Stresa Agreement

The increase in German rearmament is viewed in France, Great Britain and Italy with great concern. On 14 April 1935 the governments of these three nations conclude an agreement in Stresa pledging to join together in the future to resist Berlin’s violations of the rearmament conditions of the Treaty of Versailles even though Adolf Hitler reaffirms Germany’s peaceful intentions. However, the Stresa Agreement does not endure for long: As early as 18 June 1935 a German-British naval fleet agreement is concluded. London agrees to the expansion of the German fleet beyond the limits of the Treaty of Versailles, as long as a certain balance of power with the Royal Navy is not exceeded. The British government hopes it can rein in Hitler’s rearmament ambitions through limited concessions.

© V&A The British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald at the conference in Stresa, Italy 1935