Recommended Films on World War II
- Das Boot
- The Pianist
- Stalingrad, Enemy at the Gates
- Schindler's List
- Der Untergang
- Katyn
- Der Kanal
- Valkyrie
- Westerplatte
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The German and Soviet occupation of Poland after 1.9.1939
The German occupation politics in Poland 1939-45
Poland was the state that was occupied by the 3rd Reich for the longest time, nearly 5 ½ years from 1939 on. This occupation completely changed the Polish society and it touched the life of every single person. There were new borders and the economy and administration was radically reorganized.
Basic characteristics of the NS- occupation politics in Poland:
The Nazis created the public image of an ‘enemy Poland’ (in a relatively short time), i.e.:
People believed that the Polish state was partly erected on German territory and that these territories were originally German and that Germans needed Lebensraum.
People tended to look down on Poland
Racism against Slaws (‘inferior, subhuman people’), already in ‘Mein Kampf’
Aim: Elimination of the Polish nation !
Hitler on 22. August 1939: “The elimination of Poland is the main aim. This war is not about achieving a certain border, but all living powers (in Poland) should be destroyed, no mercy and a brutal conduct is necessary”.
Especially targeted (killed) was the Polish intelligence: catholic priests, school and high school teachers, officials of political clubs, doctors, pharmacists, officers, civil servants, economists, land owners, high school students, aims: first, to prevent Polish elites from organizing resistance or from ever regrouping into a governing class; second, to exploit the less educated majority of peasants and workers as unskilled laborers in agriculture and industry.
All universities, schools, monuments , museums and libraries were closed, plundering and destruction of cultural signs, persecution of Catholic priests, in annexed territories: no Polish press, in GG: Press on the lowest level,
Himmler wrote in a May 1940 memorandum, "The sole goal of this schooling is to teach them simple arithmetic, nothing above the number 500; writing one's name; and the doctrine that it is divine law to obey the Germans. . . . I do not think that reading is desirable"
Sind 1.9. 1939: Terror system without example in Poland , Terror and Air war against the civil population, killing of war prisoners
Mass executions by SD Einsatzgruppen (Himmler), „Selbstschutz“ (German minority) and Wehrmacht. Most brutal: An action codenamed "Operation Tannenberg" ("Unternehmen Tannenberg") in September and October 1939, an estimated 760 mass executions were carried out by Einsatzkommandos, resulting in the deaths of at least 20,000 of the most prominent Polish citizens. Expulsion and murder became commonplace.
Proscription lists (Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen) identified more than 61,000 Polish activists, intelligentsia, actors, former officers, etc who were to be interned or shot. Members of the German minority living in Poland assisted in preparing the lists.
Anti-Polish and anti-Jewish propaganda
3. Sept.1939: Himmler’s Order: Killing all Polish insurgents and partisans, 3./4. Sept. Bloody Sunday in Bromberg (Bydgoscsz), used by propaganda.
2. October 1939: Hitler says “There can only be one Lord for the Poles and this is the German. There cannot be two Lords so all representatives of the Polish intelligence are to be eliminated. That sounds hard, but this is the law of life”.
Possibility of a peaceful cooperation between Germany and Poland destroyed (forever).
8. October 1939: Division of Polish territory
Annexation of the following areas: Danzig-Westpreussen (Westpreussen, Pomerellen), Wartheland (Grosspolen), Regierungsbezirk Zichenau (Masuren, Suwałki), Ostoberschlesien. These annexed territories were the most developed parts of Poland. While drawing the lines the historical borders were not respected. In central Poland the German borders were pushed 100-200 km further east then the borders of 1918. Nearly 1 million Poles were expelled from this German ruled area, while 600,000 Germans from Eastern Europe and 400,000 from the German Reich were settled there.
East Upper Silesia and Lodsch were important because of the industry, Wartheland = important because of the agriculture.
Generalgouvernement= “German colony”
Ruled by Gouverneur Hans Frank in Krakau, districts in Warschau, Lublin, Radom, Krakau, (since 1941 Lemberg), “Polish reservation”, Poles and Jews were driven to this territory
- Administration (high and middle) solely German, all from the Reich, because German minority was not qualified, had no connections and was seen as unreliable, Reichsdeutsche = interested only in their carreer, did not know land and country, looked down on Polish population
- no higher positions for Poles, special law for Poles (Sonderstrafrecht), only Polish police (“Blue police”) stayed, but without big competences
- many commands and interdictions for Poles: for example duty to greet German officials/ shops, parks and transportations which could only be used by Germans
‘The Germanisation of Polish territories occurred by deporting and exterminating the Jews, depriving Poles of their rights and supporting the local Germans and the ethnic Germans resettled from the East. The German minority living in this ethnically mixed region was required to adhere to strict codes of behaviour and was held accountable for all unauthorised contacts with their Polish and, even more so, their Jewish neighbours. The system of control and repression strove to isolate the various ethnic (‘racial’) groups, encouraging denunciations and thus instilling fear in the populace’.
Aim: in the short run = exploitation, in the long run = Germanisation (Generalplan Ost for ethnic cleasing: In ten years' time, the plan called for the extermination, expulsion, enslavement or Germanisation of most or all Poles and East Slavs still living behind the front line. Instead, 250 million Germans would live in an extended Lebensraum ("living space") of the 1000-Year Reich (Tausendjähriges Reich / 1000-Year empire) . Fifty years after the war, under the Große Planung, Generalplan Ost foresaw the eventual expulsion and extermination of more than 50 million Slavs beyond the Ural Mountains.
By 1952 only about 3–4 million Poles were supposed to be left residing in the former Poland, and then only to serve as slaves for German settlers. They were to be forbidden to marry, the existing ban on any medical help to Poles in Germany would be extended, and eventually Poles (believed by the Nazis to be Untermenschen, that is "sub-human") would cease to exist.
But regional differences: Ostoberschlesien / Danzig-Westpreussen: Germanisation, but maintenance of economic and technical infrastructure.
