Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

The remilitarisation of the Rhineland began on 7 March 1936 when military forces of Nazi Germany entered the Rhineland. This action broke the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. Neither France nor Britain was ready to respond with force, so they did nothing. Many people later thought that a strong response in 1936 could have stopped the plans of Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Germany at the time.

After World War I ended, the Rhineland was occupied by Allied forces. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 stopped the German military from entering areas west of the Rhine or within 50 km east of it. The Locarno Treaties in 1925 confirmed that the Rhineland would remain free of military forces. In 1929, German leaders talked with the Allies, and the last soldiers left the Rhineland in June 1930.

When the Nazi leaders came to power in January 1933, they started preparing for more military power. On 7 March 1936, Hitler sent 20,000 German soldiers into the Rhineland. This made many people in Germany very happy. The leaders of France and Britain did not want to go to war, so they did not enforce the treaties.

This move changed the balance of power in Europe. It encouraged Hitler to believe that France and Britain would not stop Germany’s plans. He decided to speed up preparations for war and to try to control more of Europe. In a speech on 14 March 1936, Hitler said he would not be stopped by threats or warnings.

Background

Further information: International relations (1919–1939)

Versailles and Locarno

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles forbid Germany from having any military in the Rhineland area. This was to keep peace in Europe. Later, the Locarno Treaties in 1925 also agreed that the Rhineland should stay free of German soldiers. These treaties were important because Germany agreed to this by choice, not because they were forced.

The Treaty of Versailles said that if Germany put soldiers in the Rhineland, it would be seen as a hostile act. The Allies were supposed to leave the Rhineland by 1935. By 1930, all Allied soldiers had left, which made it easier for Germany to think about putting soldiers there again.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy of Fascist Italy aimed to stay balanced between all major powers. The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, wanted to support Germany secretly to challenge the rules set by Versailles. This caused tension with France.

France had made agreements with countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia to keep Germany and the Soviets away from Eastern Europe. Before 1933, German leaders wanted to put soldiers back in the Rhineland when it was a good time politically. They kept preparing for this by storing supplies and building structures along the border.

During this time, Britain did not want to spend much on defense and did not want to fight big wars for ten years. They were not sure about promising to help on the continent and preferred to avoid getting into conflicts in Eastern Europe. Britain’s foreign policy often tried to make things easier for Germany, hoping it would bring peace. They thought better relations between Germany and France would weaken France’s influence in Eastern Europe.

European situation (1933–1936)

Diplomacy

In March 1933, Germany's Defence Minister, General Werner von Blomberg, made plans to send soldiers back into an area called the Rhineland. He started giving secret training and weapons to some police units there to get ready. Another general, Ludwig Beck, wrote in March 1935 that Germany needed to make the Rhineland safer once it was possible through diplomacy. German leaders thought this wouldn't happen before 1937.

When Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, came to power in January 1933, Britain was worried but unsure of his plans. Britain wanted to solve problems with Germany through talks but also wanted to get stronger to protect itself. In 1934, Britain started getting more powerful but focused more on the air force and navy than the army. This made France unhappy because they thought they would need to fight Germany mostly on their own land.

In 1934, France tried to stop Germany by making friends with other countries, like the Soviet Union and Italy. But Italy was more interested in controlling parts of Africa, and the Soviet Union changed its mind about helping Germany after seeing Germany’s strong dislike of communism.

Abyssinia Crisis

Main article: Abyssinia Crisis

In October 1935, Italy invaded a country called Ethiopia, which caused big problems between Britain, France, and Italy. Britain wanted to punish Italy by working with other countries, but France was more worried about Germany and didn’t want to upset Italy. This disagreement gave Germany a chance to think about sending soldiers back into the Rhineland.

The situation got even more confusing when a secret plan to split Ethiopia between Italy and a small part of Ethiopia was leaked. This made both Britain and France very upset, and an important British leader had to leave his job. Meanwhile, Germany supported Italy, which helped Germany and Italy become closer friends. This, along with the fights between Britain and France, set the stage for Germany’s actions in the Rhineland.

