The creation of a system of collective security in Europe briefly. The system of European collective security and its economic aspects. NATO organization. Allied policy towards Germany

The situation in the world changed dramatically after the establishment of the fascist dictatorship in Germany. 30 January 1933 The National Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler came to power in this country. The new German government put forward as its task the revision of the results of the First World War. The geopolitical theory of "struggle for living space" has become widespread. “We stop the eternal onslaught of the Germans on the South and West of Europe and turn our eyes to the lands in the East ... But if we are talking about new lands in Europe today, then we can think first of all only about Russia and its subordinate border states,” - A. Hitler expounded his program in the book Mein Kampf. In October 1933 d. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations and embarked on the path of pursuing a militaristic policy. In March 1935 d. she refused to comply with the articles of the Treaty of Versailles, which prohibited the country from having military aviation, introduced universal military service, and in September 1936 adopted a "four-year plan" for the militarization of the entire economy.
Thus, in the first half of the 1930s a new, most dangerous hotbed of world war arose in Europe. This caused concern not only for the USSR, but also for other European states, over which the threat of fascist aggression loomed, and above all France.
In October 1933 d. France spoke in favor of concluding an agreement on mutual assistance with the USSR in addition to the non-aggression pact 1932 and also for the entry of the Soviet Union into the League of Nations. 12 December 1933 The Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, proceeding from the general political line of the Soviet state, decided to launch a struggle for collective security in Europe. The plan for creating a collective security system provided for the entry of the USSR into the League of Nations, the conclusion within its framework of a regional agreement on mutual protection against aggression from Germany with the participation of the USSR, France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland, or some of them, but with the obligatory participation of France and Poland; negotiations to clarify the obligations of the participants in the future agreement on mutual assistance upon presentation by France as the initiator of the whole project of the agreement. Introduced in April 1934 On the French side, the draft plan for organizing a regional collective security system provided for the conclusion of two agreements: the Eastern Pact with the participation of the USSR, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, which would oblige them not to attack each other, and the Soviet-French mutual assistance pact. Thus, a formal connection was established between the two systems - Locarno and East European, because it was understood that the USSR in this case would act as a guarantor of the first, and France - the second.
However, the categorical refusal of Germany, the opposition of Poland, the resistance of England led to the failure of this project. The Soviet Union and France reached an understanding in reaching another agreement - on mutual assistance, which was signed in Paris 2 May 1935 d. According to the agreement, the parties were obliged, in the event of a threat or danger of an attack on one of them by any European state, to immediately begin consultations. The most important in the treaty was Article 2, which obligated both sides to provide immediate assistance and support to the one who would be the object of an unprovoked attack by a third European power. The most important drawback of this treaty was that it was not accompanied by any military agreements. The treaty made it possible for other countries to join it. But only Czechoslovakia did this by signing 16 May 1935 a pact identical to the Soviet-French one. At the same time, at the insistence of the Czechoslovak side, the wording of the article was changed 2 document. It provided for mutual assistance to each other only if France came to the rescue.
victim of aggression.
Their desire "to be guided in mutual relations by the spirit of cooperation and loyal fulfillment of their obligations", the interest of both parties in strengthening collective security was stated in the final communiqué following the visit to Moscow of the English
Minister A. Eden. This was the first visit to the Soviet Union by a member of the British government in 18 years of Soviet power.
The whole course of development of international relations in the first half of the 30s. The question of the USSR's entry into the League of Nations was put on the agenda. French diplomacy has done a great deal of preparatory work in this direction. BUT 15 September 1934 G. 30 members of the League of Nations addressed the Soviet government with an invitation to join this organization. 18 September The 15th session of the Assembly accepted the USSR into the League of Nations by a majority of votes (against - Holland, Portugal, Switzerland).
The struggle against the spread of fascist aggression and for collective security is becoming the main direction of the Soviet Union's activity in the League of Nations. When Fascist Italy in October 1935 d. started a war against Ethiopia, the USSR not only insisted on the application of sanctions against Italy, but also consistently enforced them. The Soviet Union was the only state that supported the independence of Ethiopia.
7 Martha 1936 German troops entered the Rhine demilitarized zone. On the same day, Germany announced its rejection of the Locarno Accords. England and France limited themselves to a verbal protest on this occasion. At the session of the Council of the League of Nations, the USSR demanded that the German aggressor be curbed and that international treaties be inviolable.
8 Europe began to develop an anti-fascist movement. Held in July-August 1935 G. VII The congress of the Comintern outlined a new strategic orientation, radically changed its previous line, although the inviolability of the old attitudes was emphasized in the printed and oral propaganda of those years. The congress raised the question of cooperation with social democracy in counteracting fascism, substantiating the policy of a broad popular front in the struggle to preserve peace.
From that moment on, the activity of the Comintern was dominated by the struggle against fascism and war.
In the second half of the 30s. the international events connected with the civil war in Spain acquired particular urgency. 16 February 1936 in the elections to the Cortes of Spain, the left-wing parties, which entered the Popular Front, won. The Spanish military elite, with the support of the right-wing forces of the country, began to prepare a rebellion against the government of the Popular Front.
It started on the night 18 July 1936 General F. Franco stood at the head of the rebellion. The country began a civil war. The rebels turned to Rome and Berlin for help and received it instantly - with august 1936 began regular deliveries of weapons. Over time, they become more and more large-scale, and by mid-autumn of the same year, Italian and German troops appear in Spain.
The intervention of the fascist powers, in addition to the destruction of the republican left forces in Spain, pursued the goal of establishing control over the strategic routes linking the Atlantic with the Mediterranean, Great Britain and France with their colonies; creating the possibility of using the raw materials of the Iberian Peninsula; turning Spain into a springboard in case of war with England and France. In addition, the struggle of the powers in the Mediterranean was beneficial to A. Hitler in the sense that it allowed Germany to rearm and prepare for war. Already in autumn 1936 on the side of F. Franco fought the 50,000th Italian expeditionary force, the German air corps "Condor", numbering more than 100 aircraft and around 10 thousand German military personnel (pilots and maintenance personnel, tank, anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft units). In total, during the three years of the war, Spain was sent 250 thousand Italian and about 50 thousand German soldiers.
Despite the direct threat to Great Britain and France in the event of the establishment of Italo-German control over the Iberian Peninsula, London and Paris did not oppose the rebels and interventionists in the fight against the "red danger" in Spain. The French government declared its neutrality, banned the import of weapons into Spain and closed the Franco-Spanish border. At the initiative of the governments of France and England, an agreement was reached on non-intervention in the affairs of Spain. To oversee the implementation of this agreement 26 august 1936 in London, a Non-intervention Committee was established from representatives 27 European states. He started his activity 9 September. There were endless discussions in the Committee about plans to control the Spanish borders, an appearance of active work was created, but no concrete decision was made to force the fascist Powers to withdraw troops from Spain and stop helping the rebels.
