Untitled Document
Sub units: Background and militarisation of the area | The reaction of the West

  • With the militarisation of the Rhineland Hitler openly broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
  • The Western powers did nothing to stop him. This is how they reacted:
The reactions
Rollover the flags to see their country's reaction.
  • Hitler went against the advice of his advisors when he ordered the troops to enter the Rhineland.
  • However, he was not quite as calm and sure of himself as this move seems to show.
Quote

Hitler declared:

"The 48 hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had marched into the Rhineland, we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs, for our military resources would have been wholly inadequate for even a moderate resistance."


no

The militarisation of the Rhineland was Hitler's first major action in fulfilling his foreign policy aims. From what he says here, do you think he would have given up his goal if the French and British had reacted? Would it have prevented World War II?

  • Many historians believe that the fact that the Western powers did not react to Hitler's militarisation of the Rhineland shaped his belief that they were not going to stop him at all.
  • They believe that if Hitler had been stopped here, it would have meant the end of his aggressive foreign policy, and perhaps even the end of his political career as leader of the German Reich.
  • The inaction of the Western powers also meant that countries in eastern Europe became cut off form one of their protectors, France. And this was the direction in which Hitler was planning his expansion.
Sub units: Background and militarisation of the area | The reaction of the West
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