#OpinionArticle
The re-occupation of the Rhineland and the nonchalance of the European Allies
Editor’s Note: Is Hong Kong the new Rhineland?
In March 1936, the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by reoccupying and re-militarizing the Rhineland shortly after the Nazi Party rose to power.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in July 1919 after World War I to call for stiff war reparation payments and other punishing peace terms for defeated Germany, among which included the reduction of Germany’s military forces and de-militarization of the Rhineland.
The European allies including France and Britain were thrown into confusion by this violation. Proposals were made to the German ambassadors but Hitler reportedly refused to withdraw his troops. France was on the verge of a general election thus hesitant to act while the British government ended up doing nothing because its people felt the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and too harsh on Germany.
The reoccupation of the Rhineland marked the beginning of a serious of military events that eventually led to World War II.
Full Articles:
National Archives (UK)
https://bit.ly/37oZWSJ
History.com
https://bit.ly/2UCAFj0
Further reading:
Is Merkel another Neville Chamberlain?
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/22125
#WWI #WWII #Rhineland #AdolfHitler #Nazi
The re-occupation of the Rhineland and the nonchalance of the European Allies
Editor’s Note: Is Hong Kong the new Rhineland?
In March 1936, the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by reoccupying and re-militarizing the Rhineland shortly after the Nazi Party rose to power.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in July 1919 after World War I to call for stiff war reparation payments and other punishing peace terms for defeated Germany, among which included the reduction of Germany’s military forces and de-militarization of the Rhineland.
The European allies including France and Britain were thrown into confusion by this violation. Proposals were made to the German ambassadors but Hitler reportedly refused to withdraw his troops. France was on the verge of a general election thus hesitant to act while the British government ended up doing nothing because its people felt the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and too harsh on Germany.
The reoccupation of the Rhineland marked the beginning of a serious of military events that eventually led to World War II.
Full Articles:
National Archives (UK)
https://bit.ly/37oZWSJ
History.com
https://bit.ly/2UCAFj0
Further reading:
Is Merkel another Neville Chamberlain?
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/22125
#WWI #WWII #Rhineland #AdolfHitler #Nazi
The National Archives
German occupation of the Rhineland - The National Archives
Education exercise about Britain's response to Germany's invasion of the Rhineland
#HKUSU #Statement
Students' Union of University of Hong Kong: "Hongkongers, We Shall Give Our Lives to Freedom"
The University of Hong Kong Students' Union released a frontpage statement on #AppleDaily on #Aug14. Conveying Hongkongers' determination to pursue freedom, the open letter quoted #WinstonChurchil 's speech in the #WWI and #HannahArendt 's works as well as the struggles for democracy in #Taiwan and #SouthKorea. The letter goes:
“Students were arrested, a newspaper office was raided, election was turned into ‘mere figurehead’, and a professor was dismissed. All of these are merely the prologue to a long gloomy night. It seems that the future of this city can only get ever duller. We might be weak confronting the totalitarian party-state, but we are not alone.
We have the free world walking with us."
The message is clear: "Hongkongers, We Shall Give Our Lives to Freedom"; and
“Through blood, toil, tears and sweat, we will strive on."
Read the full version here: HKUSU #Aug14
Students' Union of University of Hong Kong: "Hongkongers, We Shall Give Our Lives to Freedom"
The University of Hong Kong Students' Union released a frontpage statement on #AppleDaily on #Aug14. Conveying Hongkongers' determination to pursue freedom, the open letter quoted #WinstonChurchil 's speech in the #WWI and #HannahArendt 's works as well as the struggles for democracy in #Taiwan and #SouthKorea. The letter goes:
“Students were arrested, a newspaper office was raided, election was turned into ‘mere figurehead’, and a professor was dismissed. All of these are merely the prologue to a long gloomy night. It seems that the future of this city can only get ever duller. We might be weak confronting the totalitarian party-state, but we are not alone.
We have the free world walking with us."
The message is clear: "Hongkongers, We Shall Give Our Lives to Freedom"; and
“Through blood, toil, tears and sweat, we will strive on."
Read the full version here: HKUSU #Aug14