7 October 1936 The Soviet government made a statement to the chairman of the Committee on Non-Intervention, in which it pointed to the ongoing assistance to the rebels by the fascist states. The Soviet government warned that "if violations of the non-intervention agreement are not immediately stopped, it will consider itself free from the obligations arising from the agreement."
Prior to this announcement 29 September 1936 - The Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks approved a plan of measures to help Spain. It provided for the creation of special firms abroad for the purchase and shipment of weapons and ammunition to Spain. It was planned to supply military equipment from the Soviet Union on a commercial basis on account of the Spanish gold reserves delivered to the USSR (from 635 tons of gold from Spain in the State Bank of the USSR was deposited 510). In general, Soviet military supplies in financial terms amounted to 202.4 million US dollars. FROM October 1936 to January 1939 the USSR delivered to Spain 648 aircraft, 347 tanks, 60 armored vehicles, 1186 guns, 20.5 thousand machine guns, about 500 thousand rifles, a large amount of ammunition. autumn 1938 The republican government of Spain was granted a loan in the amount 85 million US dollars. Soviet people collected 56 million rubles to the Spanish Republic aid fund.
Military specialists and advisers (about 3,000 people) were sent to Spain. The main military adviser to the republican government was P.I. Berzin. Military advisers in units and formations were R.Ya. Malinovsky, K.A. Meretskov, P.I. Batov, N.N. Voronov and others.
The Comintern helped the Spanish Republic by organizing international brigades. They were attended 42 thousand volunteers from 54 countries, and they played a big role in the fight against fascism on Spanish soil.
The attempts of Soviet diplomacy, with the help of the world community, to stop the intervention of Italy and Germany in the civil war in Spain, and to disrupt the military and economic blockade of the republic were not successful. The policy of "appeasement" pursued by the leading Western powers, staunch anti-communism and fear of the Bolshevization of Spain kept England and France from joint actions with the Soviet Union against Franco.
The intervention of Germany and Italy in Spain accelerated the formation of a military bloc of the fascist powers. 25 October 1936 in Berlin, an agreement was signed that laid the foundation for the existence of the “Berlin-Rome Axis”. The parties agreed on the delimitation of their economic interests in Europe, on joint actions in Spain, on the recognition of the government f. Franco. A month later, the Japanese-German "anti-Comintern pact" was concluded. The parties were obliged to inform each other about the activities of the Comintern and to wage a joint struggle against it. The secret appendix to the pact stated that in the event of a war between one of the parties with the USSR, the other should not contribute to easing his situation.
Germany and Japan pledged not to conclude political agreements with the USSR that contradicted the pact. 6 november 1937 Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact. Thus, a military alliance of aggressive powers was created, directed not only against the USSR, but also against other states; an alliance that had the goal of redrawing the map of the world through war.
The initiatives of the Soviet Union in the matter of organizing collective defense against aggression were not limited only to the borders of the European continent. In the end 1933 The Soviet government put forward a proposal to stop the dangerous development of events in the Far East through collective efforts by concluding a pact of non-aggression and non-assistance to the aggressor. The United States, the USSR, China and Japan, the largest powers with interests in the Pacific Ocean, were to become participants in such an agreement. US President F. Roosevelt spoke in favor of a multilateral Pacific Pact with the accession of England, France and Holland. But this proposal did not receive its further development, and subsequently the Western powers and Kuomintang China lost interest in it, although the Soviet Union for four years, until the middle 1937 Mr., took all possible measures to get the matter of concluding the Pacific Pact off the ground.
The policy of "appeasement" pursued by Britain, France and the United States ultimately contributed to the expansion of Japanese aggression in Asia and, in particular, in the Far East. From time to time, armed incidents arose on the Far Eastern borders of the USSR. Maintaining peaceful relations with Japan was becoming increasingly difficult. IN 1935 The Japanese government once again refused to accept the Soviet proposal to conclude a non-aggression pact. In February 1936 Serious armed clashes arose on the Mongolian-Manchurian border. At the same time, it was decided to formalize the allied relations between the MPR and the SSR as an official protocol to warn the Japanese military. The Mutual Assistance Protocol was signed 12 Martha 1936 G.
In summer 1937 The situation in the Far East became more complicated again. 7 July Japan continued the war against China and in a short time occupied its northern, central and southern provinces - the most economically developed ones. In response to Japanese aggression, there was no international reaction. No action was taken by the League of Nations, although the Soviet Union encouraged it to do so. The USSR was the only country that provided real support to China. 21 august 1937 A non-aggression pact was concluded between the Soviet Union and China. China received from the USSR not only political but also material support. During 1938-1939 The Soviet Union provided China with loans in the amount 250 million US dollars; provided weapons and equipment. China was supplied 1235 aircraft, 1600 artillery pieces, over 14 thousand machine guns, a large number of tanks, trucks, gasoline, ammunition. Back to top 1939 there were 3,665 Soviet military specialists there.
Soviet-Japanese relations in the late 1930s. became very tense. 15 July 1938 Japan, through its embassy in Moscow, presented the Soviet government with claims to a number of heights in the area of ​​​​Lake Khasan, declaring that if these claims were not met, force would be used. These demands were rejected, and the USSR People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs presented to the Japanese embassy documents confirming that these heights belong to Russia in accordance with the designation of the border line under the Hunchun Agreement with China 1886 G.
29 July Japanese-Manchurian troops invaded Soviet territory near Lake Khasan. Repeated attacks were made by them up to 10 August, but did not lead to success. The clashes at Lake Khasan were associated with significant losses on both sides. Soviet troops lost 2172 people in these battles, Japanese - 1400. The events at Lake Khasan were the first major act of Japanese aggression against the Soviet Union on the eve of World War II. 11 august 1938 d. Japan was forced to conclude an agreement to eliminate the conflict.
However, the tense situation in the Far East continued to persist. Japan made claims to a part of the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic, to the eastern bank of the Khalkhin-Gol River, demanding that the border be moved to 20 km to the west, to the channel of KhalkhinGol. 11 May 1939 G.
Mongolian border guards were attacked by Japanese soldiers, and 28 May Japan threw large forces of regular troops against the MPR. towards the middle august Japanese troops, consolidated into the 6th Army, numbered 75 thousand people 182 tanks, more 500 guns, about 350 aircraft. In accordance with the agreement on mutual assistance, the Soviet government provided support to the MPR. In the course of fierce four-month battles, parts of the Japanese army were defeated. The total Japanese losses were 61 thousand people (Red Army - 20 801). As a result of negotiations 15 September 1939 in Moscow, an agreement was signed between the USSR, the MPR and Japan on the elimination of the conflict near the Khalkhin-Gol River.
Along with the aggravation of the situation in the Far East, the danger of fascist aggression in Europe increased. The policy of non-intervention and connivance on the part of the Western powers allowed Germany to proceed to acts of direct aggression. 12 Martha 1938 The Nazis occupied Austria. The proposal of the Soviet government for collective action to stop the further development of aggression did not meet with the support of other states.
After the annexation of Austria to the Nazi Reich, the German General Staff began direct preparations for the capture of Czechoslovakia, where, along the border with Germany, in the Sudetenland, a rather large German population lived, among which the Nazis fomented a furious separatist campaign. Berlin hoped that neither Great Britain nor France would provide assistance to Czechoslovakia.

