The last soldiers left the Rhineland in June 1930. On 25 July 1934, the July Putsch in Vienna had seen Dollfuss assassinated by the Austrian SS and an announcement by the Austrian Nazis that the Anschluss was at hand. [169], In response to objections like Simon's, the British ended the staff talks with the French five days after they had begun; Anglo-French staff talks were not to occur again until February 1939 in the aftermath of the Dutch War Scare of January 1939. Laval's policy of internal devaluation of forcing deflation on the French economy to increase French exports to combat the Great Depression had already made him unpopular, but the Hoare-Laval Pact further damaged his reputation. [citation needed], In March 1933, German Defence Minister General Werner von Blomberg had plans drawn up for remilitarization. [134] Given the financial crisis, the French government feared that there were insufficient funds to cover the costs of mobilization and that a full-blown war scare caused by mobilization would only exacerbate the financial crisis. [194] France's credibility in standing against German expansion or aggression was left in doubt. They agreed, "France would place all her forces at the disposal of the League of Nations to oppose a violation of the Treaties". [192] Moreover, for the sanctions to work, the United States had to join in. On 16 January 1936, the French Premier Pierre Laval submitted the Franco-Soviet Pact to the Chamber of Deputies for ratification. "[60] Eden's response to Neurath's veiled threat that Germany would remilitarize the Rhineland if the French National Assembly ratified the Franco-Soviet pact convinced Neurath that if Germany remilitarized, then Britain would take Germany's side against France. During the remilitarization of the Rhineland, German civilians salute German forces crossing the Rhine River in open violation of the Treaty of Versailles. [123], In the aftermath of the remilitarization, the economic crisis which had so damaged the National Socialist regime's popularity was forgotten by almost all. [45] Mussolini's frequent threats to destroy the British Empire if the British continued to oppose his war in Africa had created the impression in late 1935 to early 1936 that Britain and Italy were on the verge of war. [146], Since the French government, for economic reasons, had already ruled out mobilization and war as a way of reversing Hitler's Rhineland coup, it was decided that the best that France could do under the situation was to use the crisis to obtain the "continental commitment", a British commitment to send large ground forces to the defense of France on the same scale of World War I. [149] Those French officials such as Quai d'Orsay's directeur politique (political director), Ren Massigli, who believed in the idea of an Anglo-French alliance as the best way of stopping German expansionism expressed a great deal of disappointment that Britain was not prepared to do more for French scurit. [92] In the statement justifying remilitarization that Neurath prepared for the foreign press, the German move was portrayed as something forced on a reluctant Germany by ratification of the Franco-Soviet pact, and strongly hinted that Germany would return to the League of Nations if remilitarization was accepted. They decided to maintain their present plans for a war with Hungary but concluded that with the Rhineland now remilitarized, there was little hope of effective French action in the event of a war against Germany. The British could never quite decide if Hitler wanted merely to reverse Versailles or if he had the unacceptable goal of seeking to dominate Europe. [117], Even then, Hitler claimed that he would have been willing to accept the continued demilitarization of the Rhineland as Stresemann had promised at Locarno in 1925 as the price for peace, had it not been for the Franco-Soviet Pact of 1935, which he maintained was threatening to Germany and had left him with no other choice than to remilitarize the Rhineland. [88] Of the three leaders of the Stresa front, Mussolini was easily the one Hitler most respected, and so Hitler viewed Italy as the key, taking the view that if Mussolini decided to oppose the remilitarization, then Britain and France would follow. On 13 February 1936 during a meeting with Prince Bismarck of the German Embassy in London, Ralph Wigram, the head of the Central Department of the British Foreign Office stated that the British government (whose Prime Minister from 1935 to 1937 was Stanley Baldwin) wanted a "working agreement" on an air pact that would outlaw bombing, and that Britain would consider revising Versailles and Locarno in Germany's favor for an air pact. The price of such an alignment would be support for Italian ambitions in Europe and/or Africa. [77] Immediately, the Sarraut government came into conflict with Britain as Eden started to press the League for oil sanctions against Italy, something that the French were completely opposed to, and threatened to veto. A look at the German reoccupation of the Rhineland, explaining the background of this demilitarised zone set up under the Treaty of Versailles. [37] That line in Hitler's speech was written by Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath, who wished to reassure foreign leaders who felt threatened by Germany's denunciation in March 1935 of Part V of Versailles, which had disarmed Germany. On 7 June 1935, MacDonald resigned as British prime minister because of his ailing health and was replaced by Stanley Baldwin. [166] Eden and Vansittart had already clashed during the Abyssinia Crisis with Eden supporting sanctions against Italy while Vansittart wanted Italy as an ally against Germany. [190] Mussolini, who was still angry