Warthegau/ Zichenau/ GG = ethnic cleansing and separation, deportation and executions
Generalgouvernement (GG) and annexed territories = private banks, companies and land owners which were not German were dispossessed and their property fell into the hands of the state. 1939-41: Dispossession of 214.000 estates, 38.000 industrial objects, 897.000 farms with 8,1 Mio ha.
Profiting from this were : German companies, immigrants from the Reich, German minority and German immigrants from East Europe and the Baltics (“Heim ins Reich”).
Intensive explotation of agriculture, Poles only kept the bad grounds, duty to hand in agricultural products
GG= stocks and machines were transported into the Reich, raising of taxes, duties, war charges
Since 1941= GG was exporting, the Polish and Jewish population starved to death, food had to be given to German authorities (under pressure, physical violence)
Exploitation and killing of Jews and Poles made it possible that the Reich had enough food until 1945.
Generalgouvernement (GG) and annexed territories served also as a reservoir for cheap labour, mass forced labour (2,8 Mio, in Wartheland 12% of the population was deported into the Reich), but also forced labour on the spot: agriculture, administration, companies. Special camps were erected for people who did forced labour. In addition to SS-owned enterprises (the German Armament Works, for example), private German firms—such as Messerschmitt, Junkers, Siemens, and IG Farben—increasingly relied on forced laborers to boost war production.
Since 1939: erection of ca. 400 Ghettos for Jews (living conditions and sanitary conditions of the worst kind). ‘Waiting hall’ until the ‘final solution’ of the Jewish question.
Until 1945 on Polish soil: 2,7 Mio Jews killed, 1,8 Mio of them were Polish
All in all 5 Mio Jews, 3 Mio of them Polish
Most Jews died in concentration camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek etc. There was also camp Stutthof concentration camp used for mass extermination of Poles. There was a number of civilian labour camps (Gemeinschaftslager) for Poles (Polenlager) on the territory of Poland. Many Poles did die in German camps. The first non-German prisoners at Auschwitz were Poles, who were the majority of inmates there until 1942, when the systematic killing of the Jews began. The first killing by poison gas at Auschwitz involved 300 Poles and 700 Soviet prisoners of war, among them ethnic Ukrainians, Russians and others. Many Poles and other Eastern Europeans were also sent to concentration camps in Germany: over 35,000 to Dachau, 33,000 to the camp for women at Ravensbruck, 30,000 to Mauthausen and 20,000 to Sachsenhausen, for example.
The brutal disposession, exploitation, persecution and elimination took place in front of the German and Polish civil population. Also the Polish population was deported, persecuted and terrorized.
Mass deportation into the GG (at least 360.000 inhabitants of the annexed areas, in annexed areas also Germanisation, “Deutsche Volksliste”), separation of German and Polish population, Poles can use public transport only with permission, German shops and Polish shops, on public markets: different times for German and Polish buyers, restaurants “For Poles forbidden” and “Only for Poles”.
Curfew only for polish population, flyers promote separation of Germans and Poles
BUT: regional differences = sometimes no duty to greet German officials, sometimes Polish as inofficial language allowed (extremely strict: Warthegau, extremely light: Ostoberschlesien).
Sometimes also Polish police helped to execute NS-politics: deportations of forced workers, executions, helping with Razzias and killing of Jews.
In GG Polish underground state: not only military and partisans, Armia Krajowa, underground administration, secret schools.
in GG some Polish caritative organizations worked (Rada Główna Opiekuńcza).
Of 35 Mio citicens 1939 ca. 6 Mio died (about 20% of the population, 90% civilians), 3 Mio Jews, ca. 1,5 Mio ethnic Poles, in Germany there is more a discussion about Holocaust and the migration after World War II, Polish victims should be part of the German remembrance culture.
The Sowjet Occupation 1939-41 (according to Mikołaj Morżycki-Markowski, Museum of World War II Gdańsk)
1.9. 1939: 100.000 civilians fled in Sept. 1939 from the German attackers to the eastern polish territories also the Polish government moved to Zaleczyki. Poles expected that the front would stabilize along the Wisła and expected help from the partners Great Britain and France, but help didn’t come.
17.9. 1939: Red army invaded East Poland with 500.000 soldiers > shock, stap into the back, all Polish armed forces were fighting in the West, so only very few troups could do resistance in the East, the Polish government was completely surprised, at first it thought that Red army wanted to help Poland in its war against Germany. General Edward Rydz-śmigły first gave the order to not attack the sowjet troups exept in the case of a direct threat, this order created additional chaos. At the end of September 1939 it was clear that there had been the Hitler-Stalin-Pact and that the two aggressors were united. German and Sowjet troups were stationed along the Bug and San and there was even an common military parade in Brest. There were also four Gestapo-NKWD conferences in 1939/40 The secret protocol of the 23rd August 1939 said that the SU should get the whole eastern part of Poland (Stanisławów, Tarnopol, Wolhynia, Polesie, Nowogród, Vilnius, Białystok, Lwów), now 52% of Polish territory and 14 Mio people were under Sowjet occupation.
Many Poles fled from the East to the West now, because they were afraid of the Bolschewiki and wrongly expected a better life under the German occupation, many emigrated to Rumania and lived in camps there.
The Sowjet propaganda declared the occupation as a humanitarian gesture to protect life and property especially of the Belarussian and Ukrainian population after the complete breakdown of the Polish state, according to Molotow a “bastard of the Versailles Treaty”.
Ethnic composition of the Eastern areas: 38% Poles (ca. 5.1 million people), 37% Ukrainians, 14.5% Belarusians, 8.4% Jews, 0.9% Russians and 0.6% Germans. There were also 336,000 refugees from areas occupied by Germany, most of them Jews (198,000).