22 Martha 1938 The British government sent a note to France, in which it informed that the latter could not count on British assistance in the event of entry into the war in order to support Czechoslovakia. France, despite the fact that it had an agreement with Czechoslovakia on mutual assistance, considered the fulfillment of its obligations possible only if Great Britain would simultaneously act in its defense. By this time, the French government had actually completely abandoned its independent foreign policy and obediently followed in the wake of British policy.
The government of N. Chamberlain sought to negotiate with the Nazis at the expense of Czechoslovakia. 19 September 1938 England and France demanded from the government of Czechoslovakia to satisfy the claims of A. Hitler about the transfer to the Nazi Reich
Sudetenland. To resolve this issue, London put forward the idea of ​​convening a conference of four powers: Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
The position of the USSR was completely different. The Soviet government repeatedly declared to the government of Czechoslovakia, as well as France and Great Britain, that it was determined to fulfill its obligations under the Soviet-Czechoslovak Mutual Assistance Treaty. Being in the middle May 1938 in Geneva (in connection with the session of the Council of the League of Nations), People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M.M. Litvinov, during a conversation with the French minister, put forward a proposal that representatives of the French, Soviet and Czechoslovak General Staffs should discuss specific military measures to be taken by the three countries. France did not respond to this crucial initiative.
In a conversation with the French charge d'affaires in the USSR J. Paillard 2 September 1938 M.M. Litvinov, on behalf of the Soviet government, declared: "On the condition of assistance from France, we are determined to fulfill all our obligations under the Soviet-Czechoslovak pact, using all the paths available to us for this." 20 September the position of the Soviet Union was also brought to the attention of the government of Czechoslovakia in response to a request from President E. Beneš, and 21 September MM. Litvinov presented it to the Assembly of the League of Nations.
To provide assistance to Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union took the necessary military measures. 21 September An order was given to put a number of units and formations of the Red Army on alert. In total, they were put on alert and concentrated near the western borders of the USSR 40 infantry and cavalry divisions and 20 tank, motorized rifle and aviation brigades. An additional 328,700 people were drafted into the Red Army, and the dismissal of those who had served their terms was delayed. Last few days September in the Kiev, Belorussian and other military districts were put on alert 17 rifle divisions and 22 tank brigades.
The governments of France and Great Britain expressed doubts about the combat capability of the Red Army, devastated by purges of military personnel, and did not see how the Soviet Union would fulfill its obligations and how the Red Army would be able to participate in the hostilities due to the refusal of Poland and Romania to let it pass through their territory.
England and France continued to put pressure on Czechoslovakia to force her to accept A. Hitler's demand. 21 September 1938 Their envoys in Prague resolutely declared to the Czechoslovak government that if the Anglo-French proposals were rejected, France would not fulfill its allied obligations to Czechoslovakia. England and France also warned Czechoslovakia that they were categorically against accepting aid from the USSR. In this situation, the government of E. Beneš was forced to yield.
2930 September 1938 In Munich, a conference of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy was held, at which an agreement was signed on the rejection from Czechoslovakia of the Sudetenland, passing to Germany, and some territories transferred to Poland and Hungary.
As a result of the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia lost about 20% of its territory, including areas of exceptional economic importance. The new borders cut off the most important transport routes of the country. More than a million Czechs and Slovaks came under German rule.
The Munich Agreement caused a sharp weakening of the positions of France and Great Britain in Europe. In Munich, the system of military alliances concluded by France with other European states was essentially destroyed. In fact, the Soviet-French treaty of mutual assistance as a means of ensuring peace and security in Europe also ceased to exist. Hitler's Germany was given the opportunity for further expansion.
The Soviet Union clearly saw the danger associated with the Munich Agreement. The USSR was placed in a position of virtually complete international isolation. In October 1938 The French ambassador was recalled from Moscow, and in November the British one. In the capitals of Western countries, it was believed that henceforth German expansion would be directed to the east.
From the Munich Agreement, the Soviet leaders concluded that the “new imperialist war” for the redivision of the world had already begun, “has become a fact,” although, as I.V. Stalin, "has not yet become a general, world war." This conclusion was formulated by V.M. Molotov in November 1938 city, and then developed by I.V. Stalin in March 1939 on XVIII Congress of the CPSU(b). *1 at the congress it was noted that the main reason for the growing military danger in the world is the refusal of many countries, primarily Britain and France, from the policy of collective security, collective rebuff to the aggressors and their transition to the position of non-intervention. Such a policy encouraged and pushed Nazi Germany and its allies to new actions of an aggressive nature.
On the night of 15 Martha 1939 Mr. A. Hitler proclaimed the independence of Slovakia under the rule of a puppet government, and the Czech regions - Bohemia and Moravia, in connection with the "disintegration of the Czechoslovak state" included in Germany as a protectorate. In the morning 15 Martha German troops entered Prague.
Only the Soviet Union in Germany's note dated 18 Martha qualified the actions of the German government as arbitrary, violent and aggressive.
2 Martha 1939 Under the threat of direct violence, an agreement was signed between Lithuania and Germany on the transfer of the latter the port of Klaipeda (which the Germans called Memel) and the territory adjacent to it.
March April 1939 Mr. A. Hitler sharply intensified diplomatic and military preparations for an attack on Poland.
21 Martha Germany categorically declared its pre
tensions on Danzig (Gdansk), and also demanded from Poland
consent to the construction of an extraterritorial highway, and
railroad to East Prussia through the so-called
"Polish Corridor".
At the same time, it developed 11 April A. Hitler approved the Weiss plan - a plan for the military defeat of Poland. Italy was not slow to take advantage of the created atmosphere of impunity. 7 April 1939 Her troops invaded Albania from the sea and occupied the whole country within a week. 14 April Albania was included in the Kingdom of Italy.
18 April 1939 Horthy's Hungary defiantly withdrew from the League of Nations and embarked on the path of ever more active cooperation with Nazi Germany.
At the beginning May 1939 d. Germany put forward a demand for the return of her former colonies, taken by England and France after the First World War. Then another important event took place -
22 May 1939 between Germany and Italy was concluded
an agreement on a military-political alliance, called
"Steel Pact". Munich policy of England and France
was a complete failure.
Under the pressure of circumstances, England and France were forced to take a number of political steps to strengthen their military and international position. Their parliaments decide to increase defense appropriations. For the first time in peacetime in England, universal conscription was introduced. 22 Martha 1939 During a visit to Great Britain by the President of France, an agreement was reached on mutual assistance in the event of an attack by a third power.
March May 1939 London and Paris provide guarantees to small European countries. Meanwhile, the West understood that without Soviet assistance, these guarantees would be ineffective. And Anglo-French diplomacy appeals to Moscow with a request to take over, in turn, similar unilateral guarantees in relation to all countries that have already become the subject of patronage of England and France.
Response Soviet proposals were presented 17 April 1939 d. Their essence boiled down to the following: the USSR, Britain and France must conclude an agreement for a period of 510 years with the obligation to render assistance to each other in the event that one of the powers is subjected to aggression; the contracting parties undertake to provide all possible assistance to the states of Eastern Europe bordering the Soviet Union in the event of aggression against them; the treaty must be signed simultaneously with the military convention, which will establish the forms and amounts of military assistance; all three governments must undertake not to conclude any separate peace in case of war.
27 May followed by an Anglo-French response to the Soviet proposals. It spoke of the intention to conclude an agreement with the USSR on the terms of reciprocity. However, the agreement was accompanied by such reservations and procedural subtleties that actually immediately devalued these proposals. In addition, the question of the guarantee by Great Britain and France of the security of the Baltic states, which was essential for the USSR, still remained open.
From the middle June 1939 The method of conducting Anglo-French-Soviet negotiations has changed somewhat. It was decided instead of forwarding further proposals to each other, to move on to direct negotiations of the three powers in Moscow.
