The remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936) Flashcards

1
Q

When did the remilitarisation of the Rhineland take place?

A

March 1936

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2
Q

Had the Rhineland been taken away from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles?

A

No - but they were not allowed to have any armed forces there

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3
Q

What is meant by demilitarised?

A

You are not allowed to have any armed forces there

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4
Q

Where was the Rhineland located?

A

On the western border of Germany.

The border was also shared by: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands

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5
Q

What was the main purpose of the demilitarisation of the Rhineland?

A

To protect France from invasion

(Remember: It had been invaded in 1870 during Franco-Prussian War AND in 1914 during WWI)

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6
Q

When had the demilitarisation been reaffirmed?

A

In the 1925 Locarno Treaties - which Germany had agreed to

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7
Q

What was agreed in the 1925 Locarno Treaties?

A

That Germany would stick to all accept its western borders as outlined in the ToV

(This agreement helped pave the way for Germany to join the League of Nations)

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8
Q

What else was happening in the world in 1936?

A

The League was preoccupied with the Abyssinian Crisis (the Hoare-Laval Pact had just leaked)

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9
Q

Had Hitler failed with the remilitarisation, whose support would he have lost?

A

The army’s (lots of top generals were still unsure about him)

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10
Q

What had France and the USSR signed in 1935?

A

A mutual assistance treaty to protect each other from German attack

Full name: The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance

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11
Q

How did Hitler exploit the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance?

A

He claimed he needed to put troops in the Rhineland - on his own frontier - because Germany was under threat from France and the USSR.

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12
Q

How did Hitler exploit British attitudes?

A

He knew many Britons believed Hitler should be allowed to station troops in ‘his own backyard’ and therefore would do little to stop him

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13
Q

What orders did Hitler give to his generals?

A

To pull troops out of the Rhineland if they met any resistance from the French

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14
Q

How would Germany’s army have fared against France’s?

A

Not well, despite rearmament, France’s army was far stronger than Germany’s

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15
Q

What did the League do after Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland?

A

Condemned his actions - but did nothing else

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16
Q

Why did the French dither over their response?

A
  1. France was in the middle of a financial crisis
  2. They were about to hold an election - none of the French leaders wanted to be held responsible for plunging the country into a war with Germany.
17
Q

What did France not know?

A

How strong - or rather, how WEAK - the German army really was. They fell for Hitler’s bluff.

18
Q

What did Hitler take from the remilitarisation?

A

Increased confidence - made him more likely to gamble in the future

19
Q

What did Hitler promise after the Rhineland triumph?

A
  1. That he only had peaceful intentions
  2. He proposed a 25 year NON AGGRESSION PACT with the western powers