How did Hitler’s remilitarization of the Rhineland violate the Treaty of Versailles?

The Treaty of Versailles, signed following World War I, mandated that the Rhineland—specifically the German territory on the left bank of the Rhine and a 50-kilometer-wide strip on the right bank—be permanently demilitarized to serve as a security buffer for France and Belgium.12

On March 7, 1936, Adolf Hitler violated these terms by ordering German troops to enter and occupy this demilitarized zone. Hitler justified this action by claiming that the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 1935 rendered the Locarno Pact—which had reaffirmed the demilitarization of the Rhineland—null and void.134

By remilitarizing the region, Hitler openly repudiated the Versailles settlement, which had been designed to prevent future German aggression by limiting its military capacity and presence along its western border. The failure of the Western powers to respond effectively to this breach emboldened Hitler and significantly weakened the international security order established after the war.123