The First World War made significant adjustments to the map of Europe. During the redistribution of territory at the end of hostilities, many new states were organized. Western forces tried to oppose them to the Soviet Union, giving birth to ideas and followers of their policies and directions of development in them.
Germany suffered the most damage as an aggressor country. The Versailles Peace Pact stopped any possibility of restoring the country, the Germans found themselves in a deplorable situation. The lands that previously belonged to the state in the west were divided between France and Belgium, Poland received significant territories of eastern Germany and part of the lands of the USSR.
Having learned the sad lessons of World War I, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics made an attempt to protect itself and keep peace in Europe. This is how the idea of signing the "Eastern Pact" was born.
Contract Idea
The main purpose of concluding an agreement between the countries of Eastern Europe was to respect the independence of each of them and the integrity of the territories. In 1933, the Soviet Unions proposed a peace treaty called the "Eastern Pact", which shouldwas concluded between the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Belgium, Estonia and Lithuania.
The French Republic acted as the guarantor of compliance with the agreement. The Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe assumed the support of the countries participating in each other in case of violation of the integrity of the borders by an external aggressor.
Rejection of Germany and Poland from the offer of the USSR
Along with the negotiations on the signing of the "Eastern Pact", the Soviet government translated negotiations with Poland and Germany on the inviolability and non-violation of the borders of the B altic countries. Which was refused by both countries.
Poland was not interested in this, as it did not have diplomatic relations with Lithuania. The reason for this was the capture of Vilna by the grouping of Zhelyakhovsky, a general who did not ignore the recommendations of the League of Nations and entered the territory of a neighboring state by force. Germany refused to pursue its goals, namely the annexation of the Lithuanian city of Memel to its territory.
It is worth noting that the policy of the countries that refused was anti-communist. It was them that the government of the USSR was afraid of.
The main provisions of the "Eastern Pact"
As a result of the development of the draft document, such obligations of the participating countries as:
- not attacking each other;
- not supporting the aggressor country in hostilities against participating countries;
- support in the fight against the invaders, based on the Charter of the League of Nations;
- containmentpossible aggression on the part of the agreed countries.
German position
Led by Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, German diplomacy managed to emerge from the shadows by concluding an agreement with the Polish government in early 1934. The agreement assumed non-aggression and strict observance of state borders and independence of neighboring countries. So Germany for the first time in a long time was able to defend its rights and enter the political arena.
Fascist forces in Germany sought to get rid of isolation and gain the right to arm the army and restore a strong country, by reducing economic prohibitions and duties to the victorious countries in the First World War.
The "Eastern Pact" by the German government was seen as the removal of Germany from the economic and political arena of Europe, so the French Foreign Minister L. Barthou made adjustments to the pact and proposed Germany to be an ally of the powers signing the document. This proposal was rejected by the Reichstag, as it fully confirmed the Versailles agreements and left Germany without the right to claim the lands lost during the war.
The idea of the "Eastern Pact" was not met properly in Europe, the political courses of the countries differed too much. After the assassination of Louis Bortu, France changed its views on the neighborhood with Germany and entered into assistance and cooperation with her.
Weaknesses of the pact
Agreement,proposed by France and the Soviet Union, had a number of contradictions. According to the secretary of the ausamt E. Meyer, they consisted of:
- strengthening influence of France and the USSR in Europe and a prejudiced attitude towards Germany, as well as its isolation;
- the German government should not have interfered in possible conflicts with other countries, as there were a lot of contentious issues about the territorial integrity of the state and the return of its lands;
- Germany's forces are so small that it cannot be a full-fledged participant in the Eastern Pact project, which meant either the arming of Germany or the disarmament of other participating countries.
For the USSR, the pact was also not in every possible way beneficial, as it implied the irrevocableness of the Western Ukrainian lands that were ceded to Poland.
In fact, in the "Eastern Pact" the most advantageous positions belonged to France, but the government of the USSR was ready to make all concessions in order to deter possible aggressors and counter future threats. Anti-communist Germany and Poland were likely opponents of Bolshevik rule in the Soviet Union.
The "Eastern Pact" of 1934 was never brought into force due to the refusal of Germany and Poland to participate in it.
