Locarno, Pact of

Locarno, Pact of
(1925) Multilateral treaty signed in Locarno, Switz.

, intended to guarantee peace in western Europe. Its signatories were Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Germany's borders with France and Belgium as set by the Treaty of Versailles were decreed inviolable, but its eastern borders were not. Britain promised to defend Belgium and France. Other provisions included mutual defense pacts between France and Poland and between France and Czechoslovakia. The treaty led to the Allied troops' departure from the Rhineland by 1930, five years ahead of schedule. See also Kellogg-Briand Pact.

* * *

▪ European history
      (Dec. 1, 1925), series of agreements whereby Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in western Europe. The treaties were initialed at Locarno, Switz., on October 16 and signed in London on December 1.

      The agreements consisted of (1) a treaty of mutual guarantee between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Italy; (2) arbitration treaties between Germany and Belgium and between Germany and France; (3) a note from the former Allies to Germany explaining the use of sanctions against a covenant-breaking state as outlined in article 16 of the League of Nations Covenant; (4) arbitration treaties between Germany and Czechoslovakia and between Germany and Poland; and (5) treaties of guarantee between France and Poland and between France and Czechoslovakia.

      The treaty of mutual guarantee provided that the German-Belgian and Franco-German frontiers as fixed by the Treaty of Versailles were inviolable; that Germany, Belgium, and France would never attack each other except in “legitimate defense” or in consequence of a League of Nations obligation; that they would settle their disputes by pacific means; and that in case of an alleged breach of these undertakings, the signatories would come to the defense of the party adjudged by the League to be the party attacked and also in case of a “flagrant violation.” The treaties of guarantee between France and Poland or Czechoslovakia provided for mutual support against unprovoked attack. A further consequence of the pact was the evacuation of Allied troops from the Rhineland in 1930, five years ahead of schedule.

      The clear meaning of Locarno was that Germany renounced the use of force to change its western frontiers but agreed only to arbitration as regards its eastern frontiers, and that Great Britain promised to defend Belgium and France but not Poland and Czechoslovakia.

      In March 1936 Germany sent troops into the Rhineland, which had been demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles, declaring that the situation envisaged at Locarno had been changed by the Franco-Soviet alliance of 1935. France regarded the German move as a “flagrant violation” of Locarno, but Great Britain declined to do so, and no action was taken. Germany made no effort to arbitrate its dispute with Czechoslovakia in 1938 or with Poland in 1939.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Locarno Pact —    The central accord of the Locarno Pact, signed on 1 December 1925, was the Pact of Western Security, which Italy signed together with Belgium, Great Britain, France, and Germany. The powers signing the pact guaranteed “jointly and severally”… …   Historical Dictionary of modern Italy

  • Locarno Treaties — The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland on 5 October ndash; 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on December 1, in which the World War I Western European Allied powers and the new states of central… …   Wikipedia

  • locarno — lōˈkär(ˌ)nō noun ( s) Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: from the Locarno Pact, a series of treaties and conventions between Germany on the one hand and Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, and Czechoslovakia on the other, signed in… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pact — /pakt/, n. 1. an agreement, covenant, or compact: We made a pact not to argue any more. 2. an agreement or treaty between two or more nations: a pact between Germany and Italy. [1400 50; late ME pact(e) < MF < L pactum, n. use of neut. of ptp. of …   Universalium

  • Locarno — It. /law kahrdd naw/, n. a town in S Switzerland, on Lake Maggiore: Locarno Pact 1925. 15,300. * * * ▪ Switzerland German  Luggarus    town, Ticino canton, southern Switzerland. It is situated at the northern end of Lago Maggiore, near the mouth… …   Universalium

  • Locarno Treaties —    On 5 October 1925, in Switzerland s Locarno, Chancellor Hans Luther* and Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann* opened a meeting with the foreign ministers of France and Britain, Aristide Briand and Austen Chamberlain. The historic gathering,… …   Historical dictionary of Weimar Republik

  • Verträge von Locarno — Die Verträge von Locarno sind sieben völkerrechtliche Vereinbarungen, die vom 5. bis 16. Oktober 1925 in Locarno (Schweiz) verhandelt und am 1. Dezember 1925 in London unterzeichnet wurden. Sie traten am 10. September 1926 mit der Aufnahme von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Franco-Soviet pact — The Franco Soviet pact was a brief alliance with French trade in order for the French to seek military support in 1935. The pact was not a guarantee of peace but a deal in case of war. After Germany invaded parts of Czechoslovakia, France was in… …   Wikipedia

  • Four-Power Pact — The Four Power Pact also known as a Quadripartite Agreement (treaty between four states or four commercial parties) was an international treaty initialed on June 7, 1933, and signed on July 15, 1933, in the Palazzo Venezia in Rome. Purpose of the …   Wikipedia

  • Kellogg-Briand Pact — The Kellogg Briand Pact, also known as the Pact of Paris, after the city where it was signed on August 27, 1928, was an international treaty providing for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy. It failed in its purpose but… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”