However, even at this stage of the negotiations, the British and French sides continued to frame their proposals with reservations that did not comply with the principle of reciprocity and were therefore unacceptable to the Soviet Union. Agreement could not be reached, in particular, on two key, from the point of view of the USSR, provisions - the signing simultaneously with the treaty of a military convention, without which the treaty itself remained ineffective, and the extension of guarantees to the Baltic states in the event of direct or indirect aggression against them. The formation of a coalition was also hindered by the position of the Polish government, which refused to grant Soviet troops the right to pass through its territory and opposed any alliance with the USSR. The Soviet side was also wary of the fact that British and French diplomats of a very low rank were authorized to conduct negotiations in Moscow.
In an effort to use every opportunity to create an effective defensive alliance of the three powers against aggression in Europe, the Soviet leadership 23 July 1939 Proposed the governments of England and France to start negotiations on military issues and send corresponding military missions to Moscow.
Military talks have begun 12 august 1939 The Soviet delegation was headed by People's Commissar of Defense Marshal K.E. Voroshilov, the delegations of Western countries - persons who occupied a modest position in the leadership of their armed forces: the British - Admiral P. Drake, the French - General J. Dumenk. Both of them had only the right to negotiate, but were not authorized to sign any agreement.
Despite this position of the Western side, the Soviet delegation persistently sought the development and adoption of an agreed decision on the joint repulse of aggression in Europe. 15 august she presented a detailed draft collective action plan. But neither the British nor the French missions had any military plan for joint operations against a common enemy and could not determine the forces and means put up by the participants in the proposed convention. Western representatives were not even ready to answer the self-evident question whether, in the event of hostilities, Soviet troops would be allowed to pass through Poland and Romania to come into contact with the German army.
The failure of the negotiations was predetermined by the lack of political desire in London and Paris to conclude a pact of the type proposed by the USSR. British diplomacy, as documents later confirmed, intended primarily to take advantage of the threat of an alliance with the USSR in order to restrain Hitler's claims and thereby create the preconditions for a general Anglo-German agreement.
Anglo-German negotiations on a wide range of political and economic problems began at the initiative of the British side in June 1939 d. They took place in the strictest secrecy and continued until the very beginning of the war. Discussed was the conclusion between England and Germany of a non-aggression pact, an agreement providing for the non-interference of Great Britain in matters related to the implementation of German claims to "living space" in Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe, in exchange for German non-interference in the affairs of the British Empire; removal by Great Britain from itself of all guarantee obligations in relation to European partners; refusal to negotiate with the USSR and putting pressure on France in order to withdraw it from the system of treaties with other European countries. The economic program proposed by Great Britain was aimed at concluding agreements on foreign trade, the use of sources of raw materials, etc.
The government of N. Chamberlain was ready to make a new deal with Germany, but in the summer 1939 The Nazis were no longer striving for a compromise. By this time, a decision had been made in Berlin to unleash a war against England, France and Poland as a matter of priority, and preparations for it were already in full swing.
At the same time, the German leadership was well aware that all its plans could be thwarted if an effective mutual assistance treaty was signed between Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Entering the summer 1939 d. in secret negotiations with the British government, Hitler's Diplomacy, supporting the hope of the ruling circles of Great Britain to reach an agreement with Germany, thereby pushed the governments of Chamberlain and Daladier to disrupt the Anglo-Franco-Soviet negotiations.
The ineffectiveness of the tripartite negotiations under the conditions of the approaching war between Germany and Poland every day with increasing certainty confronted the USSR with the prospect of international isolation. At the same time, as the date appointed by A. Hitler for the attack on Poland approached, German diplomacy began to make increasingly persistent efforts to draw closer to the USSR.
In May 1939 Berlin began to probe the ground for the improvement of German-Soviet relations, provided that the Soviet Union refused to cooperate with Britain and France. The USSR made it clear that it did not intend to change its positions on the issue of collective security. 3 august 1939 German Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop proposed signing an appropriate Soviet-German protocol that would settle "to mutual satisfaction" all disputed questions "throughout the entire space from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea." The Soviet reaction was cautious: agreement in principle to negotiate, but gradual improvement in relations. Having learned about the French and British military missions sent to Moscow, the German side made it clear that an agreement with Germany on a number of territorial and economic issues would be in the interests of the Soviet leadership. 14 august I. Ribbentrop announced his readiness to come to Moscow to clarify German-Soviet relations.
The requirements of the Soviet side in connection with this statement were: the conclusion of a non-aggression pact, Germany's influence on Japan to improve Soviet-Japanese relations and eliminate border conflicts, a general guarantee to the Baltic states.
16 august I. Ribbentrop sends a new telegram to Moscow, in which Germany agrees to accept Soviet demands.
In the response of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov spoke about the readiness of the Soviet Union to improve bilateral relations. But first, economic and credit agreements must be signed, and then, after a short time, a non-aggression pact. Agreeing in principle with I. Ribbentrop's visit to Moscow, V.M. Molotov noted that it would take some time to prepare for his arrival.
19 august the German government signs the discussed from the end 1938 d. a trade agreement highly beneficial to the Soviet Union. It provided for the expansion of trade and credit in 200 million Reichsmarks at a very small percentage. The approaching date for the start of the war with Poland (was tentatively appointed for 26 august 1939 d.) forced A. Hitler to speed up the achievement of an agreement with the Soviet Union. 20 august he refers directly to I.V. Stalin with a request to immediately receive the German Foreign Minister. On the same day, the Soviet government agreed.
The Soviet-German non-aggression pact was signed in Moscow 23 august 1939 d. Its action was calculated on 10 years and is effective immediately. A secret protocol was attached to it, the existence of which the USSR denied until the summer 1989 d. The Protocol demarcated the "spheres of influence" of countries in Eastern Europe. The Soviet "sphere of interest" included the Baltic states, with the exception of Lithuania. After the German military invasion of Poland, the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories were to go to the USSR, the Soviet-German demarcation line was drawn along the Narew, Vistula and San rivers. The question of the expediency of maintaining an independent Polish state was to be decided by the two parties in the future.
The news of the signing of the Soviet-German pact made a real sensation all over the world. The general public was completely unprepared for such a development of events. Even in August 1939 When a German attack on Poland seemed imminent, the conclusion of a military alliance between the USSR, Britain, France, Poland and, possibly, other European countries that had not yet become victims of aggression, could stop the war. For all the adventurism of the Nazi regime, he would not have dared to fight against a coalition of countries that surpassed Germany in military strength. However, in that specific historical situation, such an alliance on terms that suited everyone turned out to be impossible.
The exchange of views through diplomatic channels between Moscow, Paris and London, and then the negotiations of military missions in Moscow, showed that the goal of Western diplomacy is such an agreement that would not close the door to the subsequent search for a compromise with Germany, would not bind England and France in clear and unambiguous terms. obligations. In other words, it was about an agreement designed to become an instrument of pressure on Germany.
So in August 1939 The international position of the USSR was rather uncertain. However, German diplomacy found itself in an equally difficult position. Without clarifying the position of the USSR, the Nazi regime could not decide to start a war in Europe. Under these conditions, A. Hitler was extremely interested in neutralizing the USSR. It seemed to the Soviet leadership that without risking anything, the USSR got the opportunity to expand its territory, to return what was lost in the Civil War. In fact, I.V. Stalin, having made a deal with A. Hitler, gave the green light to fascist aggression in Europe. He hoped that by guaranteeing the neutrality of the USSR to Germany, he would push her to war with the West and buy time to further strengthen the defense capability of the USSR.
However, the pact with A. Hitler caused great damage to the prestige of the USSR. Soviet diplomacy, accusing England and France of intending to abandon the idea of ​​collective security in Europe, in behind-the-scenes contacts with A. Hitler, itself carried out what it attributed to others, sharing "spheres of influence" with Germany. Essentially I.V. Stalin also accepted the German version of the reasons for the outbreak of World War II. In a note from the government of the USSR dated 17 September responsibility for this was placed on the ruling circles of Poland.

