Locarno, treaties of, 1925. These treaties (1 December 1925) briefly raised hopes that Europe was at last settling down after the First World War. They confirmed the inviolability of the frontiers between France, Belgium, and Germany, and the demilitarization of the Rhineland. Britain, intent on European peace and security at the lowest cost to herself, refused to make any engagements to reinforce French commitments in eastern Europe. German entry to the League of Nations followed in 1926, while the key negotiators— Briand (France), Stresemann (Germany), and Austen Chamberlain (Britain)—continued to meet at the ‘Geneva tea-parties’ (1926–9). Locarno was at best a form of ‘limited détente’.

C. J. Bartlett

Locarno Pact (1925) Group of international agreements that attempted to solve problems of European security outstanding since the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The pact established Germany's w borders and enabled Germany to enter the League of Nations. Adolf Hitler's violations of the Treaty of Versailles disturbed the general peace established at Locarno.