Locarno Treaties

• 1. Territorial Losses And Resentment

  ›

  Germany lost 13% of its European territory and 12% of its population under the Treaty of Versailles. These losses went primarily to France, which regained Alsace, Lorraine, and to a restored Poland. The treaty also prohibited all German military activity west of the Rhine river. Allied troops occupied this western territory to ensure France could not be threatened again. An area fifty kilometres east of the Rhine was demilitarized as well. Germany had been excluded from the negotiations that created these terms. Politicians in the Weimar Republic deeply resented what they viewed as humiliating conditions. Revising the Treaty of Versailles became a central goal for German leaders during the 1920s.

• 2. Secret Memorandums And Negotiations

  ›

  German foreign minister Gustav Stresemann sent secret memorandums to Great Britain on the 5th of January 1925. He followed up with a similar message to France in February of that year. These documents suggested a new treaty requiring all parties to solve issues peacefully. Stresemann stated Germany was ready to guarantee current border status. He hoped settling borders with France would allow adjustments to the eastern border with Poland. British officials expressed muted openness to the proposal. France cautiously agreed but wanted Belgium included in the talks. A French condition concerned Germany because it asked signers to guarantee arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Germany accepted this with reservations about its eastern borders. Discussions took place in London in early September before moving to Locarno, Switzerland. The conference ran from 5 to the 16th of October 1925.

• 3. Western Borders And Guarantees

  ›

  The main treaty guaranteed inviolability of borders between Germany and France. It also secured boundaries between Germany and Belgium as established by the Treaty of Versailles. Five nations pledged to observe the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland defined in Articles 42 and 43. Germany and Belgium promised never to resort to war against each other. Germany and France made the same mutual promise. Three exceptions existed for breaches of the demilitarized Rhineland terms. Disputes were to be settled peacefully through the League of Nations Council. Articles 4 and 5 spelled out actions taken against any signatory violating the treaty. If a breach occurred, other signatories had to assist the victim country. The League played a central role in adjudicating these violations. Two arbitration agreements handled all disputes regarding rights between Germany and France or Belgium.

• 4. Eastern Arbitration Limitations

  ›

  Arbitration treaties existed between Germany and Poland and between Germany and Czechoslovakia. These independent treaties were non-binding compared to western guarantees. No guarantee of Germany's eastern borders mirrored statements fixing its western frontiers. Stresemann did not want an Eastern Locarno agreement. His goal was using economic means to push Poland into border negotiations. Poland felt unhappy about the Collective Note added to the treaties. This note stated the League would consider military capability when invoking Article 16 sanctions. Józef Beck ridiculed the outcome by saying Germany was asked to attack east for peace in west. Józef Piłsudski declared every honest Pole spits when hearing the word Locarno. Proposals for an eastern pact foundered on German opposition later in 1934. Poland insisted its eastern borders should receive western guarantees that never came.

• 5. Political Climate Improvements

  ›

  The German Reichstag approved the Locarno Treaties with a vote of 291 to 174 on the 1st of November 1925. The British House of Commons passed it by 375 votes against 13. Formal signing occurred in London on the 1st of December 1925. The approval caused the collapse of Chancellor Hans Luther's government in Germany. Delayed withdrawal of British troops from Cologne took place in January 1926. Germany gained acceptance into the League of Nations on the 10th of September 1926. It received a permanent seat on the Council at that time. The Inter-Allied Commission overseeing disarmament disbanded in 1927. The Young Plan for reparations issues was signed in 1929. Last occupying troops left the Rhineland in 1930, five years early. Austen Chamberlain won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925. Aristide Briand and Gustav Stresemann shared the prize in 1926.

• 6. Nazi Repudiation And Collapse

  ›

  Adolf Hitler sent Nazi troops across the Rhine on the 7th of March 1936. This action repudiated the Locarno Treaties entirely. Hitler justified remilitarization by citing Germany's right to self-determination. He also pointed to the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance signed the 2nd of May 1935. There was no reaction from signatories other than verbal condemnation. Italy had already promised not to act against Germany. France lacked support from Great Britain for any military response. Although treaties remained technically in force, practical end came with German actions. The lack of enforcement marked failure of all prior guarantees. Historian Sally Marks wrote that spirit of Locarno substituted conciliation for enforcement. Hans Mommsen noted it concealed struggle over national state interests. Stresemann viewed Locarno as first step toward reacquiring sovereignty through European treaties.