Soviet Foreign Policy - Pt. 1 (con't)

Author: Linda DeLaine
Website: RL Online
Department:
Page: 5 ( 5) pages

France and Britain have rarely been in agreement and dealings concerning Germany and Hitler proved to be no exception. Eventually, France and Czechoslovakia signed agreements with the Soviets (May 2, 1935). This bit of diplomacy focused on non-military means to keep Hitler in check. In hindsight, this seems foolish. At the time, France did not think the Soviets had any serious military might and was intent on, if need be, engaging in a defensive position rather than an offensive stance.

Czechoslovakia's part of the pact stated that they would accept Soviet military aid only if France had provided it first. The Czechs were concerns about being perceived as pro-Soviet and communist sympathizers. Britain saw herself as a world wide emperial entity and was not interested in alliances with France or Germany during peacetime. As long as Germany did not threaten Britain, the latter was content to stay out of Germany's business. Most importantly, if an empire is to remain strong and intact, it cannot afford war. This was Britain's top priority. Hitler's repeated violations of the Treaty of Versailles and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935, did not concern Britain much. They did not think that Hitler could present a threat or ever be capable of building a Navy or force to match the British military.

Britain soon found herself in a three way sticky wicket. The far flung empire was feeling the threat of the Japanese in the Pacific and Italy's Benito Mussolini in the Mediterranean. Realizing that they could not successfully fight a three front war, Britain became concerned with coming to a mutually agreeable settlement with Berlin. Not wanting to be involved in a European war, Britain did not consider any alliances with France or the Soviet Union.

Not concerned with the security of Eastern Europe, Britain had actually put that region in jeopardy by not taking action regarding Hitler's repeated violations of the military clauses of the Versailles Treaty. German domination of the Baltic Sea was virtually a guarantee, in the late 1930s. This constituted a direct threat against Poland and the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Stalin, as one might predict, considered Britain's lack of concern for Eastern Europe evidence that she endorsed Hitler's eastern expansion activities. Naturally, the Soviets saw such activity as a direct threat against the Soviet Union.

Immediately following the alliance with France, Litvinov proposed a non-aggression pact to the German ambassador, Count Friedrich W. von der Schulenberg, in Moscow. This proposal finally grew into the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of August 23, 1939.

You will remember that the Rhineland was established as a demilitarized zone (DMZ). The Rhine was given to Germany so that she could develop industry and, thus, be able to pay her debts. The fact that the region was a DMZ provided additional security for France against any future German aggression. On March 7, 1936, Hitler planted his troops in the DMZ, on the west side of the Rhine. Neither Britian or France reacted to this obvious violation of the Versailles Treaty, further convincing Stalin that neither country could be trusted.

Indeed, Hitler had counted on the fact that France would do nothing. France did not feel that they had the military might to defeat Hitler's troops alone. Britain had made it clear that she had no interest in getting involved in a fight that, win or loose, did not affect her sovereignty. As a result, France's allies in Eastern Europe learned that they could not count on French assistance in the future. Needless to say, distrust was rampant in Europe; a fact that basically gave Hitler free run to establish his troops where ever he pleased.

Stalin had figured out that none of the European nations could be trusted nor could he predict what their policies would be at any given time. Since the primary focus was protecting ones self against the growing Nazi threat, Stalin turned to secret negotiations and arrangements with Germany. Hitler was willing to work out the details of positive relations with the Soviets, but only after Stalin was securely established as the absolute dictator of the Soviet Union. During this time (mid to late 1930s), Stalin was busy with his purges, including eliminating most of the Red Army's general officers. Hitler did not consider Stalin's position guaranteed, yet. While Stalin was secretly working toward a relationship with Hitler, the Comintern called for the formation of a Popular Front government which would bring together socialists and communists against Hitler's Nazis (1935). Stalin would dissolve the Comintern in 1943.

Stalin's last attempt at gaining alliances with Britain and France was at the Munich Conference in September of 1938. Angered by being flatly rejected, he fired Maksim Litvinov and replaced him with V.M. Molotov. Molotov and his German counterpart, Joachim von Ribbentrop, immediately went to work on the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. The agreement was signed on August 23, 1939, in Moscow. The main points were:

Germany and the Soviet Union agreed not to attack each other or support a third party attack on the other.
Remain in constant communication regarding issues and policies of common concern.
The two powers agreed not to align with other powers whose plan it is to threaten the other.
All differences between the two countries would be resolved by arbitration
Pact was good for ten years with an automatic five year extension, unless one party gave the other a one year notification of termination of the pact.
Secret addendum which divided up Eastern Europe between Germany and the Soviet Union. The latter was to gain control of Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland east of a line formed by the Vistula and San rivers.

Obviously, the rest of Europe was quite alarmed and and threatened by this strong alliance between two nations which they had, thus far, not taken very seriously. Hitler immediately invaded western Poland and claimed his share (September 1, 1939). Likewise, the Soviets took control of eastern Poland (September 29, 1939), as well as, the Baltic states in August of 1940. Hitler, knowing that the U.S. intended to remain neutral, quickly ravished most of mainland Europe by mid-1941. The Nazi dictator's next move proved to be unwise.

Soviet Foreign Policy - Pt. 1 (con't)

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