1. Where did the centers of military danger develop in the 1930s? What explains their appearance? Make a synchronous table "Points of military danger."

2. Describe the policy of "appeasement" of the aggressor according to the plan: which countries carried out; what goals pursued; what was expressed; what consequences did it have.

The policy of "appeasement" was carried out by England, the USA, France. The goals of the policy: to protect themselves, to push Germany and the USSR, as they were equally afraid of fascism and communism. The policy was expressed in the Anschluss of Austria, to the presentation of territorial claims against Czechoslovakia, the apogee of the policy of "appeasement" was the Munich Agreement of 1938. The consequences of the policy were the seizure of the territory of Czechoslovakia by Germany, the presentation of territorial claims against Poland, the establishment of friendly relations between Germany and the USSR, an agreement between them on the division of spheres of influence. A favorable moment to prevent the Second World War was missed. Western countries did nothing to stop A. Hitler.

3. Describe the process of folding the blocs of aggressive states in the 1930s. Build a diagram.

Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact on November 25, 1936. Italy joined in 1937. Thus, the aggressive Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis bloc appeared.

Diagram of the process of folding the bloc of aggressive states.

4. What is a collective security system? What steps have been taken to create it in Europe? Why wasn't it created?

The collective security system is an attempt by Western countries to protect themselves from the aggression of fascist states. European countries began to sign bilateral agreements on non-aggression and mutual assistance. France and the USSR were the first to sign. The USSR proposed to sign an agreement on mutual assistance with the participation of other countries. A draft Eastern Pact was even developed, which could become the basis of a system of collective security in Europe. But Germany, Poland and some other countries refused to participate in the Eastern Pact. With the USSR, even the United States began to try to establish diplomatic ties. In 1934 the USSR joined the League of Nations. In May 1935, the USSR and France signed an agreement on mutual assistance, and in May 1935, the USSR and Czechoslovakia.

When the failure of the policy of "appeasement" appeared, England and France also signed a bilateral agreement on mutual assistance, and also guaranteed the protection of Holland, Switzerland and Belgium. A little later, the same guarantees were given to Poland, Romania, Greece, and Turkey. It was supposed to sign a tripartite pact of mutual assistance between the USSR, France and England. But the last two dragged out the negotiations in every possible way, they hoped to come to an agreement with A. Hitler. They also hoped that A. Hitler would seize the USSR, destroy the threat of communism, and would not claim their territory. Then I. Stalin also tried to negotiate with A. Hitler. Germany and the USSR quickly reached an agreement, on the very first day of negotiations they signed a non-aggression pact on August 23, 1939 (“Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact”). There was also a secret protocol on the division of spheres of influence. The attempt to create a system of collective security failed.

5. What made the leadership of the USSR to agree with Germany? Could a non-aggression pact with Germany have prevented World War II?

The leadership of the USSR was forced to sign an agreement with Germany, as France and England in every possible way dragged out negotiations on the creation of a collective security system and at the same time tried to negotiate with Germany. In this situation, the USSR also tried to negotiate with Germany. Hitler immediately agreed to an agreement, since he was not ready to wage a war on two fronts, and the neutrality of the USSR was extremely convenient for him. A non-aggression pact with Germany could not have prevented World War II. Since the opportunity had already been missed when the Western countries pursued a policy of "appeasement", they made concessions to Hitler.

We propose to discuss. The League of Nations was created in 1919 with the aim of developing cooperation between peoples and preventing wars. How effective was its activity and why?

The activities of the League of Nations were not effective. This organization did not include all the states of the world. Also, the United States, the leading world power, did not recognize this organization and did not support it. The countries belonging to the League of Nations did not carry out actions aimed at maintaining peace, the policy of "appeasement" showed the failure of this organization. Its failure was manifested already in 1933, when Germany and Japan withdrew from it. And also the organization itself was called upon to protect the foundations of the Versailles-Washington system, which was extremely unfair and did not solve the main problems of the world order. And the very fact of the Second World War suggests that it failed to cope with its main task - maintaining peace.

Answer to questions to the historical document p. 51.

What did A. Hitler see as the main foreign policy goal of Germany? How did he intend to achieve it?

The main foreign policy goal is to seize new lands to reduce the army of the unemployed; conquering new markets. To achieve it, he assumed the creation of a huge combat-ready army - the Wehrmacht. The path of direct seizure of territories and the Germanization of peoples.

The idea that a military conflict is pure evil, and it is necessary to concentrate all efforts on maintaining peace, as well as preventing hostilities, has been visited by various personalities for a very long time. As early as the eighteenth century, attempts began to create social security systems in European countries.

One of these systems was the “Collective Security of the Population” and was characterized as a joint activity of some countries aimed at creating peace and supporting it, as well as suppressing the actions of aggressor countries. The system implied a number of constituent elements.

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Elements of the collective security system.

1. The basis of the principles is international law, and the most important thing is the recognition of illegal actions of any country or group of people whose activities threaten the integrity of state borders, of any recognized state, as well as the prohibition of intrusion into the internal activities of the state by force.

2. Collective norms of measures from each state of the system, which are directed against the aggressors and their allies.

3. Disarmament measures, the ideal of which would be the complete abandonment of the military complex of all participating countries.

4. The system of rights to commit actions by the armed forces, only in the framework of the suppression of aggression and the establishment of peace.

The European system of collective security and its history

In different years, attempts were made in European countries to create different security systems, but so far only one successful attempt can be singled out. Such a successful project can be called the United Nations (UN), which is recognized by countries around the world.

The question of creating such an organization appeared after the first and second world wars, and the creation of many types of weapons of mass destruction. Thus, in 1920, the "League of Nations" was formed, which was supposed to ensure social security. But the Second World War showed in practice its shortcomings and the lack of ways to deal with the aggressor.

There have been several attempts to create a common system of collective protection and security on the basis of the organization of the United Nations. Various demands and claims of European countries have always caused problems that have not been resolved. The complicated relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also served this.

As a result, in the spring of 1973, at the Helsinki meetings on the issue of global security and mutual assistance in European countries, all 34 countries were listened to, their demands and wishes related to common security. The result of such actions did not bring a unanimous decision on the creation of a new era system, but work is ongoing.

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IN 1930- e gg. Soviet diplomacy strove, on the one hand, to implement a plan for collective security in Europe, to prevent the creation of a broad united anti-Soviet front, to exercise maximum caution and not succumb to enemy provocations, and on the other hand, to take all necessary measures to strengthen the country's defense. Soviet government in April 1939 Proposed to conclude between the USSR, Britain and France an agreement on mutual assistance, according to which, in the event of fascist aggression against a number of European states, the three powers would jointly come to their aid. Foreign Secretary Chamberlain said he would "rather resign than sign an alliance with the Soviets". At the same time, the partners of England and France - Romania, Poland and the Baltic countries - reacted negatively to the proposal of the Soviet Union: to send troops to the territories of these countries in the event of a German attack. They feared that later the USSR would not want to withdraw its troops.
In June, delegations from England and France arrived in Moscow, having no authority to make any decisions. They were instructed to conduct "negotiations for the sake of negotiations." took place 12 meetings that did not lead to a concrete result.
15 august Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army D. Shaposhnikov said that the USSR was ready to put up against the aggressor in Europe 136 divisions. At the same time, he outlined options for joint actions and noted that the USSR, with the outbreak of war, "does not intend to adhere to defensive tactics." However, the Soviet proposals did not find support.
In the meantime, secret negotiations were underway between representatives of England, France and Germany, aimed at pushing Nazi Germany into war against the USSR.
In conditions when the negotiations of the USSR with Britain and France in 1939 reached an impasse, the Soviet leadership accepted the German proposal for peace negotiations, as a result of which 23 august 1939 in Moscow, a Soviet-German non-aggression pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) was signed for a period of 10 years. At the same time, an additional secret protocol was signed, which delimited the spheres of interest of Germany and the USSR. The sphere of interests of the USSR included the eastern part of Poland, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Bessarabia (now Moldova). This protocol implemented the idea of ​​​​Stalin about the return of the USSR to the lands that had ceded to Poland under the Riga Treaty 1921 G.
Was the conclusion of a non-aggression pact with Germany the best solution to the problems facing the Soviet government?

