The Locarno Treaties (1925)

Gustav Stresemann was instrumental in the negotiations for the Locarno Treaties, alongside Aristide Briand, the French Foreign Minister, and Austen Chamberlain, the British Foreign Secretary. They sought to secure Germany’s borders and facilitate its eventual return to the League of Nations.

What agreements were made at the Locarno Conference?

• Under the Rhineland Pact, Germany, France, and Belgium agreed to the borders established by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany accepted the demilitarization of the Rhineland and pledged not to violate the French and Belgian borders, and France and Belgium agreed not to invade Germany, except in self-defence.

  • Britain and Italy guaranteed the pact with a promise to assist any country that was a victim of aggression in violation of the treaty, indicating international support for the enforcement of the Rhineland Pact.

• Germany signed arbitration treaties with France, Belgium, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, agreeing to settle border or territorial disputes through peaceful means.

What was the impact of the Locarno Treaties?

On the one hand, the Locarno Treaties were successful in reducing tensions in Europe.

• The Locarno Treaties significantly improved diplomatic relations between Germany and its Western neighbors, reducing the likelihood of border conflicts in Western Europe, and bringing about a period of relative peace and security in the region.

• The Locarno Treaties also facilitated Germany's admisttance into the League of Nations in 1926.

• They were seen as a successful example of peaceful conflict resolution through diplomacy and collective security and encouraged further international efforts towards disarmament. 

On the other hand, the impact of the Locarno Treaties were limited. 

• They primarily addressed the border issues in Western Europe, leaving the issue of Germany's eastern borders unresolved.

• Despite the agreements, exterminist poltical movements continued to gain a foothold in Europe, and Hitler became Chancellor less than a decade later, undermining the peaceful negotiating spirit seen in the Locarno Treaties. 

• The Great Depression strained international relations as a result of economic instability, and the Locarno framework broke down.