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The article is devoted to one of the key problems in international relations on the eve of the World War II - the annexation of Austria by Germany. In particular, attention is drawn to the circumstances that have developed in Europe in 1937 and contributed to the occupation of a neighboring state by A. Hitler’s Nazi regime. It is argued that the annexation was caused, first of all, by the passive attitude of democratic Western countries, especially Great Britain and France, and the failure of the League of Nations to prevent the loss of Austrian independence. In addition, the author emphasizes that the successful implementation of «Anschluss» by Germanyled to revision of boundaries established by the Treaty of Versailles, what other states have joined with the kaleidoscopic speed, and therefore this event can be considered as a significant step towards the exacerbation of international relations and, as the result -to the World War II. In this regard, attention has drawn to a somewhat similar present-day geopolitical situation (the Crimean annexation by Russia) and the need to avoid by the governments of the United Kingdom, France and the United States their past mistakes and miscalculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]