In the morning of 7 March 1936, German troops occupied the Rhineland, a part of Germany that bordered on France. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to station an army there.
Hitler took a big risk, as he did not know how the Allies would react. He only deployed 3,000 soldiers. He had police officers march along to increase the visual impact. They had all been ordered to withdraw if foreign countries were to intervene.
But nothing happened. Other countries took hardly any countermeasures. Germany's old enemies, France and England, were busy dealing with domestic problems of their own and did not want to get involved in another war. Others felt that Germany was entitled to reclaim the Rhineland. The area had always been German until after the First World War, and Hitler's predecessors had wanted it back as well.
The gamble paid off for Hitler. It encouraged him to try to break other international agreements with impunity. Moreover, by occupying the Rhineland, he had also taken away France’s strategic advantage, and that would come in handy in a new war. He was now able to reposition his troops along the French border. In Germany, his popularity was growing because he had erased the 'disgrace' of the Treaty of Versailles. Once again, Germany was a force to be reckoned with.