Evening star., 1939-10-30
,,iitler Paved WAY
For Conquests by
Rearming Germany

Germany in throwing off
the boundaries and mill
tary shackles of the treaty
of Versailles, Europe has
marched steadily since 1888
along the path to war.
On January 80, 1923,
there began a new day Tor
Germany and the world
with the appointment of
Herr Hitler as chancellor
of the German Reich. An
overwhelming Nazi triumph
in the elections of March 5
seated the new chancellor
firmly in power and pointed
his way to dictatorship.
From this moment histo-
rians begin to trace the shift
Of the balapce of power in
Central Europe from the
-lnglo-French alliance to
he rising German Reich.
Diplomatic efforts to as
sure peace continued. The
little entente Czecho-Slo-
vakia, Rumania and Yugo-
slavia-on February l6,
1888, signed a "pact of Or
ganization" in the hope of
strengthening Central Eu-
ropean peace. On June 7
the four-power pact was
signed by France, Great
Britain, Germany and Italy,
in which they agreed to CO.
operate for peace.
Chronological events in
he rise of Nazi-ism follow:
1884.
Hitler gave the order "for
German rearmament which
vas now to be very
thorough" and the disarm-
oment provisions of the Ver-
sailles treaty went to the
scrap heap. Germany sign
cd a 10-year non-aggression
pact with Poland, weaken
ing Polish ties with France.
With anxious eyes on Nazi
remilitarizing activities, Ru-
mania, Yugoslavia, Greece
and Turkey entered into the
Balkan entente and in Sep
'ember the little Baltic en-
tente was established among
Estonia, Latvia and Lithu-
2nia.
1885.
Fuehrer Hitler restored
military conscription, for
hidden by the Versailles
treaty, to create an army of
So divisions-550,000 men.
The Saar Basin was re-
united with the German
Reich following a January
plebiscite. Dissension over
Memel, between East Prus-
sia and Lithuania, reached
a head when pro-German
leaders we're jailed. Chan
cellor Hitler told the Reich
stag Memel had been "sto-
LEM from Germany with
the sanction of the League
of Nations. Elections in
Memel favored the pro-Nazi
group and Memel passed
under German domination.
In the Locarno treaty Ger
many joined with Britain,
France and Italy to guar
antee the inviolability of
the Belgian-German border.
1896.
AS a reply to German re-
armament, France negoti-
ated a mutual assistance
pact with Soviet Russia.
Chancellor Hitler used this
as an excuse to reoccupy
the Rhineland on March 7.
So doing, he repudiated the
Locarno pact and threw off
the last of the military
shackles imposed after the
World War. British-French
general staff discussions be-
gan. Germany and Japan
Signed an anti-Communist
pact, later extended to in
clude Italy, Hungary and
the Franco Spain. The
Spanish war began in July;
Italy and Germany inter
vened on the side of the
rebels. On October 25 the
Berlin-Rome axis came into
being with signing of an
agreement for cooperation
on foreign policy and de-
fense against Communism.
1887.
Belgium, fearing her
growing Nazi neighbor, re-
quested France and Eng
land to free her of obliga-
tions to them under the Lo-
carno treaties and other
pacts. They consented, but
continued to guarantee Bel
gian independence and ter
ritorial integrity. In Octo-
ber, Germany pledged her.
self to respect Belgian terri