German remilitarization

In March 1936, German forces moved into an area called the Rhineland. This area had been without soldiers after a peace agreement, but Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, decided to send troops there anyway. This broke two important treaties: the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Locarno.

At the time, France and Britain were not ready to fight back. They did not respond with force, allowing Germany to stay in the Rhineland. Some later said that if France and Britain had acted strongly in 1936, it might have stopped Hitler’s plans early on. However, neither country made a move, and Germany’s troops remained.

Reactions

Germany

On March 7, 1936, Hitler announced to Germany’s parliament that the Rhineland had been remilitarized. He offered to return to an international group and sign agreements to prevent air bombing in wars. Hitler said the Treaty of Versailles, which had limited Germany’s military, was unfair and that he wanted equality for Germany.

People in Germany celebrated the move, and many who had opposed Hitler before now supported him. Hitler held a vote on March 29, 1936, and most Germans voted in favor of remilitarizing the Rhineland. After this success, Hitler felt more confident in his leadership.

France

France had more soldiers than Germany but decided not to act. Some leaders believed France couldn’t afford a war, while others thought Germany’s move wasn’t a major threat. France’s air force was weaker than Germany’s, and France relied on support from other countries. Without that support, France chose not to challenge Germany.

United Kingdom

Britain’s reaction was mixed. Some leaders thought Germany was just moving troops into its own land. Others were worried about starting a war. Britain didn’t want to fight over the Rhineland and preferred to avoid conflict. Some British leaders also didn’t want to support France if it meant fighting Germany.

Belgium

Belgium decided to stay neutral after Germany’s move. This meant Belgium wouldn’t support France if Germany attacked. Belgium wanted to stay out of other countries’ conflicts.

Poland

Poland said it would support France if France was attacked, but made it clear it wouldn’t act unless France was invaded. Poland wanted to stay neutral and avoid getting involved in the conflict.

United States

The United States chose to stay out of European affairs. The American government didn’t want to get involved in the situation and preferred to wait and see what would happen.

The Soviet Union

The Soviet Union publicly criticized Germany’s actions but also wanted better trade relations with Germany. Soviet leaders seemed more interested in trade than in going to war.

League of Nations

When the League of Nations met, only the Soviet Union supported taking action against Germany. Many countries depended on trade with Germany and didn’t want to risk losing that trade by imposing sanctions. Without strong support, no major action was taken against Germany.

Aftermath

The remilitarisation of the Rhineland shifted the balance of power strongly toward Germany. It made France look weak because they did not try to stop Germany, even though they had plans to defend only the Maginot Line. Because of this, countries in Eastern Europe lost trust in France to help them against Germany.

Belgium decided to stop working closely with France and went back to staying neutral in wars. France also did not build their defenses to cover the Belgian border, which later allowed Germany to attack through that area in 1940.

Italy, which had tried to stop Germany, began to work more with Germany instead because they did not think France would help. Even the Pope told France that if they had sent troops into the Rhineland, it would have helped everyone.

With the Rhineland now under German control, Germany started building the Siegfried Line. This made it harder for France to attack Germany. Some leaders, like the president of Czechoslovakia, thought about leaving their alliance with France but decided not to after realizing it would mean losing their country's independence.

Romania also thought about leaving its alliance with France and moving closer to Germany.

In May 1936, the new American ambassador to France met with a German leader who said Germany would stay quiet in other areas until their defenses along the French and Belgian borders were built. He believed that once these defenses were ready, other countries would change how they thought about their own policies.

Later in June 1936, leaders from Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia met and decided that with the Rhineland now under German control, France would not be able to help them much if there was a war with Germany. They felt that only Germany and the Soviet Union were the real powers in Eastern Europe and that their best hope was to avoid another war, which could mean losing their independence no matter who won.