Bleurters News Service
London, April 21, 1936
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's surprise remilitarization of the industrial Ruhr region of the Rhineland does not pose an imminent threat to peace in Western Europe, said various officials. The entry of German troops into the former industrial heartland of western Germany has prompted warnings about the dangers of Nazi Germany gaining the means to start a general European war. Other commentators say that such fears are disingenuous and overblown.
In a statement released after the entry of German troops into the Ruhr valley, Chancellor Hitler seemed to suggest that he would abrogate the Treaty of Versailles. "The German Government have continually emphasized during the negotiations of the last years their readiness to observe and fulfill all the obligations arising from the Rhine pact as long as the other Contracting Parties were ready on their side to maintain the pact. This obvious and essential condition can no longer be regarded as being fulfilled."
Former French prime minister Pierre Laval said Monday that Germany is a least five years away from developing an offensive military capability, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement.
"But there is a chance that the Western powers will use bombs or artillery against several sites in Germany," he was quoted as saying. "Then, the reactions would be strong, and would contribute to increased war fever."
"We have time on our side in this case. Germany can't have a revitalized Wehrmacht ready in the next five years," Laval was quoted as saying.
Others voiced a more concerned note. "Right now the ball is in the League Of Nation's court, and I think they must take some action, fairly strong action, in the reasonably near future," said former Secretary of War Newton D. Baker.
Chancellor Hitler in an interview insisted that there was no longer any cause for conflict between France and Germany despite "very bad things about France" in Mein Kampf. "You want me to correct my book, like a man of letters bringing out a new and revised edition of his works. But I am not a man of letters. I am a politician. I undertake my corrections in my foreign policy, which aims at an understanding with France. If I succeed in bringing about the Franco‑German rapprochement, that will be a correction which will be worthy to be made. I enter my correction in the great book of history!"
