C) Remilitarisation of the Rhineland Flashcards
In March 1936, Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland
It’s demilitarisation had been decided in the ToV and agreed by Germany in the Locarno Treaties
The Saar had been run by the League since 1919 but in 1935 there was a plebiscite in which 90% of people voted to return under German rule
This was legal under the terms of the Treaty and boosted morale
Withdrawal would have meant he lost support from the army and faced humiliation
France and the USSR had just signed a Treaty to prevent attack from Germany so Hitler claimed Germany was under attack and he should be able to place troops on his own frontier
Britain would not intervene because they agreed that the term was too harsh, but he wasn’t sure about the French who had a very strong army
But the LoN was distracted by the Abyssinian Crisis
The League condemned the action of the Germans but had no power to do anything more
The French were about to hold an election and none of the Prime Ministers wanted to be responsible for starting a war so they refused to act without British support, even though nobody knew how weak the German army was
