56-519: Rhinelander can refer to a person from Rhineland , Germany. Rhinelander can also refer to: Rhineland The Rhineland ( German : Rheinland [ˈʁaɪ̯nˌlant] ; Dutch : Rijnland ; Kölsch : Rhingland ; Latin : Rhenania ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine , chiefly its middle section . It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to
112-505: A century). A Prussian influence began on a small scale in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves . A century later, Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. The Congress of Vienna expelled the French and assigned the whole of the lower Rhenish districts to Prussia, who left them in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under
168-577: A note with vague references to German "breaches of the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles". In order to resolve the issue, German foreign minister Stresemann sent secret memorandums to Great Britain (January 1925) and France (in February) suggesting a treaty which would require all parties interested in the Rhine borders to solve their issues peacefully. Germany, he stated, was ready to guarantee
224-740: A permanent seat on the Council on 10 September 1926. In additional signs of the improved relations between Germany and the Allied powers, the Inter-Allied Commission overseeing Germany's disarmament was disbanded in 1927, the Young Plan for settling reparations issues was signed in 1929, and the last of the occupying troops left the Rhineland in 1930, five years earlier than set by the Treaty of Versailles. The Nobel Peace Prize
280-405: A restored Poland . In order to make sure that Germany could no longer threaten France militarily, its territory west of the Rhine was occupied by Allied troops and all German military activity in the region prohibited; an area fifty kilometres east of the Rhine was also demilitarized. Germany had not been allowed to participate in the treaty negotiations and deeply resented what it considered to be
336-689: A small portion of the bridgeheads on the eastern banks. After the collapse of the French empire , the regions of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Lower Rhine were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia . In 1822 the Prussian administration reorganized the territory as the Rhine Province ( Rheinprovinz , also known as Rhenish Prussia), a tradition that continued in the naming of the current German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia . In
392-654: A western guarantee. Overall the Locarno Treaties marked a dramatic improvement in the political climate of western Europe from 1925 to 1930. They promoted expectations for continued peaceful settlements, often called the "spirit of Locarno". As a result of the treaties, the delayed withdrawal of British troops from the Cologne region took place in January 1926, and Germany was accepted into the League of Nations with
448-552: Is one of the prime German industrial areas, containing significant mineral deposits ( coal , lead , lignite , magnesium , oil , and uranium ) and water transport. In Rhineland-Palatinate agriculture is more important, including the vineyards in the Ahr , Mittelrhein , and Mosel regions. Locarno Treaties The Locarno Treaties were seven post-World War I agreements negotiated amongst Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Poland and Czechoslovakia in late 1925. In
504-516: The Covenant of the League of Nations ". Article 16 required member nations to participate in sanctions or military action against a country that attacked a member state of the League. The Collective Note stated that the League would take into consideration a country's military capability when invoking Article 16. Germany interpreted the note to mean that after it joined the League of Nations, it would be free to make its own decision on how to respond if
560-732: The Holy Roman Empire , Prussia and the German Empire . Historically, the term " Rhinelands " refers (physically speaking) to a loosely defined region embracing the land on the banks of the Rhine, which were settled by Ripuarian and Salian Franks and became part of Frankish Austrasia . In the High Middle Ages , numerous Imperial States along the river emerged from the former stem duchy of Lotharingia , without developing any common political or cultural identity. A "Rhineland" conceptualization can be traced to
616-472: The League of Nations . A French condition that particularly concerned Germany asked that the signers of the treaty on Germany's western border be guarantors of the arbitration treaties Germany would sign with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Germany agreed to accept France's conditions with the important reservation that it would not make guarantees about its eastern borders. Great Britain also did not support France on
SECTION 10
#1732776236915672-655: The Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle (very roughly equivalent to the present-day German federal state of North Rhine Westphalia ). In the twilight period of the Empire, after the War of the First Coalition , a short-lived Cisrhenian Republic was established (1797–1802). The term covered the whole French conquered territory west of the Rhine (German: Linkes Rheinufer ), but also including
728-753: The Middle Rhine up to Bingen (or very rarely between the confluence with the Neckar and Cologne ) and its Ahr , Moselle and Nahe tributaries. The border of the North German plain is marked by the lower Ruhr . In the south, the river cuts the Rhenish Massif . The area encompasses the western part of the Ruhr industrial region and the Cologne Lowland . Some of the larger cities in
784-502: The remilitarization of the Rhineland and the breaking of both the Treaty of Versailles and of Locarno by citing Germany's right to self-determination and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 2 May 1935, which he called a breach of the Locarno Treaties. There was no reaction from the signatories of the Locarno Treaties other than verbal condemnation. Italy had already promised not to act, and France did not have
