740.0011 Mutual Guarantee (Locarno)/516: Telegram
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Atherton) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 26—3:10 p.m.]
153. Referring to the penultimate paragraph of Paris cable 251, March 25, noon, Dieckhoff explained to me earlier this week that [Page 269] Germany’s intention to reoccupy the Rhineland at some date was fully realized by the Government here; that all sections of German official opinion were united in believing that Germany must present a fait accompli to the French since any negotiation on this subject with any French Government was impossible. Dieckhoff then explained that certain elements in Germany favored sending only one or two battalions of troops, merely as a gesture, into the Rhineland on March 7th as opposed to the opinion of another political group who favored sending a substantial armed force, and this latter policy was adopted. Dieckhoff insisted that this was the only substantial divergence of Government opinion in Germany’s recent policy.