There are different points of view of historians on this matter. The USSR was faced with a choice: either reach an agreement with Britain and France and create a system of collective security in Europe, or conclude a pact with Germany, or remain alone. Some experts view the conclusion of a treaty with Germany as the worst option, arguing that the pact provoked the Second World War. Another point of view boils down to an attempt to view it as an example of a compromise, the ability to use inter-imperialist contradictions.
What prompted Germany and the USSR to agree to an alliance?
For Hitler, this was a tactical move: initially, he needed to guarantee the unhindered capture of Poland, and then other states. The Soviet Union, signing the treaty, sought, on the one hand, to protect itself on the eve of the German war against Poland by limiting the advance of German troops and Germany's refusal to use the Baltic states for anti-Soviet purposes, and on the other hand, to secure the Far Eastern borders of the USSR from Japanese attacks. Thus, by concluding 1939 g. non-aggression pact with Germany, the USSR avoided a war on two fronts.
You can speculate as much as you like on the Soviet-German pact 1939 to depict it as a conspiracy of two totalitarian monsters, but for people who have any sense of reality, it is clear that the pact is a mutual ploy to buy time before the main fight. In general, this pact did not allow the creation of a united anti-Soviet front in Europe, delayed the start of hostilities for a while, and allowed the USSR to move its borders away from the vital centers of the country. However, the USSR used the delay received less effectively than its partner in the pact.

Growing military danger in the world (1933-1939)

In December 1933, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution on the development of the struggle for collective security. It determined the main direction of the foreign policy activity of the USSR on the eve of the Second World War. The government of the USSR saw the real way to ensure peace in the creation of regional pacts of mutual assistance. It declared its readiness to take part in such a pact with the broad involvement of European states. In 1933, the USSR put forward a proposal for a legal definition of the aggressor, which would create grounds for legal sanctions, and in September 1943 the Soviet Union joined the League of Nations.

The idea of ​​collective security was embodied in the Eastern Pact project initiated by French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou. L. Bartu actively supported the admission of the USSR to the League of Nations, used all his influence to speed up the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Czechoslovakia, Romania, and overcome anti-Soviet speeches in Yugoslavia.

As envisaged, the pact participants, in addition to the USSR and France, were to become the states of Central and Eastern Europe - Poland, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In addition, it was decided to invite Germany to join the pact. In this case, it would inevitably find itself in line with the Soviet-French policy. The project assumed, firstly, a regional agreement on the guarantee of borders and mutual assistance between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (“Eastern Locarno”) and, secondly, a separate Soviet-French pact on mutual assistance against aggression. The Soviet Union became the guarantor of the Locarno Agreement (October 1925), and France - the mentioned regional agreement.

However, after the assassination of L. Barthou in October 1934, the position of French diplomacy becomes more moderate. 1 On December 5, 1934, the Franco-Soviet Accords were signed, whereby both countries refused to take further steps to prepare a regional Eastern European guarantee treaty. It was partially replaced by an agreement signed in May 1935 on mutual assistance between France and the USSR in the event of an attack by any third party. However, the treaty was not supplemented by a military convention.

In the face of the growing threat from Germany, the countries of South-Eastern Europe also tried to consolidate their forces. With the support of France and Great Britain, on February 9, 1934, an agreement was signed in Africa between four Balkan countries - Greece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia. The Balkan Pact obligated the countries that signed it to jointly protect their intra-Balkan borders and coordinate their foreign policy.

1. Louis Barthou was killed in Marseille on October 9, 1934 during a meeting between the Yugoslav king Alexander the Great and Croatian nationalists. King Alexander was also killed.

Of the Balkan countries, the pact was not signed, under the influence of Germany and Italy, Bulgaria and Albania.

The created Balkan Entente supplemented the Little Entente, an organization that had existed since April 1921 and united Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Change in the tactics of the Comintern. With the transition of the Soviet government to the tactics of cooperation with all anti-fascist forces, the policy of the Comintern and the RSI (Workers' Socialist International) also changes. Back in the 1920s, the leadership of the Communist International made a major strategic mistake when they concluded that after the economic upsurge, the time for a world socialist revolution would come. From this error followed a tactical error. In preparation for the world revolution, the leaders of the Comintern (Stalin, Zinoviev, Bukharin) saw their main enemy in the Social Democrats, who allegedly divert the attention of the working people from the revolution. At the 6th Congress of the Comintern (1928), the "class against class" tactic was adopted, which involved the refusal of the communists to cooperate with other parties, both left and right.

In the 1920s, the communist parties launched an active struggle against the social democrats, calling them social fascists. In response, the RSI called the communists a leftist form of fascism and forbade the social democratic parties to cooperate with the communists.

After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Cominterns and the RSI realized the need to change their tactics. In October 1934, the leadership of the RSI allowed the Social Democratic parties to cooperate with the communists. A turn in the position of the Comintern occurred at its 7th Congress in August 1935. At this Congress, the Communists stopped calling the Social Democrats "Social Fascists" and called the main task the struggle for democracy, and not the victory of the world revolution and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

This turn in the positions of the Comintern and the RSI allowed the creation of popular fronts in France and Spain, and in 1937 the union of communist and social democratic trade unions took place. However, the RSI leadership rejected all calls for CI to unite.

This position of the leadership of the RSI was largely due to the actions of Stalin, who after the death of Lenin became the de facto leader of the CI. For Stalin, the decisions of the 7th Congress of the Comintern meant a personal defeat, since they, in fact, recognized that the leadership of the CI in the 1920s pursued an erroneous course. That is why Stalin was not going to implement the decisions of the 7th Congress. In the 1930s, many prominent figures of the CI who lived in the USSR were repressed. In 1938-39. Under pressure from Stalin, the CI dissolved the Communist Parties of Latvia, Poland, Western Belorussia, and Western Ukraine.

The signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact in 1939 was regarded by the Social Democrats as a conspiracy between the communists and the fascists. Relations between the RSI and CI became tense again. On the eve of the war, it was again not possible to achieve unity of the labor movement.

Aggravation of the international situation in the mid-1930s. Regarding the creation of the Balkan Entente, the European press expressed doubts that the new treaty would contribute to general appeasement. These fears were justified. In July 1934, the Austrian Nazis attempted an armed coup. Dressed in the uniform of the federal army and police, the putschists entered the residence of the federal chancellor and seized the building of the radio station. They announced on the radio the alleged resignation of Chancellor Dollfuss, which became a signal for a revolt in other cities of the country. The putschists acted under the slogan of the annexation of Austria to Germany.

Dollfuss was badly wounded and died by the end of the day. The coup attempt was liquidated everywhere within two or three days. And only the tough actions of Mussolini, who gave the order to send four divisions to the borders of Austria, forced Hitler then to abandon direct aggression.

It should be noted that the relations of the fascist regimes in Italy and Austria with Nazi Germany were initially very tense. The reason for this was the ideological differences between National Socialism and fascism, and the negative reaction of Austria and Italy to the possibility of the Anschluss, which Hitler demanded. It was the drastic measures of Italy, more than the diplomatic measures of Great Britain and France, that forced the Nazis to temporarily suspend pressure on Australia.

On March 1, 1935, as a result of a plebiscite, the Samara region again became part of Germany. Having returned the Samara region, Nazi Germany strengthened its position in the international arena (since 1929, the Saar was under the control of the League of Nations).

The solemn action of the transition of the Saar under the jurisdiction of Germany took place in the presence of Hitler. The decision to change the status was made on January 13, 1935 during a plebiscite. 91% of the population of the Saar was in favor of joining Germany. Taking advantage of the nationalist sentiments that prevailed in the country, Hitler announced the introduction of universal military service, which was contrary to the main provisions of the Versailles Peace Treaty.

All this caused especially great alarm in French diplomacy and the tightening of its position on the German question. On the initiative of France and with the full support of Italy, on April 11, 1935, an international conference on the German question opened in the Italian city of Stresa. Its participants condemned the unilateral violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Despite the fact that the adopted resolutions were of a very general nature, the political significance of the conference was exceptionally great. France demonstrated at it its readiness to move away from the unconditional pursuit of the course of appeasement and join the tough position of Italy.