840-522: The "spirit of Locarno". The most notable result of the treaties was Germany's acceptance into the League of Nations in 1926. The treaties effectively went out of force on 7 March 1936 when troops of Nazi Germany entered the demilitarized Rhineland and the other treaty signatories failed to respond. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , Germany lost 13% of its European territory and 12% of its population, primarily to France ( Alsace–Lorraine ) and
896-414: The French premier that Locarno marked "the beginning of an era of trust" never became reality. … In Stresemann's verdict, Locarno represented no more than a first step on the road to the "gradual reacquisition of German sovereignty through a network of European treaties." The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler repudiated the Locarno Treaties when it sent troops across the Rhine on 7 March 1936. Hitler justified
952-473: The French. The Rhine Province remained part of Prussia after Germany was unified in 1871. The occupation of the Rhineland took place following the Armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918. The occupying armies consisted of American , Belgian , British and French forces. Under the Treaty of Versailles , German troops were banned from all territory west of the Rhine and within 50 kilometers east of
1008-599: The League invoked Article 16 against the Soviet Union (e.g. for attacking Poland). The treaties between France and Poland and France and Czechoslovakia guaranteed mutual assistance under Article 16 of the Covenant of the League of Nations if either party was attacked without provocation due to a failure of the terms of the Locarno Treaties to be observed. In November 1925 the German Reichstag approved
1064-696: The Locarno Treaties by a vote of 291 to 174 with 3 abstentions; in the British House of Commons, the vote to pass was 375 to 13. The treaties were formally signed in London on 1 December. In Germany the approval led to the collapse of the Luther government . The parties of the Right were angry over the loss of Alsace–Lorraine, while those on the Left feared that Germany could be drawn into a "capitalist war" against
1120-659: The Lower Lorraine lands were referred to as the Low Countries , the name of Lorraine became restricted to the region on the upper Moselle that still bears it. After the Imperial Reform of 1500/12, the territory was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Upper Rhenish , and Electoral Rhenish Circles . Notable Rhenish Imperial States included: In spite of its dismembered condition and
1176-716: The Permanent Conciliation Commission(s) were not able to reach an agreement, the matter was to be passed to either the Permanent Court of International Justice or an arbitral tribunal as established by the Hague Convention of 1907. If the two parties had not been able to reach an agreement within a month after the Permanent Conciliation Commission finished its work, either party could request that
SECTION 20
#17327762369151232-544: The Rhine was taken by France. The population was about 1.6 million in numerous small states. In 1806, the Rhenish princes all joined the Confederation of the Rhine , a puppet of Napoleon. France took direct control of the Rhineland until 1814 and radically and permanently liberalized the government, society and economy. The Coalition of France's enemies made repeated efforts to retake the region, but France repelled all
1288-529: The Rhine, and by the end of the 5th century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the 8th century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun the part of the province to the east of the river fell to East Francia , while that to the west remained with
1344-598: The Rhine. In 1920, under massive French pressure, the Saar was separated from the Rhine Province and administered by the League of Nations until a plebiscite in 1935, when the region was returned to Germany. At the same time, in 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-Speaking Community of Belgium ). In January 1923, in response to Germany's failure to meet its reparations obligations , French and Belgian troops occupied
1400-452: The Rhineland and other regions along the Rhine. German territory west of the Rhine had been off-limits to the German military. In 1945, the Rhineland was the scene of major fighting as the Allied forces overwhelmed the German defenders. In 1946, the Rhineland was divided into the newly founded states of Hesse , North Rhine-Westphalia , and Rhineland-Palatinate . North Rhine-Westphalia
1456-441: The Rhineland are Aachen , Bonn , Cologne , Duisburg , Düsseldorf , Essen , Koblenz , Krefeld , Leverkusen , Mainz , Mönchengladbach , Mülheim an der Ruhr , Oberhausen , Remscheid , Solingen , Trier and Wuppertal . Toponyms as well as local family names often trace back to the Frankish heritage. The lands on the western shore of the Rhine are strongly characterized by Roman influence, including viticulture . In
1512-528: The Ruhr district, strictly controlling all important industrial areas. The Germans responded with passive resistance, which led to hyperinflation , and the French gained very little of the reparations they wanted. French troops left the Ruhr in August 1925. The occupation of the remainder of the Rhineland ended on 30 June 1930. On 7 March 1936, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, German troops marched into
1568-541: The Soviet Union. Locarno contributed to the worsening of the atmosphere between Poland and France and weakened the Franco-Polish alliance . Since Germany did not commit to guarantees on its eastern borders, the Locarno Treaties were a defeat for Poland and one of the contributing factors to the fall of the Grabski cabinet on 14 November 1925. Józef Beck , at the time Poland's military attaché to France, ridiculed