The Jews in Eastern Poland, who were very poor, (and to a lesser extent also Ukrainians and Belarussians) saw the possibility to emancipate from the privileged Poles. Many of them were communistic and left-wing and believed that the SU would guarantee freedom and security. In contrast to the 3.Reich where the ‘Nuernberger Laws’ were in place there didn’t seem to be any anti-Semitism in the USSR. Parts of the Jewish population greeted the Red Army with approval and helped to build up political power structures. This led to an anti-Jewish mood in the Polish population in which also crimes against Jews were perpetrated (June 1941, Jedwabne).
Situation of the Polish population after 17.9.1939:
- Red Army and NKWD thought that the Polish population was counter-revolutionary and didn’t believe in the communist ideology
- They had a list of persons who were directly imprisoned: officials, teachers, officers, policemen, land owners. Partly there were also lynchings of Poles, especially in the areas where Ukrainians lived
- Ukrainians who were for independence were as much persecuted as Poles who were for independence.
- Of the deported and executed people in 1939-41 (ca. 500.000): 59% Poles, 25% Jews (most came from Westpoland), 8% Ukrainians, 7% Belarussians
1./2. November 1939: Annexation of the East Polish territories into the SowjetUnion (Belarussian and Ukrainian SSR), the Sowjetic political, economic and judicial system was immediately introduced. Politics of Russification, no cultural and linguistic autonomy was allowed, the counterrevolutionary Ukrainian and Belarussian intelligence was deported and killed.
10.000 officials from the NKWD (mostly from behind the Ural) tried to control the newly annexed territories and to get rid of the Polish, Jewish, Belarussian and Ukrainian intelligence.
1939-40: ca. 330.000 Polish people were deported from East Poland to Siberia, plus 200.000 Polish soldiers who were brought into Sowjet camps (of these 25.000 Polish officers were executed in Katyn, Charkow and Tver after a direct command from Stalin)
Ca. 200.000 Polish people had to fight in the Red Army or had to do forced labor.
(ca. 10% of the population of Eastern Poland was deported, most of them died).
At least 22.000 Polish citicens were publicly executed between 1939 and 1941.
(Wikipedia says: In 1940 and the first half of 1941, the Soviets deported more than 1,200,000 Poles, most in four mass deportations. The first deportation took place February 10, 1940, with more than 220,000 sent to northern European Russia; the second on April 13, 1940, sending 320,000 primarily to Kazakhstan; a third wave in June-July 1940 totaled more than 240,000; the fourth occurred in June, 1941, deporting 300,000. Upon resumption of Polish-Soviet diplomatic relations in 1941, it was determined based on Soviet information that more than 760,000 of the deportees had died—a large part of those dead being children, who had comprised about a third of deportees)
Difference German occupation – Sowjet occupation:
In contrast to the Nationalsocialists the communistic system made a life in relative security possible if a citizen completely took over the Sowjetic doctrine and even upward social mobility was possible then. Poles had the chance to proof that they were willing and able to build up a communistic state.
The question of Polish cooperation with the Sowjets is hard to answer:
- The famous writer Ignacy Witkiewicz killed himself on 17. September 1939, other Poles died fighting against the Sowjets
- Again others fled to the west, because they thought that the German occupation would not be so brutal (experiences from the First World War)
The example of Lwów:
They were still official newspapers in Polish language (Czerwony Sztandar: Red Flag, Prawda Radziecka: Sowjetic Truth). Articles had to be in line with ideology. For articles which were not in line with the ideology journalists could go 10 years to prison also for example for wrong dates in articles (like the founding date of the Red Army).
There were also still Polish professors at the university, only professors from philosophy, history, sociology and economy were expelled and replaced by professors from Moscow or Leningrad. Mathematicians, Physicians and Chemists could stay, but had to do lectures in Russian or Ukrainian.
Also the Polish Theatre and the Polish Radio had to follow ideology, but polish classical works and works of the world literature could still be played.
After 17. September 39: scarcity of goods in former East Poland, because
- Red Army and NKWD bought or confiscated everything.
- Private productions were closed, free trade was absolutely forbidden (Farmers could not sell their products, they had to join collectives and hand in their goods, that didn’t work in the beginning)
- Nationalisation of private banks and factories (owners often went to prison)
- Private craftsmen were first tolerated (so that there is no shortage of industrial goods), later they had to join collectives
Economic difficulties: the cities got products of inferior quality from other parts of the EU, exchange of goods between towns and countryside didn’t work, so there was dirt and chaos in the towns
Also there were migrants from the Soviet Union, they were seen as backward, because the living standard in Poland was much higher, soldiers of the Red Army considered the flat of a Polish worker to be luxurious
The French defeat in 1940 led to a shock among the Polish population and to a new wave of Sowjet propaganda (especially in schools, universities, companies). The hopes to erect a Polish state again were waining
Underground: The Sowjet secret service NKWD fought against the Polish underground army ZWZ as well as against the Ukrainian underground army (UPA). (Especially after 1943 they worked very effectively with the help of Polish and Ukrainian spies whose families were in Siberia).
The Operation Barbarossa on 22.June 1941 raised hopes among Poles and Ukrainians that it would be possible to use the Russian-German conflict for building a new independent state. But the Germans did not only kill Russians, but also Poles and Ukrainians. The Polish and Ukrainian population also attacked people from the Sowjet administration.
3. January 1944: The Polish exile government decides to work together with the Sowjets
23. March 1944: Action ‘Burza’, Polish territories were liberated from the Germans by the Polish underground army which became a regular army, Polish units fought with the Red Army against the Germans, but after the Red Army was in control of the territories all representatives of Polish administration and army were arrested and then brought to Siberia or forced to fight in the Red Army. The SU declared that the Polish underground army was facist and had fought with the Nazis so tens of thousands were brought to Siberia.
1. August 1944: Outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, Red Army stopped fighting for 5 months until the Germans had completely destroyed Warsaw.
Conference of Jalta February 1945: Poland was moved to the West by Stalin, until February 1945 the Poles thought that there was still a chance that the eastern territories could fall to Poland so they tried to liberate these areas from the Soviets.