But the prospects for a Franco-Italian alliance alarmed British diplomacy. Following the traditional policy of "balance of power", London in June 1935 goes to the signing of a sensational Anglo-German treaty on naval armaments. According to him, a ratio of 100:35 was introduced between the navies of Great Britain and Germany (with equality in submarines). British politicians considered the conclusion of this agreement as an important step towards further limiting naval armaments and a timely addition to similar articles of the "Treaty of Five" of the Washington Conference. However, in practice, Nazi Germany received the right to unhindered expansion of naval construction, since the difference in the level of naval armaments made it possible to provide work for all the Reik shipyards for ten years, without violating the “letter of the contract”.

Immediately after coming to power, Hitler's government began the economic transformation of those sectors of the economy that produced weapons. The economic policy of the National Socialists was primarily aimed at the development of "national" weapons.

In September 1936, the government announced the introduction of a 4-year plan. It was assumed that during this period German industry would achieve independence in the provision of raw materials. At the same time, weapons production will be modernized. Hitler's remarks to the plan stated: “We are overpopulated and therefore cannot feed ourselves on our own territory. The final solution to this problem is connected with the expansion of living space, that is, the raw material and food base for the existence of our people ... For this, I have set the following tasks: 1. The German army will have to become combat-ready in 4 years. 2. The German economy must ensure the possibility of waging war in 4 years.

As can be seen, the Anglo-German agreement was fully in line with Hitler's plan for economic development.

The perniciousness of the British strategy became obvious in the near future, when the strategic alliance of Italy and Germany was formed. The reason for this unexpected turn was the Italian aggression in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), which Italy unsuccessfully tried to conquer in 1896, since the African continent was already mostly “divided”, independent Abyssinia remained the only possible object of expansion.

On October 3, 1935, a six hundred thousandth Italian army invaded Ethiopia. The company against the weak Ethiopian army turned out to be fleeting and victorious. On October 7, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Italy as an aggressor and imposed economic sanctions against it. But these sanctions did not affect the outcome of the case. On May 5, 1936, Italian troops entered Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia, and in July the League of Nations stopped the application of sanctions, believing that they would not be effective without military measures.

Taking advantage of the tension between the leaders of the League of Nations and Italy, the German Wehrmacht occupied the demilitarized Rhineland on March 7, 1936. Hitler violated not only the Treaty of Versailles, but also trampled on Germany's obligations under the Locarno Accords. As Hitler later admitted, this was a pure adventure, since at that time Germany had neither the strength nor the means to resist a possible response from, first of all, France. But neither France nor the League of Nations even condemned this step, only stating the fact of violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

At the same time, Italy, being in diplomatic isolation, was forced to seek support from its former enemy. In July 1936, Austria signed an agreement with Germany under which it actually committed itself to follow German policy. Italy, under an agreement with Germany, pledged not to interfere in German-Austrian relations.

Then, in July 1936, a fascist military rebellion broke out in Spain, led by General Franco. From August 1936, first Germany and then Italy began to provide military assistance to Franco: in 3 years, 300 thousand Italian and German soldiers and officers were sent to Spain.

In August 1936, at the suggestion of French Socialist Prime Minister Léon Blum, a Non-Intervention Committee was set up in London.

Formation of hotbeds of a new world war. Gradually, Germany and Italy began to move closer to each other. In October 1936, an Italo-German protocol was signed, according to which Germany recognized the capture of Ethiopia by Italy. Both sides recognized the Franco government and agreed to adhere to a common line of conduct in the Non-Intervention Committee. This protocol formalized the Berlin-Rome Axis.

On November 25, 1936, Germany and Japan signed the so-called "Anti-Comintern Pact" for a period of 5 years. The parties pledged to jointly fight against the Comintern and invited third countries to join the pact. On November 6, 1937, Italy joined the pact, and in December it withdrew from the League of Nations. An aggressive bloc Berlin-Rome-Tokyo was formed, which opposed itself to the League of Nations and the entire established international legal order. In the next two years, Hungary, Manchukuo, Bulgaria, Romania, and others joined the pact. In May 1939, Germany and Italy signed an agreement on a military-political alliance (“Pact of Steel”). This agreement contained the obligations of the parties on mutual assistance and alliance in the event of hostilities.

The policy of appeasing the fascist aggressors. The actions of Japan and Germany led to the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system, as its main treaties were violated. However, England, France and the United States did not take any retaliatory steps, although they had every opportunity to stop the aggressive countries. In the leadership of the United States, a group of isolationists occupied a strong position, believing that the United States should concentrate all its attention on the American continent and not interfere in the situation in other regions of the planet. The governments of England and France did not want to start a war with Germany, because. they were afraid that the population of their countries would not support such a war. Therefore, the governments of Britain and France chose a policy of "appeasement" towards the aggressors, which involved partial concessions to the aggressors in the hope of preventing a new world war. The governments of England and France hoped that Germany and Italy would calm down after the elimination of those provisions of the Versailles system that caused their discontent. Lord Lothian's article in the London "Secret" dated February 1, 1935 became a kind of manifesto for the policy of "appeasement". He wrote: "Germany wants equality, not war; it is ready to absolutely renounce war; she signed a treaty with Poland,* which removes from the sphere of war for 10 years the most painful element of the Treaty of Versailles - the Corridor; she finally and forever recognizes the incorporation of Alsace-Lorraine into France, and finally (this is the most important) she is ready to pledge that she will not interfere by force in the affairs of her beloved Austria, provided that all her neighbors do the same. He (Hitler) goes even further and says that he is ready to sign non-aggression pacts with all Germany's neighbors to prove the sincerity of his desire for peace, and in the field of armaments he does not demand anything but "equality of rights", and he agrees to accept international control, if this other parties to the treaty will follow.

I have not the slightest doubt that this position is sincere. Germany does not want war...

Documents from the secret archives of Berlin and Roim show how quickly the intentional inaction of the Western powers gave rise to a sense of complete impunity among the aggressors, how disastrous was the refusal of England and France to use the League of Nations as an instrument to counter aggression. Interesting in this connection is the recording of Mussolini's conversation with Garing, who visited Rome in January 1937 in order to demonstrate the strength of the newly created "axis". Among other problems, the interlocutors also touched upon Spanish. Answering Goering's question about the possible reaction of the Western powers, Mussolini expressed his conviction that no danger threatened from this side: “There is no ... reason for concern,” he said, “since there is no reason for the mechanism created by the League, which is already in three cases it was inactive,* suddenly came into action for the fourth time .... The English conservatives are very afraid of Bolshevism, and this fear can very well be used for political purposes.

Goering shared this point of view: “Conservative circles (England. - Auth.), True, are very concerned about the power of Germany, but most of all they are afraid of Bolshevism, and this makes it possible to consider them almost completely ready for cooperation with Germany.”

And this was fully taken into account by Hitler, who called the USSR the main enemy, quite successfully influenced the position of England and France. Already at the beginning of 1938 it was clear that Europe was on the verge of war. Hitlerite Germany mobilized and kept its entire military apparatus in combat readiness. From the leadership of the German army, all persons who showed indecision or dissatisfaction with the course pursued by Hitler were removed. Field Marshal von Blomberg was forced to resign. General Keitel was appointed in his place. Gerang was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal. Hitler himself declared himself supreme commander of the German armed forces.

• this refers to the German-Polish declaration of 1934 on the non-use of force (also known as the non-aggression pact) signed on January 26, 1934 in Berlin; concluded for 10 years.
• Obviously, this refers to the aggression of Japan in Northeast China, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the remilitarization of the Rhineland by Germany.

On February 20, 1938, Hitler delivered a threatening speech to the Reichstag. He declared that Germany could not remain indifferent to the fate of the 10 million Germans living in two neighboring countries and that she would strive for the unification of the entire German people. It was clear that we were talking about Austria and Czechoslovakia.