1624-878: The area stretches to the borders with Luxembourg , Belgium and the Netherlands ; on the eastern side it encompasses the towns and cities along the river and the Bergisches Land area up to the Westphalian ( Siegerland ) and Hessian regions. Stretching down to the North Palatine Uplands in the south, this area, except for the Saarland , more or less corresponds with the modern use of the term. The southern and eastern parts are mainly hill country ( Westerwald , Hunsrück , Siebengebirge , Taunus and Eifel ), cut by river valleys, principally
1680-435: The attempts. The French swept away centuries worth of outmoded restrictions and introduced unprecedented levels of efficiency. The chaos and barriers in a land divided and subdivided among many different petty principalities gave way to a rational, simplified, centralized system controlled by Paris and run by Napoleon's relatives. The most important impact came from the abolition of all feudal privileges and historic taxes,
1736-762: The chances for a lasting peace in Europe would improve after they handed over the territories claimed by Germany such as the Sudetenland , the Polish Corridor and the Free City of Danzig . The push for the Locarno Treaties came as an indirect result of the Allies' refusal to withdraw their troops from the Cologne region and areas of the occupied Rhineland to the north of it. The Treaty of Versailles stipulated
Rhinelander - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-790: The core territories, large parts of the population are members of the Catholic Church . At the earliest historical period, the territories between the Ardennes and the Rhine were occupied by the Treveri , the Eburones and other Celtic tribes , who, however, were all more or less modified and influenced by their Germanic neighbors. On the East bank of the Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, were
1848-472: The current border status and to conclude an arbitration pact with France. Privately, Stresemann hoped that settling border issues with France would make it possible for Germany to adjust its eastern border with Poland to Germany's advantage. Following Great Britain's muted expression of openness to the German proposal, France cautiously followed suit. It wanted Belgium to be included in the treaty and assumed that it would not go into effect until Germany joined
1904-677: The early 1800s, Rhinelanders settled the Missouri Rhineland , a German cultural region and wine producing area in the U.S. State of Missouri , and named it after noticing similarities in soil and topography to the Rhineland in Europe . By 1860, nearly half of all settlers in Missouri Rhineland came from Koblenz , capital of the Rhine Province . The western part of the Rhineland was occupied by Entente forces from
1960-529: The end of the First World War until 1930. Under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles , German military presence in the region was banned, a restriction which the government of Weimar Germany pledged to honor in the 1925 Locarno Treaties . Nazi Germany remilitarized the territory in 1936 as part of a diplomatic test of will three years before the outbreak of the Second World War . To the west
2016-413: The following cabinets, had hoped that by attempting to fulfil the terms of the treaty he could gain the goodwill of the Allies and restore some freedom of diplomatic movement. He wanted to secure the peace, especially with France, recover the land lost to Poland, end reparations payments and the occupation of the Rhineland, and by so doing gradually make Germany a great power again. For its part, France
2072-568: The humiliating terms. Revising the Versailles Treaty became the main goal of German foreign policy during the Weimar Republic . Germany thought that only by revising the Treaty of Versailles could it restore the full internal and diplomatic independence it had lost under the treaty's restrictions. Gustav Stresemann , who had been chancellor and foreign minister of Germany in late 1923 and then stayed on as foreign minister in
2128-581: The interwar years was radically different from France's. It sought to restore Germany as a peaceful, prosperous nation. Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain hoped that if Franco-German relations improved, France would gradually abandon its cordon sanitaire . Once France had ended its alliances in Eastern Europe as the price of better relations with Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia would have no great power ally to protect them and would be forced to adjust to German demands. Chamberlain believed that
2184-483: The introduction of legal reforms of the Napoleonic Code , and the reorganization of the judicial and local administrative systems. The economic integration of the Rhineland with France increased prosperity, especially in industrial production, while business accelerated with the new efficiency and lowered trade barriers. The Jews were liberated from the ghetto. There was limited resistance; most Germans welcomed
2240-533: The issue. Stresemann's diplomatic feelers faced strong opposition at home, especially regarding the renunciation of Germany's claim to Alsace–Lorraine, which was west of the Rhine. The objections came from Chancellor Hans Luther , Defence Secretary Otto Gessler , the political parties of the Right and the leadership of the Reichswehr . Following discussions in London in early September between representatives of Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy,
2296-703: The kingdom of Lotharingia . By the time of Emperor Otto I (d. 973) both banks of the Rhine had become part of the Holy Roman Empire , and in 959 the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine , on the Mosel, and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland disintegrated into numerous small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, and while
Rhinelander - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-517: The main treaty, the five western European nations pledged to guarantee the inviolability of the borders between Germany and France and Germany and Belgium as defined in the Treaty of Versailles . They also promised to observe the demilitarized zone of the German Rhineland and to resolve differences peacefully under the auspices of the League of Nations . In the additional arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia, Germany agreed to
