Learn why and how Hitler builds the Siegfried Line. As early as 1936, Hitler has plans for world domination. He makes decisive moves to challenge the Treaty of Versailles and stations troops in the Rhineland that borders France and Germany. He wants to show the Western countries that Germany is a formidable force. So he orders a massive line of fortifications to be built the length of the German border. Initially progress is slow until he brings in renowned engineer Fritz Todt in May 1938. Thousands of laborers are conscripted to work on the project. Workers spread seven million tons of gravel, pour six million tons of cement, and unfurl three million coils of barbed wire. As a result, the fortifications are finished within six months.