Hitler sends troops to Rhineland

The events in China were preceded by turmoil in Europe: as Graphic showed in an article published in March 12, 1936, Germany was united on a nationalistic upheaval against the ally powers and occupied the demilitarized Rhinelanz zone as a reaction against the Franco-Soviet Pact, breaking both Locarno’s and Versailles’ treaties. Although previsible, this marked the end of both treaties and the constitution of an anti-allies block (Fascit Italy used the opportunity to announce it wouldn't put into effect guarantees of Locarno’s treaty). Although, as Graphic announced,  the French army was mobilized, Germany dared to make that move knowing that France could not retaliate, paralized by political disunity and lack of funds (France’s strategy was based on the expensive Maginot Line).  Probably a bluff, Hitler’s proposal to Locarno’s emissaries after announcing them he occupation of the Rhineland, included non-aggression pacts and demilitarization of with Western Europe, a reminder that Germany’s intentions were already “in the air”: freeing resources for a german expansion into Eastern Europe or even the reconquest of former German territories in France. From a Filipino perspective, it was clear that the colonial empires would soon be busy in Europe, leaving Japan the perfect theater for its own expansion in the continent.

Fecha

1936-03-12

Fuente

“Hitler sends troops to Rhineland”, Graphic, vol. IX, num. 39, March 12, 1936, pp. 3, 55. In Open Access Repository @ UPD.

Relación

Wolz, Alexander. 2014. Die Rheinlandkrise 1936: Das Auswärtige Amt und der Locarnopakt 1933-1936. München: De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
Shore Zachary. 2010. ”Chapter 3: Risk in the Rhineland”, What Hitler Knew : The Battle for Information in Nazi Foreign Policy. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

Editor

Item held at University of the Philippines Diliman and University of Antwerp VLIRUOS Rare Periodicals Open Access Repository

Colaborador

Emilio Vivó Capdevila

Idioma

English

Materia

German expansionism

Graphic

Rhineland occupation

Second World War