The Remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March 1936 when German forces entered the Rhineland. // Part of the motivation behind the territorial changes are based on events in the history of Germany and Europe, especially Eastern Europe. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article gives an overview of the History of Germany. ... Historically, large populations of ethnic Germans have been concentrated in Central and Eastern Europe. ... The German Empire of 1871. ... The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ... The Silesian Uprisings (Polish: Powstania Å›lÄ…skie) was a series of three military insurections (1919-1921) of the Polish people in the Upper Silesia region against the German/Prussian forces in order to force them out the region and join it with Poland, that regained her independence after the World... A Polish map showing the territory known as the Polish Corridor The Polish Corridor was the name given to a strip of territory which was transferred from Germany to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. ... The Saar, corresponding to the current German state of the Saarland, was from governed by the League of Nations under the Treaty of Versailles from 1920 until a plebicite in 1935, when it was returned to Germany. ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... For the annual global security meeting held in Munich, see Munich Conference on Security Policy Chamberlain holds the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Germany in September 1938. ... National assembly meeting in St. ... Reichsgau and General Governement in 1941 At the beginning of World War II, significant Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany. ... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... // Part of the motivation behind the territorial changes are based on events in the history of Germany and Europe, especially Eastern Europe. ... The Treaty of Zgorzelec or the Treaty between the Republic of Poland and the German Democratic Republic concerning the demarcation of the established and existing Polish-German state border was signed in Zgorzelec, Lower Silesia, Poland on July 6, 1950 by the prime ministers Józef Cyrankiewicz of Poland and... The Treaty of Warsaw is a treaty between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... On 11 December 1973, in Prague, the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia signed a treaty in which the two States recognised each other diplomatically and declared the 1938 Munich Agreements to be null and void by acknowledging the inviolability of their common borders and abandoning all territorial claims. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... NOTE: Although the terms Recovered Territories, or Regained Territories have clear meanings in Poland and Polish historiography, they are not accepted terms or concepts outside of Poland, especially in Germany and the other German-speaking countries. ... Former eastern territories of Germany (German: ehemalige deutsche Ostgebiete) describes collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder-Neisse line which were internationally recognised as part of the territory of Germany after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. ... The Oder-Neisse line (German: , Polish: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Main article: History of Poland In the period following its emergence in the 10th century, the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christianity, created a strong Central European state and integrated Poland into European culture. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (67th in leap years). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. ...

Background

Under Articles 42 and 44 of the Treaty of Versailles—imposed on Germany by the Allies after the Great War—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 kilometres to the East of the Rhine". If a violation "in any manner whatsoever" of this Article took place, this "shall be regarded as committing a hostile act...and as calculated to disturb the peace of the world".^[1] The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ... Map of the World showing the participants in World War I. Those fighting on the Allies side (at one point or another) are depicted in green, the Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in gray. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ...

The Locarno Treaties, signed in 1925 by Germany, France and Britain, agreed that the Rhineland should be demilitarized. The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland on 5 October—16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on December 1, in which the World War I Western European Allied powers and the new states of central and Eastern Europe sought to secure the post-war territorial...

The Versailles Treaty also stipulated that the Allied military forces would evacuate the Rhineland in 1935, although they actually evacuated in 1930. The British delegation at the Hague Conference on German reparations in 1929 (headed by Philip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and including Arthur Henderson, Foreign Secretary) proposed that the reparations Germany paid be reduced and that the British and French forces should evacuate the Rhineland. Henderson persuaded the sceptical French Prime Minister, Aristide Briand, to accept that all Allied occupation forces would evacuate the Rhineland by June 1930. The last British soldiers left in late 1929 and the last French soldiers left in June 1930. War reparations refer to the monetary compensation provided to a triumphant nation or coalition from a defeated nation or coalition. ... Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden (July 18, 1864 - May 15, 1937) was a British politician, and the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British cabinet minister responsible for all financial matters. ... The Right Honourable Arthur Henderson (September 13, 1863 – October 20, 1935) was a British politician and union leader. ... The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (commonly referred to as Foreign Secretary) is a member of the British Government responsible for relations with foreign countries, heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (often called simply the Foreign Office). ... Aristide Briand (March 28, 1862 – March 7, 1932) was a French statesman who served several terms as Prime Minister of France and won the Nobel Peace Prize. ...