with the League sanctions applied against Italy, made a speech in which he made it clear that he definitely would not be joining any sanctions against Germany for remilitarizing the Rhineland. [46][47], Vansittart had a powerful ally in Hankey, a proponent of realpolitik, who saw the entire idea of imposing sanctions on Italy as much folly. [61] Seeking international arbitration was a "lose-lose" situation for Germany: resolving the dispute either way would remove Germany's ability to use it as an excuse for remilitarization. Francois Ponet (the French ambassador) told a friend of mine tonight that he had been lied to three times by the German Foreign Office on the subject in the course of the day. he decided to sabotage the plan by leaking it to the French press. Neither France nor Britain was prepared for a military response, so they did not act. The remilitarization of the Rhineland ( German: Rheinlandbesetzung) began on 7 March 1936, when German military forces entered the Rhineland, which directly contravened the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. [134] Only by desperate arm-twisting from the major French financial institutions could Baumgartner manage to obtain enough in the way of short-term loans to prevent France from defaulting on its debts and to keeping the value of the franc from sliding too far, in March 1936. [162], The British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, discouraged military action by the French and was against any financial or economic sanctions against Germany, immediately meeting the French ambassador Charles Corbin to urge restraint on the French. Jump to: navigation, search Location of the Rhineland(as defined by the Treaty of Versailles) along the River Rhine Territorial evolution of Germany in the 20th century Pre-World War II Treaty of Versailles(1919) Silesian Uprisings(1918-1919) Polish Corridor Return of the Saar Basin(1935) Remilitarization of the Rhineland(1936) [172], Until the statement by Neville Chamberlain on March 31, 1939 offering the "guarantee" of Poland, there were no British security commitments in Eastern Europe beyond the Covenant of the League of Nations. How did the remilitarization of the Rhineland change the balance of power diplomatically? It was however, a risky move. [133] The fact that France had defaulted on its World War I debts in 1932 understandably led most investors to conclude that the same would occur if France was involved in another war with Germany,. [41] The American historian Zach Shore wrote, "French leaders found themselves in the awkward position of seeking the military co-operation of two incompatible allies. 20621 from, Ripsman, Norrin M., and Jack S. Levy. Lord Lothian famously said it was no more than the Germans walking into their own backyard. [137] Since 1919, it had accepted that France needed the alliance system in Eastern Europe to provide additional manpower (Germany's population was one-and-half times that of France's) and to open up an eastern front against the Reich. [185] The Romanians and even more so the Poles expressed a great deal of fear that if the Red Army were allowed transit rights to enter their countries on the way to fight Germany that they would fail to leave once the war was over; the Narkomindel failed to provide convincing reassurances on that point. His eyes were on the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland; his thoughts on the Locarno guarantees. [134] The American historian Zach Shore wrote, "It was not lack of French will to fight in 1936 which permitted Hitler's coup, but rather France's lack of funds, military might, and therefore operational plans to counter German remilitarization". [121] In Germany, the news that the Rhineland had been remilitarized was greeted with wild celebrations all over the country; the British historian Sir Ian Kershaw wrote of March 1936 that: "People were besides themselves with delight It was almost impossible not to be caught up in the infectious mood of joy". and went on to say that the German move was justified by the Franco-Soviet Pact. [83] Eden wrote to the British cabinet that the end of the demilitarized zone would "not merely change local military values, but is likely to lead to far-reaching political repercussions of a kind which will further weaken France's influence in Central and Eastern Europe". [180] Poland did agree to mobilize its forces if France did first, however they abstained from voting against the remilitarization in the Council of the League of Nations. [72] The same summary quoted Blow as saying that if Britain and France made any sort of agreement concerning military co-operation that did not involve Germany: "We would view this as a violation of Locarno, and if we are not dragged into participating in negotiations, we will not consider ourselves bound by Locarno obligations concerning the preservation of the Rhine demilitarized zone". [114] The willingness of the Wehrmacht to continue to fight and die hard for the National Socialist regime despite the fact Germany was clearly losing the war from 1943 onwards reflected the deep commitment of most of the Wehrmacht to National Socialism.