Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

THE AGE OF GOLD 267for years to give Hitler occasion for mordant and popular attacks onGerman foreign policy; gave him occasion to make the peace hated andridiculous. By 1928, a Czech newspaper took him seriously enough tocall him a disturber of world peace; he proudly replied: 'Yes, we want tobe a danger for this peace [stormy applause]. As far as in our power, weshall see to it that disorder arises, that there is no quiet in the world aslong as this quiet means Germany's death.'It was important to France as well as to Germany to have a strongerparty on her side, protecting each against the other. For years Francehad continued to set her hopes in the security pact which had vanishedin Versailles, preferably a general pact in which all had to protect all.But England was not ready to defend all Europe against all Europe. Shewas not even ready to enter into a onesided defensive treaty withFrance; she was not willing to enter into a policy directed againstGermany. In Locarno she condescended only to promise that she wouldcome to the help of any country to whose disadvantage the Treaty ofLocarno was broken: she would help France against an 'unprovoked'German attack, but Germany as well against an unprovoked Frenchattack. Fascist Italy which wished, by sharing European responsibility,to win recognition as a 'great power,' proudly promised the same, althoughit did not get any advantage of its own out of the treaty. In thelaconic language of Locarno: Germany, France, Belgium, England, andItaly promised to guarantee 'the maintenance of the territorial status quoresulting from the frontiers between Germany and Belgium and betweenGermany and France and the inviolability of the said frontiers as fixedby or in pursuance of the treaty of peace signed at Versailles on June 28,1919.' France, Germany, and Belgium promised each other 'that theywill in no case attack or invade each other or resort to war against eachother.'It was up to England and Italy to see to it that the pact was faithfullykept by both sides. It was expressly stated that they would have to cometo the help of the attacked party (for practical purposes France) even ifthey were convinced 'that by reason ... of the assembly of armed forcesin the demilitarized zone immediate action is necessary.' This meant forall practical purposes: If France