International Crisis #2: Germany Remilitarizes the Rhineland,
March 1936
Adolph Hitler, Nazi Chancellor of Germany, has been paying attention to the lack of effective action by the League of Nations. After losing World War I, Germany had been forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which, among other things, asserted that Germany was uniquely guilty for the onset of the war, demanded that Germany pay $33 billion in reparations to France and Britain, stripped Germany of all its overseas colonies, gave France the contested area of Alsace-Lorraine, gave the newly recreated nation of Poland a chunk of German (indeed Prussian) territory to link Poland to the sea, limited the size of the Germany military, prevented it from having an air force, and declared that the Rhineland area (where Germany bordered France) was to be forever demilitarized. Hitler had risen to power, in part, on his public resolution to overthrow the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles and restore Germany to its former glory.
Hitler’s first step after assuming power in January 1933 had been to renounce the League of Nations in October of that same year. Then on 16 March 1935, he denounced the remaining disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, revealed that he had already built an air force in violation of those clauses, and reinstituted compulsory military service to work toward his goal of a 500,000-strong army. The European powers and the League censured these actions but took no action to hold Germany to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. On 7 March 1936, 35,000 Nazi troops marched into the Rhineland. This put the German army in a position to outflank France’s Maginot Line–a set of fixed gun emplacements and defensive barriers along the Franco-German border.
British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden responded as follows:
“While we obviously cannot object to the Council adopting . . . a 'finding' that Germany has violated the demilitarized zone provisions, this ought to be on the distinct understanding that it is not to be followed by a French attack on Germany and a request for our armed assistance under that article. . . .
We must be ready at the Council to offer the French some satisfaction in return for their acquiescence in this tearing up of articles 42 and 43 of Versailles [i.e., demilitarization of the Rhineland] and of the whole of Locarno. . . . . In the face of this fresh and gross insult to the sanctity of treaties, it will be difficult to persuade the French to sign any fresh agreement with Germany in present circumstances. . . .
We might agree to [M. Flandin's (French Foreign Secretary) suggestion of a formal condemnation by the Council of Germany's action], but we ought to resist [measures that could include economic and financial boycott] . . . The essential thing will be to induce or cajole France to accept [negotiations with Germany]. The trouble is that we are in a bad position to browbeat her into what we think reasonableness, because, if she wishes to do so, she can always hold us to our Locarno obligations and call upon us to join with her in turning the German forces out of the Rhineland. The strength of our position lies in the fact that France is not in the mood for a military adventure of this sort. . . .”
The French position was as follows:
“The militarization of the Rhineland was a direct blow to French security inasmuch as it rendered worthless the promises of military aid by France to her eastern European allies Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania if any of them were attacked by Germany. Despite the brave talk, France was not disposed to take action without the assistance of Britain, at least. Besides, the military chiefs advised against military action and public opinion showed no enthusiasm for war. Nonetheless the timorous British attitude--favoring negotiation at all cost--was a sore disappointment to the French whose military strength at this stage greatly exceeded German strength: at the height of the 'crisis', only some 20,000 German troops had occupied the zone. Thus, the "last chance" to stop Hitler's gallop passed off with no more than denunciations and recriminations, despite the judgment of the League of Nations that Hitler had again violated the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler's gambling on the defensive posture of France paid off.”
On 29 February 1936, U.S. Congress had passed a new Neutrality Act, which, in addition to the embargo on the sale of war-related goods to belligerents, prohibited the American government, banks, or companies to extend loans or credits to nations that were at war. In November 1936, President Roosevelt will run for re-election.
As a representative of the League of Nations and a representative of your assigned country, what would you do? Do you urge the French to resist this action by promising diplomatic and maybe even military and financial support? Do you condemn German actions publicly in order to alert the people of your nation to the potential growing danger? Do you avoid doing anything, fearing it will hurt your political reputation?