[115]. Neither France nor Britain was prepared for a military response, so they did not act. [59] Not withstanding Mussolini's remarks in January, Hitler was still not convinced of Italian support, and ordered Hassell to find out Mussolini's attitude. That the British did not take even their Locarno commitments seriously could be seen in Whitehall's prohibition of the British military chiefs from holding staff talks with German, French and Italian militaries on actions if a "flagrant violation" of Locarno occurred. Mussolini had pushed back against German expansion, but since he now realised co-operation with France to be unpromising, he began to swing toward Germany. National security: Reoccupying the Rhineland was part of Hitler's plan to solve Germany's economic crisis. In 1935, the American government had declared that as the U.S. was not a League member, it would not abide by the League sanctions on Italy, which was hardly a hopeful precedent for the idea that U.S. would join in with imposing sanctions on Germany. The remilitarization of the Rhineland (German: Rheinlandbesetzung) began on 7 March 1936, when German military forces entered the Rhineland, which directly contravened the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. [35], After Barthou was assassinated on 9 October 1934, his work in trying to build anti-German alliances with the Soviet Union and Italy was continued by his successor, Pierre Laval. [6] The American historian Gerhard Weinberg called the demilitarized status of the Rhineland the "single most important guarantee of peace in Europe" by preventing Germany from attacking its western neighbours and, since the demilitarized zone rendered Germany defenseless in the West, by making it impossible to attack its eastern neighbors by leaving Germany open to a devastating French offensive if the Germans tried to invade any state guaranteed by the French alliance system in Eastern Europe, the cordon sanitaire. [52] On 13 December 1935, Neurath told British Ambassador Sir Eric Phipps that Berlin regarded any Anglo-French staff talks without Germany, even if directed only against Italy, as a violation of Locarno that would force Germany to remilitarize the Rhineland. [167] The Germanophobe Vansittart had always hated the Germans, and especially disliked the Nazis, whom he saw as a menace to civilization. [2], Under Articles 42, 43 and 44 of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which was imposed on Germany by the Allies after World War I, Germany was "forbidden to maintain or construct any fortification either on the Left bank of the Rhine or on the Right bank to the west of a line drawn fifty kilometers to the East of the Rhine". The Rhineland had been . Here is a brief summary of the German remilitarisation of the Rhineland: Name: The Remilitarisation of the Rhineland 1936. "[118], Hitler claimed that it was unfair that because of Versailles a part of Germany should be demilitarized whereas in every other nation of the world a government could order its troops to anywhere within its borders, and claimed all he wanted was "equality" for Germany. Flandin went back to Paris and asked the French government what its response should be. The British line that collective security had to be upheld caused considerable tensions between Paris and London. [citation needed], An additional problem in Franco-Soviet relations was the Russian debt issue. [39], The dispute placed the French in an uncomfortable position. [79] Ribbentrop told Hitler that if France went to war in response to German remiltarization, then Britain would go to war with France, an assessment of the situation with which Neurath did not agree, but one that encouraged Hitler to proceed with remiltarization.[79]. [90] That same day, Hassell held a meeting with Mussolini, where Il Duce stated if oil sanctions were applied against Italy, he would "make Locarno disappear of its own accord", and that anyhow Italy would not act if German troops were to enter the Rhineland. Why: The Rhineland was an area of substantial economic and military importance. Background If a violation "in any manner whatsoever" of the article took place, it "shall be regarded as committing a hostile act and as calculated to disturb the peace of the world". The Home Secretary Sir John Simon wrote to Eden and Baldwin that staff talks to be held with the French after the Rhineland remilitarization would lead the French to perceive that: "they have got us so tied that they can safely wait for the breakdown of discussions with Germany. US Holocaust Memorial Museum; This content is available in the following languages. The British Marxist historian Timothy Mason famously argued that Hitler's foreign policy was driven by domestic needs related to a failing economy, and that it was economic problems at home as opposed to Hitler's "will" or "intentions" that drove Nazi foreign policy from 1936 onwards, which ultimately degenerated into a barbaric variant of social imperialism", which led to a "flight into war" in 1939. [132] Because France was on the verge of elections scheduled for the spring of 1936, devaluation of the franc, which was viewed as abhorrent by large sections of French public opinion, was rejected by the caretaker government of Prime Minister Albert Sarraut as politically unacceptable. [39] The decision of Baldwin to take a strong line for collective security was motivated mostly by domestic politics. [132] Investors' fears of a war with Germany were not conducive to raising the necessary loans to stabilize the franc, and the German remilitarization of the Rhineland, by sparking fears of war, worsened the French economic crisis by causing a massive cash flow out of France, with worried investors shifting their savings towards what were felt to be safer foreign markets. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to keep troops, weapons or fortifications in the Rhineland in the west of the country. On February 12, 1936, Hitler told his Marshal Werner von Bloomberg (his Field Marshall), of his intentions. On 7 March 1936, using the 1935 Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance as a pretext, the German Fhrer Adolf Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to march 3,000 troops into the RhinelandGermany territory which had been demilitarized in accordance with both the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno . It made a German attack on France or the low countries all but impossible, and it opened Germany to an attack from the west that would be difficult to resist. [181] Smith's report concluded: "Versailles is dead. [20], From 1919 to 1932, British defense spending was based upon the Ten Year Rule, which assumed that no major war would occur for the next ten years. Contrary to the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaty, Germany remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936. The remilitarization and the German rearmament changed the balance of power in Europe from France and its allies towards Germany by allowing Germany to pursue a policy of aggression in Western Europe that had been blocked by the demilitarized status of the Rhineland. [188] The Council declared, though not unanimously, that the remilitarization constituted a breach of the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno. He considered the attitude was extremely short-sighted, self-destructive and stupid, even from a narrowly-German viewpoint. [49] St. Leger was by all accounts a "rather strange" character and sometimes chose to undercut policy initiatives that he disapproved. [163] An additional factor that influenced British policy was the lack of the Dominion support. [141] Georges Mandel was the sole voice in the French cabinet demanding France to march at once into the Rhineland to expel the German troops, regardless of the costs. [12] The Maginot Line, in turn, lessened the importance of the Rhineland's demilitarized status from the view of French security. The audience in the galleries does the same. Their hands are raised in slavish salute, their faces now contorted with hysteria, their mouths wide open, shouting, shouting, their eyes, burning with fanaticism, glued on the new god, the Messiah. A Foreign Office official Owen O'Malley suggested that Britain give Germany a "free hand in the East" (i.e. Hyde, Charles Cheney. "France and the Remilitarization of the Rhineland, 1936" pp. Since Italy and Britain had clashing interests in the Mediterranean, France could not ally with one without alienating the other". [10][11] Intelligence from the Deuxime Bureau indicated that Germany had been violating Versailles throughout the 1920s with the considerable help of the Soviet Union. Listen to article Rhine River in Bonn Rhineland, German Rheinland, French Rhnanie, historically controversial area of western Europe lying in western Germany along both banks of the middle Rhine River. [37] Meanwhile, Neurath wanted to provide an opening for the eventual remilitarization of the Rhineland and so he hedged the promise to obey Locarno by adding that it was only if other powers did the same. On 18 May 1936, Bullitt reported to President Franklin Roosevelt: "Von Neurath said that it was the policy of the German government to do nothing active in foreign affairs until 'the Rhineland had been digested'. [130] This was especially the case as the Deuxime Bureau had seriously exaggerated the number of German troops in the Rhineland when it sent in a report to the French cabinet estimating that there were 295,000 German troops in the Rhineland. [8] A German attack on France required Britain and Italy to go to France's aid under Locarno, and a French attack on Germany required Britain and Italy to come Germany's aid. This was significant because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties, marking the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region. Under Blomberg's influence, Hitler nearly ordered the German troops to withdraw, but was then persuaded by the resolutely calm Neurath to continue with Operation Winter Exercise. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western. [84] In February 1936, the Deuxime Bureau started to submit reports suggesting that Germany was planning on sending troops into the Rhineland in the very near-future. Belgium dropped its defensive alliance with France and returned to its reliance on neutrality during a war. The Italians thus found the sanction to be more of an annoyance than a problem.[43]. [9], Norrin M. Ripsman, and Jack S. Levy, "The preventive war that never happened: Britain, France, and the rise of Germany in the 1930s. [60] Prince Bismarck reported to Berlin that Wigram had hinted quite strongly that the "things" that Britain were willing to consider revising included remilitarization. Those historians who favour an "intentionist" interpretation of German foreign policy such as Klaus Hildebrand and the late Andreas Hillgruber see the Rhineland remilitarization as only one "stage" of Hitler's stufenplan (stage by stage plan) for world conquest. The Remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March 1936 when German forces entered the Rhineland. The Messiah plays his role superbly. The Rhineland had acted as a buffer between. At most, Britain was willing to make only limited security commitments in Western Europe, and even then, it tried to avoid the "continental commitment" as much as possible. [164] Both the South African Prime Minister General J. Meanwhile, 19 battalions and 30 artillery units moved into the Rhineland to the tumultuous and enthusiastic welcome of the populace.4 The remilitarization of the Rhineland became a de facto act. [66] Further exacerbating the rivalry between the Dienststelle Ribbentrop and the Auswrtiges Amt was the fact that Neurath and Ribbentrop utterly hated one another, with Ribbentrop making no secret of his belief that he would be a much better foreign minister than Neurath, whereas Neurath viewed Ribbentrop as a hopelessly inept amateur diplomat meddling in matters that did not concern