Remilitarisation of the Rhineland - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

how did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland?

Answer 1

• while the rest of the world was watching Abyssinia, Hitler ordered his troops to occupy the Rhineland
• this was German territory on the border with France, Belgium and the Netherlands - the Treaty of Versailles had ruled that it had to be demilitarised
• Hitler wanted to expand eastwards to gain the Lebensraum he sought but he knew that doing so would probably lead Britain and France to declare war and invade Germany from the west
• Hitler therefore needed to have German armed forces in the Rhineland to defend Germany
• France and Russia had just signed the Franco-Soviet Pact and it was officially ratified by the French government in February 1936 - this acted o protect each other from attack from Germany
• Hitler used this as an excuse that Germany felt threatened
• he claimed Germany was ‘encircled’ and therefore vulnerable

Question 2

why was Hitler and his generals nervous about sending troops into the Rhineland?

Answer 2

• it was a bluff - German troops were in no position to stand up to the French army if it reacted
• the German army only sent 22,000 soldiers
• many were on foot or on bicycles and had no air support - they had orders to retreat if they met any resistance
• German financial ministers warned Hitler that if he failed, Germany would have to pay large large fines that they couldn’t afford

Question 3

why was there no resistance from France when German troops entered the Rhineland?

Answer 3

• France was preoccupied with domestic problems and a general election
• French public opinion was also split - many believed the French Government had antagonised the Germans with the Franco-Soviet Pact
• French generals overestimated the number of Germans troops (there was only 22,000) and believed French army couldn’t cope without British help
• much of the French army was in Tunisia just in case they had to deal with the Abyssinian crisis
• French Government was worried that if it acted acted alone it would be condemned by the League as aggressors - after all, the Rhineland was German territory
• many within the British Government believed Germany had a genuine grievance about the Rhineland and had a right to revise the TofV (the Rhineland was part of Germany - Hitler was not invading any other country)
• Britain and France were not united in how to act against Germany
• Britain and France, the League of Nations and wider international attention at the time was focussed on Italy and Abyssinian Crisis.
• France and Britain also were scared that they would not back each other if they initiated military action