[1] Days before the German invasion of Poland, Hitler recalled Stülpnagel to active service and placed him in charge of a military district in Austria (Wehrkreis XVII), and he held the latter post for fourteen months.

[2] Orders from Hitler placed the army and the MBF in charge of "security" but allowed other state and Nazi party agencies to exercise a degree of influence in Occupied France.

The German ambassador in Paris, Otto Abetz, first supervised and later controlled diplomatic relations between France and Germany, but that power amounted to little in practice.

Control over both the demarcation line inside France and borders with Germany and Belgium gave the MBF considerable influence over German policy and French affairs.

The latter goal placed him at loggerheads with Nazi party stalwarts who viewed World War II as a struggle against Jews and their alleged Communist allies.

Eager to maintain cordial relations with the Vichy regime, Stülpnagel and his staff condemned the confiscations through a series of protests that eventually reached Hitler's desk, but to no avail.

Forced to accept an advisory role at the start of the Occupation, the SS complained of the alleged danger of the so-called 'Jewish menace' and pressed MBF to launch an active campaign against "racial opponents" in France, but lacked the authority to act independently.

[2] Suspecting the MBF of Francophilia, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, the head of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW; Armed Forces High Command) grew tired of Stülpnagel's complaints.