On March 12, 1938, Germany, with the support of the Austrian fascists, carried out the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria under the pretext of the reunification of the two German states. Since the feudal chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg refused to hold a referendum on the independence of Austria, Germany on March 11 demanded his resignation in an ultimatum form. The Austrian Minister of the Interior Seyss-Inquart formed the National Socialist government.

After the Anschluss, the persecution of Jews and political opponents of Nazism began.

Hitler's next step was to demand that Czechoslovakia transfer the Judicial Region, where many Germans lived. The Sudetenland operated in the Sudetenland - the German party, which demanded that the Sudeten Germans be granted national autonomy, freedom of the "German worldview" (more precisely, Nazism), the "reconstruction" of the Czechoslovak state and a change in its foreign policy.

Czechoslovakia had a developed military industry and a strong army, and since 1935 it had mutual assistance treaties with France and the USSR. All this allowed Czechoslovakia to repulse Germany, especially since Germany did not yet have the strength to start a war.

However, at this decisive moment, the governments of England and France decided to follow a policy of "appeasement". On September 26, Hitler issued an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia demanding that the Sudetenland be handed over to Germany. In September-October 1938, a conference of the leaders of England, France, Germany and Italy was held in Munich. At it, the leaders of England and France (Chamberlain and Daladier) in fact, in an ultimatum form, demanded that Czechoslovakia meet Hitler's demands. In return, Hitler promised to respect Germany's new borders. It is noteworthy that no one asked the opinion of Czechoslovakia itself. Moreover, its representative was not even invited to the conference.

The USSR offered military assistance to Czechoslovakia without the participation of France (which was stipulated by the 1935 treaty) and even concentrated military forces in Ukraine. But the Czechoslovak government refused this assistance, fearing that the USSR would occupy the country. As a result, Czechoslovakia obeyed the Munich decisions.

However, having received the Sudetenland, Hitler did not stop there. On March 15, 1939, Germany occupied the entire territory of Czechoslovakia, using as a pretext the intensification of separatist movements in Czechoslovakia and the introduction of martial law in Slovakia. The Czech Republic was annexed to Germany, and in Slovakia the Germans created a Puppet State. Between Germany and Slovakia was concluded the so-called protection, according to which Germany took over the protection of the internal order and territorial integration of Slovakia for 20 years.

In March 1939, Germany demanded that Poland hand over the city of Gdansk to it and provide railways and roads for communication with it. Then Germany annulled the non-aggression pact with Poland signed in 1934. Hitler also demanded that England and France return her colonies to Germany.

March 23, 1939 German troops invaded the area of ​​Slaipeda (Lithuania). Standing on the deck of the battleship Germania, Hitler announced the annexation of Klaipeda to Germany.

Following Germany, Italy stepped up. April 7, 1939 she came to Albania and quickly captured it. The Albanian king Ahmed Zogu emigrated. The National Assembly approved on 12 April the union with Italy. After that, Mussolini put forward territorial claims to France.

In Asia, Japan attacked China in 1937 and by the end of 1938 captured its coastal part. In the summer of 1938, Japanese troops attacked the territory of the USSR in the area of ​​Lake Khasan with the aim of capturing the USSR to stop aid to China. The fighting lasted about a month and ended with the defeat of the Japanese troops. In May 1939, Japanese troops began military operations against Mongolia in the area of ​​the Khalkin-Gol River. Soviet troops came to the aid of Mongolia, who in August 1939 defeated the Japanese and drove them back from the territory of Mongolia.

Seeing that the policy of "appeasement" had failed, the governments of England and France changed their strategy. They set out to create a system of collective security in Europe in order to form an anti-German coalition and stop German aggression. This was the second attempt to create such a system. The first was undertaken by the USSR and France in 1934-1935. in the form of the idea of ​​creating a multilateral mutual assistance treaty (Eastern Pact). But then Germany managed to thwart the conclusion of such an agreement.

In March 1939, Britain and France provided guarantees for Poland's security and independence. On April 19 they were extended to Romania and Greece, and in May-June 1939 they signed mutual assistance treaties with Turkey.

In March 1939, Britain and France proposed to the Soviet Union that they sign a joint declaration by the governments of Britain, France, the USSR, and Poland against aggression and provide for the obligation of consultation between these countries in it. The USSR government replied that "such a declaration does not resolve the issue." However, it did not object to the declaration either.

On March 23, 1939, Britain and France began negotiations with the USSR on the creation of an alliance against Germany. These negotiations proceeded slowly, as both sides did not trust each other. Britain and France doubted the combat effectiveness of the Red Army, weakened by repressions against the commanding staff, and sought, above all, to frighten Hitler by the very fact of the negotiations. That is why Britain and France were in no hurry to conclude a military agreement with the USSR, although the Soviet Union made specific proposals on this issue. Negotiations on the part of England and France took place only at the level of ambassadors, and not at the level of heads of government or diplomatic departments. The task of the Western powers in these negotiations was to prevent Russia from establishing any ties with Germany. Moreover, since June 1939 Britain itself has been conducting secret negotiations with Germany.

For his part, Stalin was suspicious of England and France, believing that they wanted to draw the USSR into a war with Germany and at the same time remain on the sidelines.

The refusal of England and France to conclude a military agreement with the USSR led to Stalin's reorientation towards concluding an agreement with Germany. This was taken into account by Hitler, who offered Moscow to conclude a non-aggression pact. On August 21, 1939, the USSR stopped negotiations with Britain and France and on August 23, 1939 signed a non-aggression pact with Germany for a period of 10 years. This document, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was signed in Moscow by the heads of the foreign ministries of the two countries. The extremely important secret protocol to the treaty became known only after the end of the war.

The Soviet-German pact concluded for a period of 10 years included the following points:

Refusal of mutual violence

Observance of neutrality in the event of the participation of one of the parties in the war, subject to the aggressive nature of the war.

The secret annex demarcated the spheres of interest of the two countries in Eastern Europe: Finland, Latvia, Bessarabia and Poland east of the rivers Narva, Vistula and San fell into the Soviet sphere of influence, the territory to the west of this line was declared a sphere of German interests.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact meant a political death sentence for Poland. It became the final chord in Hitler's preparations for the war with Poland, which began on September 1, 1939. The signing of this treaty ended Stalin's long-term efforts to expand communist influence in the Balkans and the Baltic states. Hitler managed to win the diplomatic duel with the Western powers on Stalin's political sympathies at the last moment. During 1939, after the capture of the Czech Republic and the annexation of Klaipeda, France and Great Britain negotiated with Stalin for a mutual support pact against Nazi Germany. At the same time, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had in mind Soviet guarantees for Poland, similar to those declared by Great Britain already on March 31. Stalin insisted on signing an agreement on mutual support, which would include the problem of the Baltic countries and Finland. However, these countries, fearing communist influence, rejected Stalin's proposal. Poland overestimated its own strength and, fearing to lose its independence, also refused to sign the Soviet version of the treaty. She counted on the military and political support of Western states. Mutual distrust and protracted negotiations made it impossible to sign political and military agreements between the USSR, Great Britain and France. Hitler took advantage of this and achieved the conclusion of an agreement with the USSR, freeing his hands to start a war against Poland.

Chamberlain reacted strongly to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Two days after its signing (August 25), Great Britain concluded an agreement with Poland on mutual assistance in case of war. Disheartened by the decisive step of Great Britain, Hitler was forced to postpone the planned attack on Poland from August 26 to September 1, 1939.

Hitler's expansionist policy led to the fact that the results of the Munich Agreement turned out to be zero.

The 1939 pact was a serious mistake in Soviet diplomacy. It undermined the international prestige of the USSR and led to the aggravation of relations between the USSR and Western countries. But most importantly, the 1939 pact hastened the start of the Second World War, because. saved Germany from the threat of war on two fronts.