German remilitarization

During January 1936 German Führer Adolf Hitler decided to reoccupy the Rhineland. On 12 February he informed his War Minister, General Werner von Blomberg, of his intentions and asked the head of the Army, General Werner von Fritsch, how long it would take to transport a few infantry battalions and an artillery battery into the Rhineland. Fritsch answered that it would take three days organisation but he was in favour of negotiation as he believed that the German Army was in no state for armed combat with the French Army.^[2] General Ludwig Beck warned Hitler that the German Army would be unable to successfully defend Germany against a possible retaliatory French attack.^[3] Hitler reassured Fritsch that he would ensure that the German forces would leave at once if the French intervened militarily to halt their advance. The operation was codenamed Winter Exercise and it came on a Saturday, as Hitler believed that French Government ministers would be away from their offices that day. Not long after dawn, nineteen German infantry battalions and a handful of planes entered the Rhineland. They reached the river Rhine by 11am and then three battalions crossed to the west bank of the Rhine. When German reconnaissance learned that thousands of French soldiers were congregating on the Franco-German border, General Blomberg begged Hitler to evacuate the German forces. Hitler inquired whether the French forces had actually crossed the border and when informed that they had not, he assured Blomberg that they would wait until this happened.^[4] Hitler redirects here. ... This page contains a List of German defence ministers For pre-1919 Prussian Ministers of War, see Prussian Minister of War. ... Werner von Blomberg. ... Werner Freiherr von Fritsch (4 August 1880 in Benrath - 22 September 1939 Praga near Warsaw) was a prominent Wehrmacht officer, member of the German High Command, and the first German general to die in the Second World War. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Remains of a battery of English cannon from Youghal, County Cork. ... Ludwig Beck General Ludwig Beck (June 29, 1880 – July 21, 1944) was Chief of Staff of the German Armed forces during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Born in Biebrich in Hesse-Nassau, he was educated in the conservative Prussian military tradition. ... This or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ...

Heinz Guderian, a German general interviewed by French officers after the Second World War, claimed: "If you French had intervened in the Rhineland in 1936 we should have been sunk and Hitler would have fallen".^[5] Hitler himself later said: Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (ca. ...

"The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had then marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even a moderate resistance."^[6]

Reactions

France

France, although possessing at this time superior armed forces compared to Germany, including 100 divisions of men, was psychologically unprepared to use force against Germany.^[7] When the French Foreign Secretary, Pierre Étienne Flandin, heard of the remilitarization he immediately went to London to consult the British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. Baldwin asked Flandin what the French Government had in mind but Flandin said they had not yet decided. Flandin went back to Paris and consulted the French Government what their response should be. They agreed that "France would place all her forces at the disposal of the League of Nations to oppose a violation of the Treaties".^[8] The generalissimo of the French Army, General Gamelin, told the French government that if France countered the German forces and this caused a long war, France would be unable to win fighting alone and therefore would need British assistance. The French Government, with an upcoming general election in mind, decided against general mobilization of the French Army.^[9] The remilitarization removed the last hold France had over Germany and therefore ended the security France had gained from the Treaty of Versailles. So long as the French Army occupied the Rhineland, the economically important Ruhr industrial area was liable to French invasion if France believed the situation in Germany ever became a threat.^[10] The honour entrance to the Ministry building on the Quai dOrsay The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the Government of France, is the cabinet member responsible for the Republics network of relationships with foreign nations. ... Pierre Étienne Flandin, French politician Pierre Étienne Flandin (April 12, 1889 at Paris, France-June 13, 1958 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France) was a French conservative politician of the Third Republic and Prime Minister of France from November 8, 1934 to May 31, 1935. ... Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 – 14 December 1947) was a British statesman and thrice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920. ... Maurice Gamelin Maurice Gustave Gamelin (September 20, 1872 - April 18, 1958) was a French general. ... This article describes military mobilization. ... Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquially Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott or simply Pott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large (former) industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to...

