The Third Reich begins in 1933, when the Nazi party takes power, ending the Weigmar Republic. Adolf Hitler is named as führer. In 1938, Austria joins Germany (the Anschluss). In 1939, the Reich invade central and western Poland, followed by the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland, causing the declaration of war by Britain and France. Driven by the racial doctrine of the Nazi party, Germany-invaded Poland is subject to a process of "Germanification", annexing the territories to the Reich. In 1963, Reich Führer Adolf Hitler dies.