hitler in this crucial period. So, to understand how it happened, we need to understand him. In this series, we’re telling the story of these 18 months, from March 1938 to September 1939, in a radical new way. A team of leading young historians explores what Hitler was doing day-by-day, week-by-week, revealing how this bully, gambler and arch manipulator brought the world to the edge of destruction.

Narrator: David Leon

Historian(s): James Holland, Saul David

Executive Producers: Amanda Lyon, Sanjay Singhal

Production company: [Voltage TV](https://voltage.tv/p<wbr>rogramme/hitler-coun<wbr>tdown-to-war/)