In early 1935, as part of their attempts to undo the decisions of the Versailles agreement and expand the Reich borders to include all members of the "Aryan-German race," the Nazis began to create facts on the ground. On January 13, 1935, after a plebiscite held in the Saar region, in which the local population voted overwhelmingly to come under German rule, Germany proclaimed the liberation of this region (which had been annexed by France after World War I), and re-annexed it.