From 1944 to end of 1945 Sowjet occupation of all Poland, no influence of Polish administration, complete distruction of the military structures (Home Army and NSZ), all Poles were expelled from the Eastern territories to the West (2-3 Mio?), whole factories were brought to the SU, towns and villages plundered, until the 50s/ 1989 permanent Soviet control over the institutions of the Polish state.
Poland was the state that was occupied by the 3rd Reich for the longest time, nearly 5 ½ years from 1939 on. This occupation completely changed the Polish society and it touched the life of every single person. There were new borders and the economy and administration was radically reorganized.
Basic characteristics of the NS- occupation politics in Poland:
The Nazis created the public image of an ‘enemy Poland’ (in a relatively short time), i.e.:
People believed that the Polish state was partly erected on German territory and that these territories were originally German and that Germans needed Lebensraum.
People tended to look down on Poland
Racism against Slaws (‘inferior, subhuman people’), already in ‘Mein Kampf’
Aim: Elimination of the Polish nation !
Hitler on 22. August 1939: “The elimination of Poland is the main aim. This war is not about achieving a certain border, but all living powers (in Poland) should be destroyed, no mercy and a brutal conduct is necessary”.
Especially targeted (killed) was the Polish intelligence: catholic priests, school and high school teachers, officials of political clubs, doctors, pharmacists, officers, civil servants, economists, land owners, high school students, aims: first, to prevent Polish elites from organizing resistance or from ever regrouping into a governing class; second, to exploit the less educated majority of peasants and workers as unskilled laborers in agriculture and industry.
All universities, schools, monuments , museums and libraries were closed, plundering and destruction of cultural signs, persecution of Catholic priests, in annexed territories: no Polish press, in GG: Press on the lowest level,
Himmler wrote in a May 1940 memorandum, "The sole goal of this schooling is to teach them simple arithmetic, nothing above the number 500; writing one's name; and the doctrine that it is divine law to obey the Germans. . . . I do not think that reading is desirable"
Sind 1.9. 1939: Terror system without example in Poland , Terror and Air war against the civil population, killing of war prisoners
Mass executions by SD Einsatzgruppen (Himmler), „Selbstschutz“ (German minority) and Wehrmacht. Most brutal: An action codenamed "Operation Tannenberg" ("Unternehmen Tannenberg") in September and October 1939, an estimated 760 mass executions were carried out by Einsatzkommandos, resulting in the deaths of at least 20,000 of the most prominent Polish citizens. Expulsion and murder became commonplace.
Proscription lists (Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen) identified more than 61,000 Polish activists, intelligentsia, actors, former officers, etc who were to be interned or shot. Members of the German minority living in Poland assisted in preparing the lists.
Anti-Polish and anti-Jewish propaganda
3. Sept.1939: Himmler’s Order: Killing all Polish insurgents and partisans, 3./4. Sept. Bloody Sunday in Bromberg (Bydgoscsz), used by propaganda.
2. October 1939: Hitler says “There can only be one Lord for the Poles and this is the German. There cannot be two Lords so all representatives of the Polish intelligence are to be eliminated. That sounds hard, but this is the law of life”.
Possibility of a peaceful cooperation between Germany and Poland destroyed (forever).
8. October 1939: Division of Polish territory
Annexation of the following areas: Danzig-Westpreussen (Westpreussen, Pomerellen), Wartheland (Grosspolen), Regierungsbezirk Zichenau (Masuren, Suwałki), Ostoberschlesien. These annexed territories were the most developed parts of Poland. While drawing the lines the historical borders were not respected. In central Poland the German borders were pushed 100-200 km further east then the borders of 1918. Nearly 1 million Poles were expelled from this German ruled area, while 600,000 Germans from Eastern Europe and 400,000 from the German Reich were settled there.
East Upper Silesia and Lodsch were important because of the industry, Wartheland = important because of the agriculture.
Generalgouvernement= “German colony”
Ruled by Gouverneur Hans Frank in Krakau, districts in Warschau, Lublin, Radom, Krakau, (since 1941 Lemberg), “Polish reservation”, Poles and Jews were driven to this territory
- Administration (high and middle) solely German, all from the Reich, because German minority was not qualified, had no connections and was seen as unreliable, Reichsdeutsche = interested only in their carreer, did not know land and country, looked down on Polish population
- no higher positions for Poles, special law for Poles (Sonderstrafrecht), only Polish police (“Blue police”) stayed, but without big competences
- many commands and interdictions for Poles: for example duty to greet German officials/ shops, parks and transportations which could only be used by Germans
‘The Germanisation of Polish territories occurred by deporting and exterminating the Jews, depriving Poles of their rights and supporting the local Germans and the ethnic Germans resettled from the East. The German minority living in this ethnically mixed region was required to adhere to strict codes of behaviour and was held accountable for all unauthorised contacts with their Polish and, even more so, their Jewish neighbours. The system of control and repression strove to isolate the various ethnic (‘racial’) groups, encouraging denunciations and thus instilling fear in the populace’.
Aim: in the short run = exploitation, in the long run = Germanisation (Generalplan Ost for ethnic cleasing: In ten years' time, the plan called for the extermination, expulsion, enslavement or Germanisation of most or all Poles and East Slavs still living behind the front line. Instead, 250 million Germans would live in an extended Lebensraum ("living space") of the 1000-Year Reich (Tausendjähriges Reich / 1000-Year empire) . Fifty years after the war, under the Große Planung, Generalplan Ost foresaw the eventual expulsion and extermination of more than 50 million Slavs beyond the Ural Mountains.
By 1952 only about 3–4 million Poles were supposed to be left residing in the former Poland, and then only to serve as slaves for German settlers. They were to be forbidden to marry, the existing ban on any medical help to Poles in Germany would be extended, and eventually Poles (believed by the Nazis to be Untermenschen, that is "sub-human") would cease to exist.
But regional differences: Ostoberschlesien / Danzig-Westpreussen: Germanisation, but maintenance of economic and technical infrastructure.
