The rhineland crisis of 1936

The article analyses one of the acutest crises before the Second World War - the Rhineland crisis of 1936. The fact of demilitarized Rhineland zone essentially restrained expansionist aspirations of the Nazis and made practically impossible Germany's aggression either to the West or to the East. Thus Hitler made use of the situation connected with the Italo-Abyssinian War and unwillingness of Great Britain and France to sharpen the relations with Germany. Documents of the Foreign Office's files testify that there in London, long before the Rhineland crisis, were ready to agree that remilitarization of the zone was possible in a hope that such a concession would lead to a long-waited wider agreement with Hitler and would help to settle acute contradictions of Britain with Germany. So far as France goes, as it is shown in the article, she was already going along with the British policy of appeasement, and this influenced negatively on her strategy and the position in Europe. More than that, France in the beginning of 1936 was standing before parliamentary elections and chose inaction. The remilitarization of the Rhineland zone by Germany devastated the system of Locarno and made it possible for Hitler to fortify the Western frontier. The rearmament of the Third Reich went on a higher speed and chances of war became much greater.