The Remilitarisation of the
Rhineland
March 7th 1936
Outcomes
By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
 Describe the events of the Remilitarisation.
 Explain the reasons Hitler gave for his actions.
 The international response to his actions.
 The reasons for Britain and France’s response.
 Public opinion about Britain’s appeasement of
Germany.
 The consequences of Hitler’s actions.
Date and Outline of Events
 Took place on the 7th of
March 1936.
 Hitler chose a Saturday – he
correctly assumed that most
politicians would be away for
weekend and wouldn’t hear
until Monday by which time
the troops would be
occupying the area.
 Hitler had broken the terms of
both the Treaty of Versailles
and the Locarno Pact.
Hitler’s Reason’s
 Hitler realised that
attention at the time was
focussed on Italy and the
Abyssinian crisis.
 The Franco-Soviet Pact
was officially ratified by
the French Government
in Feb 1936 – Hitler used
this as an excuse that
Germany felt threatened.
He claimed Germany was
“encircled” and therefore
vulnerable.
International Response
 League of Nations:
Condemned the action on
the 14th of March – 1
week after event. They
said it was a violation of
both treaties.
 France: condemned the
reoccupation and looked
for Britain to back them in
military action.
 Britain: Issued a formal protest
at how Germany had dealt with
her grievance. Anthony Eden
flew to Paris for talks to try and
bring France round to Britain’ s
way of thinking. i.e avoid
military action.
Why did Britain Appease?
 Many within the British Government believed
Germany had a genuine grievance about the
Rhineland and had a right to revise the Treaty of
Versailles.
 Stresa Front was already weakened by
Versailles and Britain did not want to act alone.
 Many in govt still saw Germany as a buffer to the
spread of Communism from the east.
 Government was also aware of the strength of
feeling in Britain against taking military action.
Why did Britain Appease?(2)
French instability was a concern – 24
governments in 10 years.
Even Labour Party advocated
appeasement in the 1930’s – “welfare not
warfare”
British military was not prepared,
considerable disarmament has taken
place in the 1920’s
Reasons for the French
Response
 French generals
overestimated the
number of German
troops (there was only
22,000) and believed
French army couldn’t
cope without British
help.
 Maginot Line meant
French military was
now mainly defensive –
not ready to take action.
French public opinion was also split –
many believed the French Govt had
antagonised the Germans (Franco –
Soviet Pact)
French Government was worried that if
it acted alone it would be condemned
by the League as aggressors – after all,
the Rhineland was German territory!
Notes:
What you need to:
1. Background: What was the Rhineland, where was it?
Why was it important?
2. What did Hitler’s troops actually do?
3. What was the significance of Hitler’s actions?
4. Why could it be said that this was a gamble?
5. What excuse did Hitler give for this action?
6. Why could it be said that this was ‘bad timing’ for
Britain and France?
7. France was the most threatened by Hitler’s action, why
was the French government unwilling to take action
against Germany?
British Public Opinion
Majority View
Most people in Britain believed Britain were right to
appease over the Rhineland.
• There was no support for war in Britain. “never
again” were still the words on everyone’s lips
and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ had been
reprinted 30 times in England between 1929 and
1933.
• In the Peace Ballot of 1934 11 million people
had voted against fighting.
• In the Oxford University debate the majority had
said they wouldn’t fight for ‘King and Country’
 There was a strong
pacifist movement in
the1930’s, many thought
“war was wasteful, costly
and should be opposed”
(Frank McDonough)
 “The British Public didn’t
care two hoots about
German troops occupying
their own territory” (Duff
Cooper)
 “Germany was only
putting troops into her
own backyard” (Lord
Lothian)
 Many in British Public
also believed Germany
had “genuine grievances”
British Public Opinion
Minority View
There were some voices within British politics who were
beginning to question Hitler’s actions and Britain’s
response to them.
• Churchill was a ‘voice in
the wilderness’ who
suggested Hitler’s actions
were ‘sinister’.
• Duff Cooper claimed “the
Rhineland occupation
had destroyed the basis
of peace in Europe in one
morning”
 Duff Cooper also
suggested that the British
public were unaware of
the severity of the
situation because the
British press and media
were quite controlled by
the GOVERNMENT
 Harold McMillan claimed
“there will be no war now,
but unless a settlement is
made…there will be war
in 1940”
CONSEQUENCES/OUTCOMES
OF THE CRISIS:
Hitler’s popularity soared in Germany
His own confidence increased (in his
memoirs he claimed “the 48 hours after
the Rhineland were the most nervewracking in my life”)
Hitler had ‘tested the water’ and saw the
strength of British desire to avoid conflict.
Hitler had secured western borders –
could now look to east?