Warthegau/ Zichenau/ GG = ethnic cleansing and separation, deportation and executions
Generalgouvernement (GG) and annexed territories = private banks, companies and land owners which were not German were dispossessed and their property fell into the hands of the state. 1939-41: Dispossession of 214.000 estates, 38.000 industrial objects, 897.000 farms with 8,1 Mio ha.
Profiting from this were : German companies, immigrants from the Reich, German minority and German immigrants from East Europe and the Baltics (“Heim ins Reich”).
Intensive explotation of agriculture, Poles only kept the bad grounds, duty to hand in agricultural products
GG= stocks and machines were transported into the Reich, raising of taxes, duties, war charges
Since 1941= GG was exporting, the Polish and Jewish population starved to death, food had to be given to German authorities (under pressure, physical violence)
Exploitation and killing of Jews and Poles made it possible that the Reich had enough food until 1945.
Generalgouvernement (GG) and annexed territories served also as a reservoir for cheap labour, mass forced labour (2,8 Mio, in Wartheland 12% of the population was deported into the Reich), but also forced labour on the spot: agriculture, administration, companies. Special camps were erected for people who did forced labour. In addition to SS-owned enterprises (the German Armament Works, for example), private German firms—such as Messerschmitt, Junkers, Siemens, and IG Farben—increasingly relied on forced laborers to boost war production.
Since 1939: erection of ca. 400 Ghettos for Jews (living conditions and sanitary conditions of the worst kind). ‘Waiting hall’ until the ‘final solution’ of the Jewish question.
Until 1945 on Polish soil: 2,7 Mio Jews killed, 1,8 Mio of them were Polish
All in all 5 Mio Jews, 3 Mio of them Polish
Most Jews died in concentration camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek etc. There was also camp Stutthof concentration camp used for mass extermination of Poles. There was a number of civilian labour camps (Gemeinschaftslager) for Poles (Polenlager) on the territory of Poland. Many Poles did die in German camps. The first non-German prisoners at Auschwitz were Poles, who were the majority of inmates there until 1942, when the systematic killing of the Jews began. The first killing by poison gas at Auschwitz involved 300 Poles and 700 Soviet prisoners of war, among them ethnic Ukrainians, Russians and others. Many Poles and other Eastern Europeans were also sent to concentration camps in Germany: over 35,000 to Dachau, 33,000 to the camp for women at Ravensbruck, 30,000 to Mauthausen and 20,000 to Sachsenhausen, for example.
The brutal disposession, exploitation, persecution and elimination took place in front of the German and Polish civil population. Also the Polish population was deported, persecuted and terrorized.
Mass deportation into the GG (at least 360.000 inhabitants of the annexed areas, in annexed areas also Germanisation, “Deutsche Volksliste”), separation of German and Polish population, Poles can use public transport only with permission, German shops and Polish shops, on public markets: different times for German and Polish buyers, restaurants “For Poles forbidden” and “Only for Poles”.
Curfew only for polish population, flyers promote separation of Germans and Poles
BUT: regional differences = sometimes no duty to greet German officials, sometimes Polish as inofficial language allowed (extremely strict: Warthegau, extremely light: Ostoberschlesien).
Sometimes also Polish police helped to execute NS-politics: deportations of forced workers, executions, helping with Razzias and killing of Jews.
In GG Polish underground state: not only military and partisans, Armia Krajowa, underground administration, secret schools.
in GG some Polish caritative organizations worked (Rada Główna Opiekuńcza).
Of 35 Mio citicens 1939 ca. 6 Mio died (about 20% of the population, 90% civilians), 3 Mio Jews, ca. 1,5 Mio ethnic Poles, in Germany there is more a discussion about Holocaust and the migration after World War II, Polish victims should be part of the German remembrance culture.
The Sowjet Occupation 1939-41 (according to Mikołaj Morżycki-Markowski, Museum of World War II Gdańsk)
1.9. 1939: 100.000 civilians fled in Sept. 1939 from the German attackers to the eastern polish territories also the Polish government moved to Zaleczyki. Poles expected that the front would stabilize along the Wisła and expected help from the partners Great Britain and France, but help didn’t come.
17.9. 1939: Red army invaded East Poland with 500.000 soldiers > shock, stap into the back, all Polish armed forces were fighting in the West, so only very few troups could do resistance in the East, the Polish government was completely surprised, at first it thought that Red army wanted to help Poland in its war against Germany. General Edward Rydz-śmigły first gave the order to not attack the sowjet troups exept in the case of a direct threat, this order created additional chaos. At the end of September 1939 it was clear that there had been the Hitler-Stalin-Pact and that the two aggressors were united. German and Sowjet troups were stationed along the Bug and San and there was even an common military parade in Brest. There were also four Gestapo-NKWD conferences in 1939/40 The secret protocol of the 23rd August 1939 said that the SU should get the whole eastern part of Poland (Stanisławów, Tarnopol, Wolhynia, Polesie, Nowogród, Vilnius, Białystok, Lwów), now 52% of Polish territory and 14 Mio people were under Sowjet occupation.
Many Poles fled from the East to the West now, because they were afraid of the Bolschewiki and wrongly expected a better life under the German occupation, many emigrated to Rumania and lived in camps there.
The Sowjet propaganda declared the occupation as a humanitarian gesture to protect life and property especially of the Belarussian and Ukrainian population after the complete breakdown of the Polish state, according to Molotow a “bastard of the Versailles Treaty”.
Ethnic composition of the Eastern areas: 38% Poles (ca. 5.1 million people), 37% Ukrainians, 14.5% Belarusians, 8.4% Jews, 0.9% Russians and 0.6% Germans. There were also 336,000 refugees from areas occupied by Germany, most of them Jews (198,000).
The Jews in Eastern Poland, who were very poor, (and to a lesser extent also Ukrainians and Belarussians) saw the possibility to emancipate from the privileged Poles. Many of them were communistic and left-wing and believed that the SU would guarantee freedom and security. In contrast to the 3.Reich where the ‘Nuernberger Laws’ were in place there didn’t seem to be any anti-Semitism in the USSR. Parts of the Jewish population greeted the Red Army with approval and helped to build up political power structures. This led to an anti-Jewish mood in the Polish population in which also crimes against Jews were perpetrated (June 1941, Jedwabne).