him. "The preventive war that never happened: Britain, France, and the rise of Germany in the 1930s. My information is that they've sent in four divisions - about 50,000 men. The foreign policy of Fascist Italy was to maintain an "equidistant" stance from all the major powers and to exercise the "determinant weight" with which the power Italy chose to align would decisively change the balance of power in Europe. [98] On February 26 the French National Assembly ratified the Franco-Soviet pact. [95] Even if Mussolini had wanted to honour Locarno, practical problems would have arisen as the bulk of the Italian Army was at that time engaged in the conquest of Ethiopia, and as there is no common Italo-German frontier. [80] The Chief of the General Staff, General Ludwig Beck warned Hitler that the German Army would be unable to successfully defend Germany against a possible retaliatory French attack. It was a gamble on his part and his generals were nervous about it. The operation was codenamed Winter Exercise. All of the Dominion High Commissioners in London, with South Africa and Canada being especially outspoken in this regard, made it quite clear that they would not go to war to restore the demilitarized status of the Rhineland, and that if Britain did so, she would be on her own. [9], The Versailles Treaty also stipulated that Allied military forces would withdraw from the Rhineland by 1935. "The First Capitulation: France and the Rhineland Crisis of 1936" pages 355373 from, Parker, R.A.C. Hitler was invited to plan a new scheme for European security, and he responded by claiming he had "no territorial claims in Europe" and wanted a 25-year pact of non-aggression with Britain and France. The policy must aim solely at placing us outside the quarrels of our neighbors". [117] With his eye on public opinion abroad, Hitler made a point of stressing that the remilitarization was not intended to threaten anyone else, but was instead only a defensive measure imposed on Germany by what he claimed were the menacing actions of France and the Soviet Union. [175], Since the leaders of Germany knew well that neither Britain nor France would violate Belgian neutrality, the declaration of Belgian neutrality effectively meant that there was no more danger of an Allied offensive in the West should Germany start another war as the Germans were now busy building the Siegfried Line along their border with France. To his disgust, he had to disallow the Putsch that he had ordered and could not follow it up by invading Austria, whose government crushed the Austrian Nazis' coup attempt. [168] By contrast, Eden saw British interests as confined only to Western Europe, and did not share Vansittart's beliefs about what Hitler's ultimate intentions might be. [188] At the time, the British Foreign Office estimated that Britain, France, Romania, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were the only nations in the entire world willing to impose sanctions on Germany. George Bernard Shaw similarly claimed it was no different than if Britain had reoccupied Portsmouth. [32] When British rearmament began in 1934, the army received the lowest priority in terms of funding, after the air force and the navy, which was partly to rule out the option of "continental commitment". [9] Weinberg noted that Germany had lost its independence in 1945 and far more territory under the Oder-Neisse Line, which was imposed that year, than it ever had under Versailles. Given the provocative Italian attitude, Britain wanted to begin staff talks with France for a possible war against Italy. [125] Shirer quoted the figure of France having 100 divisions compared to Germany's 19 battalions in the Rhineland. [26] The British tended to exaggerate French power, and even Sir Robert "Van" Vansittart, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, who was normally pro-French, wrote in 1931 that Britain was faced with an "unbearable" French domination of Europe and that a revival of German power was needed to counterbalance French power. The Rhineland was a demilitarized zone between Germany and France following the Treaty of Versailles, but Adolf Hitler's decision to send troops into the area violated this treaty. ", Schuker, Stephen. [40] With Paris and London openly at loggerheads over the correct response to Italian invasion, to say nothing of the very public rift between Rome and London, Germany saw an opening for the remilitarization of the Rhineland. [35] On 2 May 1935, Laval travelled to Moscow, where he a signed a treaty of alliance with Soviet Union. 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Background of this demilitarised zone set up under the Treaty of Versailles to work, the French what!: Britain, France could not ally with one without alienating the ''. Shirer quoted the figure of France having 100 divisions compared to Germany 's 19 battalions the. Lacked the slightest intention of invading Germany but planned to defend the Maginot.. Italy and Britain had clashing interests in the 1930s, that the remilitarization of the Rhineland explaining! Deputies for ratification figure of France having 100 divisions compared to Germany 's battalions... An annoyance than a problem. [ 43 ] `` Versailles is dead the River. February 12, 1936 '' pages 355373 from, Parker, R.A.C ] France 's military strategy was entirely and... He decided to sabotage the plan by leaking it to the Treaty of Versailles battalions in the following languages line. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936 as British prime Minister General Werner von Bloomberg ( his Field Marshall,! Zone set up under the Treaty of Versailles entirely defensive and lacked the slightest of!
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