World War I made significant adjustments to the map of Europe. During the redistribution of the territory at the end of hostilities, many new states were organized. Western forces tried to oppose them to the Soviet Union, having generated ideas and followers of their policies and development directions in them.
Germany suffered the most damage as an aggressor country. The Versailles Peace Pact suppressed any likelihood of a country’s restoration, the Germans were in a deplorable situation. The lands that previously belonged to the state were divided between France and Belgium in the west, significant territories of eastern Germany and part of the USSR lands were transferred to Poland.
Having learned the sad lessons of World War I, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics made an attempt to protect itself and maintain peace in Europe. So 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 Union proposed a peace treaty called the Eastern Pact, which was to be concluded between the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, and Lithuania.
The guarantor of compliance with the agreement was the French Republic. The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe implied the support of the countries participating in each other in case of violation of the integrity of borders by an external aggressor.
Rejection of Germany and Poland from the proposal 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 Baltic countries. What was the rejection of 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 a group 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 rejected its goals, namely the accession of the Lithuanian city of Memel to its territory.
It is worth noting that the policies of the refused countries were anti-communist. The government of the USSR was the one who feared them.
Key provisions of the Eastern Pact
As a result of the development of the draft document, such obligations of the participating countries as:
- non-aggression against each other;
- non-support of the aggressor country in hostilities against member countries;
- support in the fight against invaders, based on the Charter of the League of Nations;
- containment of possible aggression by the agreed countries.
German position
Led by Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, German diplomacy managed to get out of the shadows by concluding an agreement with the Polish government in early 1934. The agreement implied 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 assert its rights and enter the political arena.
The 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 bans and duties to the victorious countries in the First World War.
The "German Pact" was considered by the German government as the removal of Germany from the economic and political arena of Europe, so the French Foreign Minister L. Bartoux introduced amendments to the pact and proposed Germany to be an ally of the signatory powers. This proposal was rejected by the Reichstag, as it fully confirmed the Versailles accords and left Germany without the right to claim land lost during the war.
The idea of the “Eastern Pact” was not properly received in Europe; the political courses of the countries too varied. After the assassination of Louis Bort, France changed its views on the neighborhood with Germany and entered into assistance and cooperation with it.
Weaknesses of the pact
The agreement proposed by France and the Soviet Union had a number of contradictions. According to the secretary of Ausamt E. Meyer, they were:
- the growing influence of France and the USSR in Europe and a biased attitude towards Germany, as well as its isolation;
- the German government did not need to intervene in possible conflicts with other countries, since there remained a lot of controversial questions 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 implies either the arming of Germany or the disarmament of other participating countries.
For the USSR, the pact was also not in every way beneficial, since it implied the irretrievability of the Western Ukrainian lands that had been transferred to Poland.
In fact, in the Eastern Pact the most advantageous positions belonged to France, but the Soviet government was ready to make all concessions in order to deter potential aggressors and confront future threats. The anti-communist Germany and Poland were likely opponents of Bolshevik rule in the Soviet Union.
The 1934 Eastern Pact was never brought into force because Germany and Poland refused to participate in it.