All the Germanic peoples will be included in it. It will begin in Norway and extend to northern Italy.[nb 1][36] I myself must carry this out. If only I keep my health!"[35] On April 9, 1940, as Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung, Hitler announced the establishment of the Germanic Reich: "Just as the Bismarck Empire arose from the year 1866, so too will the Greater Germanic Empire arise from this day."[28]