Moreover, the public knew little of the confidential negotiations being conducted in Vienna and Berlin by Tiso's aides, who went along with Hitler's preparation for the final takeover. In early 1939 Tiso's group prepared for the secession of Slovakia, and, on March 14, 1939, the Slovak National Assembly voted for independence. On the following day, Bohemia and Moravia were occupied and proclaimed a protectorate of the Third Reich.