It has been demonstrated that a a-cyano substituent is sufficient to a
ctivate 1-aza-1,3-butadienes with respect to the intramolecular Diels-
Alder reaction. This reaction is successful for the preparation of the
indolizidine and quinolizidine ring systems. The stereochemistry of t
he isomeric products was assigned by a careful analysis of their NMR s
pectral data.