The Heim ins Reich (; German; "Home into the Empire" or "Back to the Reich"), was a foreign policy pursued by Adolf Hitler beginning in 1938. The aim of Hitler's initiative was to convince all Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) who were living outside of Nazi Germany (e.g. in Austria and the western districts of Poland) that they should strive to bring these regions "home" into Greater Germany. It included areas ceded after the Treaty of Versailles, as well as other areas containing significant German populations such as the Sudetenland.