Situation of the Polish population after 17.9.1939:
- Red Army and NKWD thought that the Polish population was counter-revolutionary and didn’t believe in the communist ideology
- They had a list of persons who were directly imprisoned: officials, teachers, officers, policemen, land owners. Partly there were also lynchings of Poles, especially in the areas where Ukrainians lived
- Ukrainians who were for independence were as much persecuted as Poles who were for independence.
- Of the deported and executed people in 1939-41 (ca. 500.000): 59% Poles, 25% Jews (most came from Westpoland), 8% Ukrainians, 7% Belarussians
1./2. November 1939: Annexation of the East Polish territories into the SowjetUnion (Belarussian and Ukrainian SSR), the Sowjetic political, economic and judicial system was immediately introduced. Politics of Russification, no cultural and linguistic autonomy was allowed, the counterrevolutionary Ukrainian and Belarussian intelligence was deported and killed.
10.000 officials from the NKWD (mostly from behind the Ural) tried to control the newly annexed territories and to get rid of the Polish, Jewish, Belarussian and Ukrainian intelligence.
1939-40: ca. 330.000 Polish people were deported from East Poland to Siberia, plus 200.000 Polish soldiers who were brought into Sowjet camps (of these 25.000 Polish officers were executed in Katyn, Charkow and Tver after a direct command from Stalin)
Ca. 200.000 Polish people had to fight in the Red Army or had to do forced labor.
(ca. 10% of the population of Eastern Poland was deported, most of them died).
At least 22.000 Polish citicens were publicly executed between 1939 and 1941.
(Wikipedia says: In 1940 and the first half of 1941, the Soviets deported more than 1,200,000 Poles, most in four mass deportations. The first deportation took place February 10, 1940, with more than 220,000 sent to northern European Russia; the second on April 13, 1940, sending 320,000 primarily to Kazakhstan; a third wave in June-July 1940 totaled more than 240,000; the fourth occurred in June, 1941, deporting 300,000. Upon resumption of Polish-Soviet diplomatic relations in 1941, it was determined based on Soviet information that more than 760,000 of the deportees had died—a large part of those dead being children, who had comprised about a third of deportees)
Difference German occupation – Sowjet occupation:
In contrast to the Nationalsocialists the communistic system made a life in relative security possible if a citizen completely took over the Sowjetic doctrine and even upward social mobility was possible then. Poles had the chance to proof that they were willing and able to build up a communistic state.
The question of Polish cooperation with the Sowjets is hard to answer:
- The famous writer Ignacy Witkiewicz killed himself on 17. September 1939, other Poles died fighting against the Sowjets
- Again others fled to the west, because they thought that the German occupation would not be so brutal (experiences from the First World War)
The example of Lwów:
They were still official newspapers in Polish language (Czerwony Sztandar: Red Flag, Prawda Radziecka: Sowjetic Truth). Articles had to be in line with ideology. For articles which were not in line with the ideology journalists could go 10 years to prison also for example for wrong dates in articles (like the founding date of the Red Army).
There were also still Polish professors at the university, only professors from philosophy, history, sociology and economy were expelled and replaced by professors from Moscow or Leningrad. Mathematicians, Physicians and Chemists could stay, but had to do lectures in Russian or Ukrainian.
Also the Polish Theatre and the Polish Radio had to follow ideology, but polish classical works and works of the world literature could still be played.
After 17. September 39: scarcity of goods in former East Poland, because
- Red Army and NKWD bought or confiscated everything.
- Private productions were closed, free trade was absolutely forbidden (Farmers could not sell their products, they had to join collectives and hand in their goods, that didn’t work in the beginning)
- Nationalisation of private banks and factories (owners often went to prison)
- Private craftsmen were first tolerated (so that there is no shortage of industrial goods), later they had to join collectives
Economic difficulties: the cities got products of inferior quality from other parts of the EU, exchange of goods between towns and countryside didn’t work, so there was dirt and chaos in the towns
Also there were migrants from the Soviet Union, they were seen as backward, because the living standard in Poland was much higher, soldiers of the Red Army considered the flat of a Polish worker to be luxurious
The French defeat in 1940 led to a shock among the Polish population and to a new wave of Sowjet propaganda (especially in schools, universities, companies). The hopes to erect a Polish state again were waining
Underground: The Sowjet secret service NKWD fought against the Polish underground army ZWZ as well as against the Ukrainian underground army (UPA). (Especially after 1943 they worked very effectively with the help of Polish and Ukrainian spies whose families were in Siberia).
The Operation Barbarossa on 22.June 1941 raised hopes among Poles and Ukrainians that it would be possible to use the Russian-German conflict for building a new independent state. But the Germans did not only kill Russians, but also Poles and Ukrainians. The Polish and Ukrainian population also attacked people from the Sowjet administration.
3. January 1944: The Polish exile government decides to work together with the Sowjets
23. March 1944: Action ‘Burza’, Polish territories were liberated from the Germans by the Polish underground army which became a regular army, Polish units fought with the Red Army against the Germans, but after the Red Army was in control of the territories all representatives of Polish administration and army were arrested and then brought to Siberia or forced to fight in the Red Army. The SU declared that the Polish underground army was facist and had fought with the Nazis so tens of thousands were brought to Siberia.
1. August 1944: Outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, Red Army stopped fighting for 5 months until the Germans had completely destroyed Warsaw.
Conference of Jalta February 1945: Poland was moved to the West by Stalin, until February 1945 the Poles thought that there was still a chance that the eastern territories could fall to Poland so they tried to liberate these areas from the Soviets.
From 1944 to end of 1945 Sowjet occupation of all Poland, no influence of Polish administration, complete distruction of the military structures (Home Army and NSZ), all Poles were expelled from the Eastern territories to the West (2-3 Mio?), whole factories were brought to the SU, towns and villages plundered, until the 50s/ 1989 permanent Soviet control over the institutions of the Polish state.
