Remilitarization of the Rhineland

1936-03-07

On 7 March 1936, Nazi Germany sent military forces into the Rhineland, the demilitarized zone west of the Rhine, in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. France and Britain, unprepared and unwilling to risk war, did not intervene. The move was a major step in Hitler's dismantling of the Versailles settlement.