LOCARNO, PACT OF, a series of diplomatic instruments for peace and arbitration drawn up at Locarno in 1925, whereby (I) Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Italy mutually guaranteed the peace in Western Europe and (2) Germany under took to arbitrate about disputes with France, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
The ceremony which took place at Locarno on Oct. 16, 1925 (Austen Chamberlain's birthday) was the initialling of the in struments by the delegates, namely Dr.' Luther and Herr Strese mann (Germany), M. Emile Vandervelde (Belgium), M. Aristide Briand (France), Mr. Austen Chamberlain (Great Britain), Signor Benito Mussolini (Italy)—who arrived at Locarno by boat on Oct. 16 and left again the same day—Count A. Skrzyn ski (Poland) and Dr. Edouard Beneg (Czechoslovakia). The treaties were signed in the Foreign Office, London, on Dec. I, 1925.
That achievement made an impression on popular opinion in all the countries concerned because it marked a definite break from the war atmosphere ; the words "allies" and "enemies" were never uttered by any delegate throughout the conference ; and the chief countries concerned in the World War committed themselves to a pacifist policy, as between themselves, for the future. For the first time in history great powers surrendered their absolute "right to make war." The surrender was local ized to one particular storm centre, namely the Rhine, but it started a diplomatic fashion in Europe.
Although the technical origin of the Locarno idea was con tained in a memorandum communicated on Feb. 9, 1925, by the German Ambassador in Paris to M. Herriot, yet it was recog nized that Austen Chamberlain personally had played the decisive part in leading up to it. Lord D'Abernon, British Ambassador in Berlin, had prepared the ground. Lloyd George in 1922, Dr. Cuno in 1923, Ramsay MacDonald in 1924, had conceived essen tially similar ideas, and the Dawes Conference of 1924 created the propitious atmosphere for what fructified in 1925; but Chamberlain forced the issue. Sir Austen Chamberlain (as he now became) had the Order of the Garter specially conferred on him in Dec. 1925 for the part he had played. During the spring and summer of 1925 difficult and brittle preliminary diplo macy had had to be faced. Chamberlain sustained his faith in success, and at Locarno it was generally agreed that he had supplied the main motive spirit. Upon Great Britain fell a special responsibility under the treaties. There were those who held the importance of the treaties to be psychological rather than technical; but realistically the kernel was implicit in article 4 of the Security Pact, by which Great Britain and Italy were com mitted to declare war on Germany if Germany attacked France, and to declare war on France if France attacked Germany.
Content of Treaties.—The instruments consisted of (I) a treaty of mutual guarantee between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Italy; (2) two arbitration conventions be tween Germany on the one side and Belgium and France sev erally on the other, and two arbitration treaties between Ger many on one side and Poland and Czechoslovakia severally on the other; (3) a collective note of the "Allies" to Germany ex plaining the implications of article 16 of the League Covenant; and (4) two treaties of guarantee between France on the one side and Poland and Czechoslovakia severally on the other.
The treaty of mutual guarantee, or Security Pact, provided in its main purport (I) that the parties guaranteed the inviolabil ity of the German-Belgian and the German-French frontiers as fixed by the Treaty of Versailles (article I) ; that Germany, Belgium and France undertook never to attack, invade or wage war against each other except in "legitimate defence" or as a result of a League of Nations obligation (article 2) ; those three countries undertook to settle their disputes by pacific means (article 3) ; (4) in case of an alleged breach of article 2 above each of the five contracting parties undertook to come to the defence of the party adjudged by the League of Nations to be the party attacked, or in the case of a "flagrant" violation, to come immediately to the defence of the party attacked (article 4). The particular treaties between France and her eastern asso ciates provided for mutual support against unprovoked attack resulting from a failure of the Security Pact.
In the year following the signing of the treaties the two main practical consequences that logically were to be expected were (I) the evacuation of the occupied Rhinelands and (2) Ger many's entry into the League of Nations. Both those contin gencies were connoted by the restoration of equal status between Germany and her former enemies. Germany duly entered the League of Nations in Sept. 1926.
Early in March, 1936, Germany broke the Pact of Locarno by marching troops into the Rhineland as a preliminary to fortifying the demilitarised zone. Germany sought to justify her action by arguing that France had changed the situation, including the Pact, by entering into an alliance with Soviet Russia. No restraining action was taken against Germany which, in effect, meant the acceptance by the Council of the League meeting in London.