POLAND Timeline (1918–1939)
POLAND Timeline (1918–1939)
Facts aftermath of IWW
which reasons which consequence ???
* Independence; Warsaw was free: November 11, 1918.
* Elections to the Sejm: January 26, 1919.
* Treaty of Versailles (Articles 87–93) and Little Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919, establish Poland as a sovereign and independent state on the international arena.
* War against the Ukrainians: Polish-Ukrainian War.
* War against the Soviets: Polish-Soviet War (February 1919–March 1921). Miracle of the Vistula. Treaty of Riga.
* War against the Lithuanians: Polish-Lithuanian War.
* Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia.
* Uprisings in Wielkopolska and Silesia. Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings.
* July 15, 1920 – Agrarian Reform.
* March 17, 1921 – March Constitution.
* 1921 – alliances with France, Romania.
* March 24, 1922 – annexation of Vilnius Region from Lithuania
* Elections to the Sejm (1922-11-05) and to the Senat – 1922-11-12.
* President Gabriel Narutowicz, and his assassination (December 16, 1922).
* 1924 – Wladyslaw Grabski Government. Bank Polski. Monetary reform 1924 in Poland.
* President Stanisław Wojciechowski – December 20, 1922, to Zamach majowy.
* Coup of May – Zamach majowy, 1926, May, Józef Piłsudski coup d'état (May Coup). beginning of Sanacja government.
* Roman Dmowski, Obóz Wielkiej Polski (4 December 1926), Endecja.
* 1928 – Piłsudski's nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government.
* 16 November 1930 – Polish legislative election.
* 25 July 1932 – non-aggression pact with Soviet Union (what this saids ??? how was possible that after 7 years there was the ribbentrop molotov pact ???)
* 26 January 1934 – non-aggression pact with Germany
* 23 April 1935 – April Constitution
* 12 May 1935 – death of Józef Piłsudski
* 1930s – Gdynia, Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy (1936), Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
* 2 February 1937 – creation of the Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego political party"[2].
* October 1938 – annexation of Zaolzie, Górna Orawa, Jaworzyna from Czechoslovakia
* 2 January 1939 – death of Roman Dmowski
* 31 March 1939 – military guarantees from United Kingdom and France
* 23 August 1939 – non-aggression pact between Soviet Union and Germany: Ribbentrop-Molotow Pact with a secret military alliance protocol targeting Poland (among several other countries)
* 25 August 1939 – alliance between Poland and United Kingdom
(why only now ??? when the relations between this two country was always good ???...nd of the politics of appeasement of GB..??)
Facts aftermath of IWW
which reasons which consequence ???
* Independence; Warsaw was free: November 11, 1918.
* Elections to the Sejm: January 26, 1919.
* Treaty of Versailles (Articles 87–93) and Little Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919, establish Poland as a sovereign and independent state on the international arena.
* War against the Ukrainians: Polish-Ukrainian War.
* War against the Soviets: Polish-Soviet War (February 1919–March 1921). Miracle of the Vistula. Treaty of Riga.
* War against the Lithuanians: Polish-Lithuanian War.
* Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia.
* Uprisings in Wielkopolska and Silesia. Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings.
* July 15, 1920 – Agrarian Reform.
* March 17, 1921 – March Constitution.
* 1921 – alliances with France, Romania.
* March 24, 1922 – annexation of Vilnius Region from Lithuania
* Elections to the Sejm (1922-11-05) and to the Senat – 1922-11-12.
* President Gabriel Narutowicz, and his assassination (December 16, 1922).
* 1924 – Wladyslaw Grabski Government. Bank Polski. Monetary reform 1924 in Poland.
* President Stanisław Wojciechowski – December 20, 1922, to Zamach majowy.
* Coup of May – Zamach majowy, 1926, May, Józef Piłsudski coup d'état (May Coup). beginning of Sanacja government.
* Roman Dmowski, Obóz Wielkiej Polski (4 December 1926), Endecja.
* 1928 – Piłsudski's nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government.
* 16 November 1930 – Polish legislative election.
* 25 July 1932 – non-aggression pact with Soviet Union (what this saids ??? how was possible that after 7 years there was the ribbentrop molotov pact ???)
* 26 January 1934 – non-aggression pact with Germany
* 23 April 1935 – April Constitution
* 12 May 1935 – death of Józef Piłsudski
* 1930s – Gdynia, Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy (1936), Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
* 2 February 1937 – creation of the Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego political party"[2].
* October 1938 – annexation of Zaolzie, Górna Orawa, Jaworzyna from Czechoslovakia
* 2 January 1939 – death of Roman Dmowski
* 31 March 1939 – military guarantees from United Kingdom and France
* 23 August 1939 – non-aggression pact between Soviet Union and Germany: Ribbentrop-Molotow Pact with a secret military alliance protocol targeting Poland (among several other countries)
* 25 August 1939 – alliance between Poland and United Kingdom
(why only now ??? when the relations between this two country was always good ???...nd of the politics of appeasement of GB..??)
GERMANY TIME LINE
GERMANY TIME LINE
• 1918 End of Dreiklassenwahlrecht; universal suffrage introduced (women get the vote for the first time)
• 1919 Treaty of Versailles
• 1919–1933 Weimar Republic
• 1920 Kapp Putsch
• 1922 Treaty of Rapallo
• Munich Putsch
• Ruhr Crisis
• 1920s German inflation
• Gustav Stresemann becomes Chancellor and introduces Rentenmark
• 1924 Dawes Plan
• 1925 Locarno Treaties
• 1925 - Joins the League of Nations
• 1929 Young Plan
• 1929 Gustav Stresemann dies
• 1930 German election, 1930
• 1933 Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany; Gleichschaltung
• 1933 - 1945 Nazi Germany (Third Reich)
• 1939 - 1945 World War II (see also Timeline of World War II)
Few would have thought that the Nazi Party, starting as a gang of unemployed soldiers in 1919, would become the legal government of Germany by 1933. In fourteen years, a once obscure corporal, Adolf Hitler , would become the Chancellor of Germany.
