---
title: "Remilitarization of the Rhineland — AP Euro Definition"
description: "Nazi Germany's 1936 reoccupation of the Rhineland broke Versailles and Locarno, and the West did nothing. Key example of failed appeasement for AP Euro Unit 8."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/remilitarization-of-the-rhineland"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP European History"
unit: "Unit 8"
---

# Remilitarization of the Rhineland — AP Euro Definition

## Definition

The Remilitarization of the Rhineland (March 1936) was Nazi Germany's move to send troops back into the demilitarized Rhineland, violating the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties; Britain and France did not respond, making it a textbook example of appeasement on the AP Euro exam.

## What It Is

In March 1936, [Hitler](/ap-euro/key-terms/hitler "fv-autolink") ordered German troops into the Rhineland, the strip of German territory along the French border that the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and the Locarno Treaties (1925) had declared permanently demilitarized. The demilitarized zone existed for one [reason](/ap-euro/unit-5/romanticism/study-guide/f9m8GQjQ1Ei0CY0s7Y9C "fv-autolink"). It was France's security buffer, the guarantee that Germany couldn't mass an army on the French frontier again. By marching soldiers back in, Hitler openly tore up both treaties and dared the West to stop him.

Nobody did. France, the power most directly threatened, would not act without British support, and Britain wasn't willing to risk war over what many saw as Germany moving troops into 'its own backyard.' That non-response is the whole point for [AP Euro](/ap-euro "fv-autolink"). The CED lists the Rhineland alongside the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the Annexation of Austria as fascist expansion that European powers allowed to happen (KC-4.1.III.A). Each unanswered violation taught Hitler that aggression was free, and the next gamble got bigger.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **Topic 8.7, Europe During the Interwar Period ([Unit 8](/ap-euro/unit-8 "fv-autolink"): 20th-Century Global Conflicts)** and directly supports learning objective **8.7.A**, which asks you to explain how political and ideological factors produced World War II. The essential knowledge (KC-4.1.III.A) spells out the recipe. French and British fear of another war, [American isolationism](/ap-euro/key-terms/american-isolationism "fv-autolink"), and Western distrust of the Soviet Union let fascist states rearm and expand unchecked. The Rhineland is usually the first item in that chain of unopposed aggression, which makes it your go-to opening evidence whenever you're arguing that the failure of appeasement caused WWII. It's also a great causation example because it links backward to the Versailles settlement of 1919 and forward to Munich in 1938.

## Connections

### [Treaty of Versailles (Unit 8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/treaty-of-versailles)

The [Rhineland](/ap-euro/key-terms/rhineland "fv-autolink")'s demilitarized status came straight from Versailles. The remilitarization is what it looks like when the entire 1919 peace settlement starts unraveling, so the two terms work as cause and consequence in an essay.

### [Annexation of Austria (Unit 8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/annexation-of-austria)

The Rhineland (1936) and the Anschluss (1938) are steps on the same escalating staircase of unopposed Nazi expansion. The Rhineland gamble paid off, so Hitler raised the stakes. The CED groups them together as expansion 'allowed by [European powers](/ap-euro/key-terms/european-powers "fv-autolink").'

### [American Isolationism (Unit 8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/american-isolationism)

KC-4.1.III.A names American isolationism as one reason [fascist states](/ap-euro/unit-8/europe-during-interwar-period/study-guide/dKUCP8hISShrFrl8cDTI "fv-autolink") could expand freely. With the US sitting out, Britain and France felt they had to confront Hitler alone, and neither was willing to.

### [Adolf Hitler (Unit 8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/adolf-hitler)

The remilitarization was Hitler's first major foreign-policy gamble, and his generals reportedly expected France to crush it. Western inaction convinced him the democracies were paper tigers, shaping every move he made through 1939.

## On the AP Exam

Multiple-choice questions on this term almost always test the *why*, not the *what*. Expect stems like 'Why did the remilitarization succeed?' or 'What was the international response?' The answer pattern is consistent. It succeeded because Britain and France, scarred by WWI and desperate to avoid another war, chose not to respond, and France was the power most directly threatened. No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it's ideal evidence for an LEQ or DBQ on the causes of WWII or the failure of appeasement. The strong move is to use it as the *first link in a causal chain*: Rhineland (1936), then Ethiopia, then Austria (1938), then Munich, showing how each unanswered act of aggression encouraged the next.

## Remilitarization of the Rhineland vs Annexation of Austria (Anschluss)

Easy to mix up because both are unopposed Nazi expansion in the late 1930s. The difference is what Germany took. The Rhineland (1936) was German territory that Versailles had forced to stay demilitarized, so Hitler was rearming his own land. The Anschluss (1938) absorbed an entirely separate country, Austria, into the Reich. Rhineland came first and was the lower-risk test run; Austria was the escalation it made possible.

## Key Takeaways

- In March 1936, Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland, violating both the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties.
- France was the power most directly threatened because the demilitarized Rhineland had been its security buffer against German invasion.
- Britain and France did not respond, mainly because fear of another war made them unwilling to use force, which makes this an early example of appeasement.
- The CED lists the remilitarization alongside the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the Annexation of Austria as fascist expansion that European powers allowed (KC-4.1.III.A).
- Western inaction convinced Hitler that aggression carried no cost, encouraging the escalating gambles that led to World War II.
- Use it on FRQs as the first link in a causal chain showing how the failure of appeasement produced the catastrophe of WWII (LO 8.7.A).

## FAQs

### What was the Remilitarization of the Rhineland?

In March 1936, Nazi Germany sent troops back into the Rhineland, the German border region that the Treaty of Versailles and Locarno Treaties had kept permanently demilitarized. Britain and France did not respond, making it one of Hitler's first successful challenges to the post-WWI order.

### Did Britain and France try to stop Hitler in the Rhineland?

No. France would not act without British backing, and Britain refused to risk war over German troops in German territory. That inaction, driven by fear of another war, is exactly what the AP Euro CED means by appeasement allowing fascist expansion.

### How is the Remilitarization of the Rhineland different from the Annexation of Austria?

The Rhineland (1936) was German land that Hitler illegally re-armed, while the Anschluss (1938) absorbed a separate country, Austria, into Germany. The Rhineland was the low-risk test; its success encouraged the bolder land grabs that followed.

### Why did the remilitarization of the Rhineland succeed?

It succeeded because the Western powers chose not to oppose it. French and British fears of another war, plus American isolationism, meant no one was willing to enforce the Versailles and Locarno terms by force.

### Why does the Rhineland matter for the causes of WWII on the AP Euro exam?

It's the opening move in the chain of unopposed fascist aggression that the CED says led to WWII (KC-4.1.III). On an LEQ or DBQ about the failure of appeasement, the Rhineland is your earliest and clearest piece of evidence.

## Related Study Guides

- [8.7 Europe During the Interwar Period](/ap-euro/unit-8/europe-during-interwar-period/study-guide/dKUCP8hISShrFrl8cDTI)

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