United Kingdom

The reaction in Britain was mixed, but they did not generally regard the remilitarization as harmful. Lord Lothian famously said it was no more than the Germans walking into their own backyard. George Bernard Shaw similarly claimed it was no different than if Britain had reoccupied Portsmouth. In his diary entry for 23 March, Harold Nicolson MP noted that "the feeling in the House [of Commons] is terribly pro-German, which means afraid of war".^[11] Stanley Baldwin claimed, with tears in his eyes, that Britain lacked the resources to enforce her treaty guarantees and that public opinion would not stand for military force anyway. The British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, discouraged military action by the French and was against any financial or economic sanctions against Germany. Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian (1882–1940) was a British politician and diplomat. ... George Bernard Shaw (born 26 July 1856, Dublin, Ireland died November 2, 1950, Hertfordshire, England) was an Irish writer. ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... Sir Harold Nicolson (November 21, 1886 – May 1, 1968) was a British diplomat, author and politician. ... Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (June 12, 1897– January 14, 1977), British politician, was Foreign Secretary for three periods between 1935 and 1955, including World War II and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1957. ...

During a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on 12 March, Winston Churchill, a backbench Conservative MP, argued for Anglo-French co-ordination under the League of Nations to help France challenge the remilitarization of the Rhineland.^[12] Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier and author. ... A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and is the second oldest extant political party in the world. ...

Belgium

Belgium concluded an alliance with France in 1920 but after the remilitarization Belgium opted again for neutrality. On 14 October 1936 King Leopold III of Belgium said in a speech: October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The reoccupation of the Rhineland, by ending the Locarno arrangement, has almost brought us back to our international position before the war...We must follow a policy exclusively and entirely Belgian. The policy must aim solely at placing us outside the quarrels of our neighbours.^[13]

Poland

Poland announced that the Franco-Polish Military Alliance signed in 1921 would be honoured, although the treaty stipulated that Poland would aid France only if France was invaded. 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. The term Franco-Polish Military Alliance refers to the military alliance between Poland and France that was active between 1921 and 1939. ...

League of Nations

When the Council of the League of Nations met in London, the only delegate in favour of sanctions against Germany was Maxim Litvinov, the representative of the Soviet Union. The Council declared, though not unanimously, that the remilitarization constituted a breach of the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno. 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 twenty-five year pact of non-aggression with Britain and France. However, when the British Government inquired further into this proposed pact they did not receive a reply.^[14] Maxim Litvinov Maxim Maksimovich Litvinov (ru: Макси́м Макси́мович Литви́нов) (July 17, 1876–December 31, 1951) was a Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet diplomat. ... A non-aggression pact is an international treaty between two or more states, agreeing to avoid war or armed conflict between them even if they find themselves fighting third countries, or even if one is fighting allies of the other. ...

Notes

1. ^ Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott, The Appeasers (Phoenix Press, 2000), p. 41.
2. ^ Rupert Matthews, Hitler: Military Commander (Arcturus, 2003), p. 115.
3. ^ Ibid, p. 13.
4. ^ Ibid, p. 116.
5. ^ J. R. Tournoux, Petain et de Gaulle (Paris: Plon, 1964), p. 159.
6. ^ Alan Bullock, Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (London: Odhams, 1952), p. 135.
7. ^ Shirer quotes the figure of France having 100 divisions compared to Germany's four battlions.
8. ^ A. J. P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War (Penguin, 1991), p. 130.
9. ^ Ibid, p. 131.
10. ^ Correlli Barnett, The Collapse of British Power (Pan, 2002), p. 336.
11. ^ Harold Nicolson, The Harold Nicolson Diaries: 1919-1964 (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004), p. 139.
12. ^ Martin Gilbert, Churchill: A Life (Pimlico, 2000), p. 552.
13. ^ Charles Cheney Hyde, 'Belgium and Neutrality', The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 31, No. 1. (January 1937), p. 82.
14. ^ Taylor, p. 133.

References

• Correlli Barnett, The Collapse of British Power (Pan, 2002).
• Alan Bullock, Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (London: Odhams, 1952).
• Martin Gilbert, Churchill: A Life (Pimlico, 2000).
• Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott, The Appeasers (Phoenix Press, 2000).
• Charles Cheney Hyde, 'Belgium and Neutrality', The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 31, No. 1. (January 1937), pp. 81-85.
• Rupert Matthews, Hitler: Military Commander (Arcturus, 2003).
• Harold Nicolson, The Harold Nicolson Diaries: 1919-1964 (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004).
• A. J. P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War (Penguin, 1991).
• J. R. Tournoux, Petain et de Gaulle (Paris: Plon, 1964).