Franco-German relations, 1918-45

Abstract

Hardly a period in Franco-German relations was as dramatic as that which ran from the end of World War I to the surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945. France and Germany were each partly responsible for World War I, and their relationship formed the heart of the European problem in the interwar period. Nothing, however, was inevitable. The Treaty of Versailles did not actually preclude Franco-German reconciliation. Versailles need not have become a mechanism that perpetuated mutual grudges. In actuality, the brief episode from 1924 to 1929 witnessed significant progress toward rapprochement.