Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany: A Detailed Summary

The remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany was an important event that occurred in the years before the outbreak of World War II. It took place on March 7th, 1936, when Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno PactA 1925 agreement that confirmed Germany’s western borders and required the Rhineland to stay free of troops. by sending German military forces into the Rhineland. In short, the Rhineland was a demilitarizedA zone or region where a country is forbidden from placing soldiers or weapons. zone along Germany’s western border with France, and had been ordered demilitarized since the end of World War I. Historians consider this event to be highly significant to the policy of appeasement practiced by France and Britain in the years before World War II.

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What were the main provisions of the Locarno Pact that Germany accepted before World War II?

Signing dateSigning dateRepresentatives from Germany, France, Belgium, Britain, and Italy signed the pact on October 16th, 1925, in Locarno, Switzerland.Western border guaranteeWestern border guaranteeGermany formally accepted its western borders with France and Belgium, giving up any claim to Alsace-Lorraine.Rhineland restrictionRhineland restrictionThe agreement required Germany to keep the Rhineland permanently free of troops and military installations.Arbitration requirementArbitration requirementGermany agreed to settle future border disputes with its neighbors through arbitration rather than military action.League of Nations entryLeague of Nations entryAs part of the deal, Germany was admitted to the League of Nations in 1926, gaining a seat on its council.

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Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany – Background

Appeasement before World War II refers to the foreign policy strategy used primarily by Britain and France in the 1930s to avoid conflict with Nazi Germany. This time is known as the ‘interwar years’ and is the general time frame for when the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler took control of Germany.  After rising to power in Germany, Hitler began to carry out aggression towards other nation-states in Europe and Hitler carried out actions that went against the general terms of the Treaty of VersaillesThe 1919 peace agreement that forced Germany to accept blame for World War I and limited its military power.. The policy essentially worked by conceding to some of Adolf Hitler’s, the Nazi leader, demands. It was driven by the desire to maintain peace in Europe, especially in relation to the death and destruction caused by the events of World War I. 

The Western European democracies of Britain and France did not want to enter into a military conflict with Germany at this time as both had been reducing their armies and ability to wage war.  Furthermore, the two countries also were facing economic struggles that made them reluctant to go to war. This lack of will to fight pushed both countries towards the policy of appeasementGiving in to an aggressive country’s demands in hopes of preventing a larger conflict. which involved giving in to the demands of an aggressive country in the hopes that the aggression could be contained. The policy is closely linked to Neville Chamberlain, who became the British Prime Minister in 1937, as he is the one who proposed it as the best means of containing Nazi aggression and avoiding a world war.

The policy of appeasement that was carried out by Britain and France is often considered to be one of the main causes of World War II. For instance, it began by Germany carrying out actions against the basic terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany was forced to accept at the end of World War I. For example, one of the first steps Nazi Germany took during this period was to remilitarize the Rhineland.

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The eventWhy Britain and France Chose Appeasement in the 1930s

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1Memory of World War I2Reduced Military Strength3Economic Hardship4Chamberlain's Leadership

Memory of World War IBoth countries had suffered enormous casualties in World War I and were determined to avoid another large-scale conflict at nearly any cost.

Reduced Military StrengthBritain and France had been cutting the size of their armies through the late 1920s and early 1930s, leaving both nations unprepared to challenge Germany militarily.

Economic HardshipThe Great Depression of the 1930s strained the budgets of both governments, making the financial burden of rearmament and war harder to justify to their citizens.

Chamberlain's LeadershipBritish Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pushed appeasement as the practical policy to contain Nazi aggression, arguing that meeting some of Hitler's demands would prevent a wider war.

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Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany – Summary

Adolf Hitler viewed the Rhineland’s demilitarization as a humiliation for Germany. In fact, the entire Treaty of Versailles was a major point of anger and frustration for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. As well, he viewed the remilitarization of the Rhineland as an opportunity to express German sovereigntyA nation’s right to govern itself and make its own decisions without outside interference. and test the resolve of Britain and France.

The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to keep the Rhineland (a region in Germany that bordered with France) free of any kind of military forces.  However, on March 7th of 1936, Nazi Germany remilitarized the Rhineland under the direction of Adolf Hitler. More specifically, Hitler ordered approximately 22,000 German troops to march into the Rhineland. This was a calculated risk for Hitler and the Nazi Party since the German military was still relatively weak following its demilitarization after World War I. Also, Hitler instructed the troops to retreat if they faced resistance.

France was angered by the move but lacked the ability to respond and did not have the support of Britain as Britain did not fully denounce the move.  This lack of a response by both Britain and France to the remilitarization of the Rhineland only confirmed for Hitler that he would not be challenged as he expanded his aggression. As such, his success in remilitarizing the Rhineland emboldened him to carry out further aggressions.

Hitler portrayed the remilitarization of the Rhineland as a defensive move in response to the recent ‘Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual AssistanceA 1935 agreement between France and the Soviet Union that Hitler used as his excuse to remilitarize the Rhineland.‘, which was agreed to in 1935. Hitler suggested that this agreement would cause Germany to be surrounded. As such, he argued that Germany should be allowed to take steps to defend itself. In reality, it was an aggressive step intended to challenge the post-World War I international order.

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Surprising fact

The German troops who entered the Rhineland on March 7th, 1936 had orders to pull back if the French army fought back.

France had a larger army than Germany at the time, but French leaders would not act without British support. When neither country moved, Hitler's gamble paid off and he grew more confident.

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Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany – Significance

The remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany was a highly significant event. As stated previously, historians consider the remilitarization of the Rhineland to be an example of the failure of appeasement as a foreign policy. For instance, Hitler became convinced that the Western democracies of Britain and France would not stop him. As such, historians have argued that the failure of appeasement gave Hitler and the Nazi regime confidence to pursue more aggressive territorial expansions, such as the Annexation of Austria in 1938 and the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. In fact, some historians have argued that if the British and French had acted earlier, such as during the remilitarization of the Rhineland, then they may have been able to stop Hitler and the Nazis and avoided the devastation of World War II.  As such, many now look to the failure of appeasement as a reason to not use the same foreign policies in modern-day global conflicts.

The successful remilitarization of the Rhineland was a huge propagandaInformation spread by a government to shape public opinion and boost its own image. victory for Hitler. It helped him greatly increase his popularity in German society and was important in solidifying his control over the German military. For these reasons, many historians view the remilitarization of the Rhineland as one of several significant steps towards the outbreak of World War II in September of 1939.

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Sending troops into the Rhineland in 1936 broke both the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.

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ExplanationThe Treaty of Versailles of 1919 banned German troops from the Rhineland, and Germany had freely agreed to keep it demilitarized in the Locarno Pact of 1925. Hitler broke both agreements on March 7th, 1936.

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To cite this article as a source, use one of the formats below.

MLA: Woida, K.L. “Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch, 1 October 2026, https://historycrunch.com/remilitarization-of-the-rhineland-by-nazi-germany/.

APA: Woida, K. L. (2026). Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany: A Detailed Summary. HistoryCrunch. https://historycrunch.com/remilitarization-of-the-rhineland-by-nazi-germany/

Chicago: Woida, K.L. “Remilitarization of the Rhineland by Nazi Germany: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch. October 1, 2026. https://historycrunch.com/remilitarization-of-the-rhineland-by-nazi-germany/

Sources

• Imperial War Museum
• The National WWII Museum
• Antony Beevor, The Second World War.
• Max Hastings, Inferno / All Hell Let Loose.