ABSTRACT
The Locarno system collapsed in 1936 when Hitler’s troops entered the Rhineland. But in 1929 everything seemed in order; and it is argued here that the system worked until it was overtaken by economic depression and the rise of Nazism. This chapter examines relations between Britain, France and Germany following Locarno, and considers Italy’s place in Chamberlain’s diplomacy; the main issue is Chamberlain’s understanding of Stresemann’s revisionism, and how he dealt with it. Some aspects of this have already been considered in Chapter Four; for, after Germany joined the League of Nations, the focus of relations between the countries, over matters such as Saar railway troops, shifted to the League. However, the most important Franco-German issues remained outside the League’s remit, principally troops occupying the Rhineland, and reparations.