2408-567: The new regime, especially the urban elites, but one sour point was the hostility of the French officials toward the Roman Catholic Church, the choice of most of the residents. The reforms were permanent. Decades later workers and peasants in the Rhineland often appealed to Jacobinism to oppose unpopular government programs, while the intelligentsia demanded the maintenance of the Napoleonic Code (which stayed in effect for
2464-413: The parties agreed to meet in Locarno , Switzerland in October to finalize the treaty. The key attendees at the Locarno meeting between 5 and 16 October 1925 were: Signatories of the main treaty (the "high contracting parties" referred to in the text of the treaty): Signatories of the four separate treaties (in addition to Germany and France):: The seven treaties and agreements were: The terms of
2520-431: The peaceful settlement of disputes, but there was notably no guarantee of its eastern border, leaving the path open for Germany to attempt to revise the Versailles Treaty and regain territory it had lost in the east under its terms. The Locarno Treaties significantly improved the political climate of western Europe from 1925 to 1930 and fostered expectations for continued peaceful settlements which were often referred to as
2576-406: The period of the Holy Roman Empire from the sixteenth until the eighteenth centuries when the Empire's Imperial Estates (territories) were grouped into regional districts in charge of defence and judicial execution, known as Imperial Circles . Three of the ten circles through which the Rhine flowed referred to the river in their names: the Upper Rhenish Circle , the Electoral Rhenish Circle and
2632-520: The question be brought before the Council of the League of Nations. The parties could choose to bypass the Permanent Conciliation Commissions and go directly to the Permanent Court of International Justice or an arbitral tribunal. The arbitration treaties between Germany and Poland and Germany and Czechoslovakia were in their major points nearly identical to Germany's arbitration agreements with France and Belgium. The independent treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia were, however, non-binding, and there
2688-426: The settlements of the Mattiaci , a branch of the Germanic Chatti , while farther to the north were the Usipetes and Tencteri . Julius Caesar conquered the Celtic tribes on the West bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the East bank. As the power of the Roman empire declined the Franks pushed forward along both banks of
2744-541: The spirit of Locarno was a fragile foundation on which to build a lasting peace. Hans Mommsen , in "The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy", summed up the Locarno Treaties in the following words: The "Spirit of Locarno" as a symbol for a new era of international understanding and commitment to avoid European military conflict, however, concealed a tenacious struggle over the interests of national states in which Stresemann, unlike Aristide Briand, showed no inclination whatsoever to make generous concessions. The memorable words of
2800-413: The sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbors in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine played a large role in German history. At the Peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the left bank of
2856-440: The treaties, saying that "Germany was officially asked to attack the east in return for peace in the west." Józef Piłsudski said that "every honest Pole spits when he hears the word [Locarno]". Proposals in 1934 (after Adolf Hitler had become German chancellor) for an "eastern Locarno" pact securing Germany's eastern frontiers foundered on German opposition and on Poland's insistence that its eastern borders should be covered by
SECTION 50
#17327762369152912-531: The two arbitration agreements were identical and were intended to peacefully handle "all disputes of every kind between Germany and France / Belgium with regard to which the parties are in conflict as to their respective rights, and which it may not be possible to settle amicably by the normal methods of diplomacy." Each arbitration agreement set up a five-member Permanent Conciliation Commission with one member named by Germany, one by France or Belgium and three others by common agreement from three different countries. If
2968-418: The withdrawal five years after the signing of the treaty if Germany had faithfully fulfilled its terms. An Allied inspection of Germany's military installations had found significant violations of Versailles' disarmament provisions, most notably its failure to adhere to the 100,000-man limit on its army. As a result, the planned withdrawal was postponed. On 5 January 1925, the Allies justified their decision in
3024-418: Was awarded to the lead negotiators of the treaty: Austen Chamberlain in 1925 and Aristide Briand and Gustav Stresemann jointly in 1926. Historian Sally Marks wrote in her 1976 book "The Illusion of Peace": Henceforth the spirit of Locarno would reign, substituting conciliation for enforcement as the basis for peace. Yet for some peace remained a desperate hope rather than an actuality. A few men knew that
3080-447: Was concerned primarily with security against further German aggression. It had signed treaties with Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia, creating a cordon sanitaire ringing Germany on the east. In the west, France had occupied the Ruhr in order to force the reparations payments, which Germany had defaulted on several times. France was also seeking additional security guarantees from Britain. British foreign policy during
3136-435: Was no guarantee of Germany's eastern borders that mirrored the statements in the main treaty that fixed its western borders where they had been set by the Treaty of Versailles. Stresemann did not want an "Eastern Locarno". His goal was to use economic means to push Poland into border negotiations. Poland especially was unhappy about the addendum to the Locarno Treaties titled "Collective Note to Germany Regarding Article 16 of
#914085