World War I ended in 1918 with a grisly total of 37 million casualties, including 9 million dead combatants. German propaganda had not prepared the nation for defeat, resulting in a sense of injured German national pride. Those military and political leaders who were responsible claimed that Germany had been "stabbed in the back" by its leftwing politicians, Communists, and Jews. When a new government, the Weimar Republic , tried to establish a democratic course, extreme political parties from both the right and the left struggled violently for control. The new regime could neither handle the depressed economy nor the rampant lawlessness and disorder.
This site explores the consequences of Germany's defeat in WWI.
The German population swallowed the bitter pill of defeat as the victorious Allies punished Germany severely. In the Treaty of Versailles , Germany was disarmed and forced to pay reparations to France and Britain for the huge costs of the war.
This site contains the complete Treaty of Versailles as well as maps and related material.
The German Workers' Party , the forerunner of the Nazi Party, espoused a right-wing ideology, like many similar groups of demobilized soldiers. Adolf Hitler joined this small political party in 1919 and rose to leadership through his emotional and captivating speeches. He encouraged national pride, militarism, and a commitment to the Volk and a racially "pure" Germany. Hitler condemned the Jews, exploiting antisemitic feelings that had prevailed in Europe for centuries. He changed the name of the party to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, called for short, the Nazi Party (or NSDAP). By the end of 1920, the Nazi Party had about 3,000 members. A year later Hitler became its official leader, or Führer.
Adolf Hitler's attempt at an armed overthrow of local authorities in Munich, known as the Beer Hall Putsch , failed miserably. The Nazi Party seemed doomed to fail and its leaders, including Hitler, were subsequently jailed and charged with high treason. However, Hitler used the courtroom at his public trial as a propaganda platform, ranting for hours against the Weimar government. By the end of the 24-day trial Hitler had actually gained support for his courage to act. The right-wing presiding judges sympathized with Hitler and sentenced him to only five years in prison, with eligibility for early parole. Hitler was released from prison after one year. Other Nazi leaders were given light sentences also.
This site details Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch.
While in prison, Hitler wrote volume one of Mein Kampf (My Struggle) , which was published in 1925. This work detailed Hitler's radical ideas of German nationalism, antisemitism, and anti-Bolshevism. Linked with Social Darwinism, the human struggle that said that might makes right, Hitler's book became the ideological base for the Nazi Party's racist beliefs and murderous practices.
This site discusses many of the ideas contained within Mein Kampf.
After Hitler was released from prison, he formally resurrected the Nazi Party. Hitler began rebuilding and reorganizing the Party, waiting for an opportune time to gain political power in Germany. The Conservative military hero Paul von Hindenburg was elected president in 1925, and Germany stabilized.
Hitler skillfully maneuvered through Nazi Party politics and emerged as the sole leader. The Führerprinzip, or leader principle, established Hitler as the one and only to whom Party members swore loyalty unto death. Final decision making rested with him, and his strategy was to develop a highly centralized and structured party that could compete in Germany's future elections. Hitler hoped to create a bureaucracy which he envisioned as "the germ of the future state."
The Nazi Party began building a mass movement. From 27,000 members in 1925, the Party grew to 108,000 in 1929. The SA was the paramilitary unit of the Party, a propaganda arm that became known for its strong arm tactics of street brawling and terror. The SS was established as an elite group with special duties within the SA, but it remained inconsequential until Heinrich Himmler became its leader in 1929. By the late twenties, the Nazi Party started other auxiliary groups. The Hitler Youth , the Student League and the Pupils' League were open to young Germans. The National Socialist Women's League allowed women to get involved. Different professional groups--teachers, lawyers and doctors--had their own auxiliary units.
From 1925 to 1927, the Nazi Party failed to make inroads in the cities and in May 1928, it did poorly in the Reichstag elections, winning only 2.6% of the total vote. The Party shifted its strategy to rural and small town areas and fueled antisemitism by calling for expropriation of Jewish agricultural property and by condemning large Jewish department stores. Party propaganda proved effective at winning over university students, veterans' organizations, and professional groups, although the Party became increasingly identified with young men of the lower middle classes.
1929
The Great Depression began in 1929 and wrought worldwide economic, social, and psychological consequences. The Weimar democracy proved unable to cope with national despair as unemployment doubled from three million to six million, or one in three, by 1932. The existing "Great Coalition" government, a combination of left-wing and conservative parties, collapsed while arguing about the rising cost of unemployment benefits.
Reich president Paul von Hindenburg's advisers persuaded him to invoke the constitution's emergency presidential powers. These powers allowed the president to restore law and order in a crisis. Hindenburg created a new government, made up of a chancellor and cabinet ministers, to rule by emergency decrees instead of by laws passed by the Reichstag. So began the demise of the Weimar democracy.
Heinrich Brüning was the first chancellor under the new presidential system. He was unable to unify the government, and in September 1930, there were new elections. The Nazi Party won an important victory, capturing 18.3% of the vote to make it the second largest party in the Reichstag.
The Great Depression has a large impact on Germany.
This is a description of the Nazi Party's 1930 campaign for Reichstag seats.
1932
Hindenburg's term as president was ending in the spring of 1932. At age 84, he was reluctant to run again, but knew that if he didn't, Hitler would win. Hindenburg won the election, but Hitler received 37% of the vote.
Germany's government remained on the brink of collapse. The SA brownshirts, about 400,000 strong, were a part of daily street violence. The economy was still in crisis. In the election of July 1932, the Nazi Party won 37% of the Reichstag seats, thanks to a massive propaganda campaign. For the next six months, the most powerful German leaders were embroiled in a series of desperate political maneuverings. Ultimately, these major players severely underestimated Hitler's political abilities.
With Adolf Hitler's ascendancy to the chancellorship, the Nazi Party quickly consolidated its power. Hitler managed to maintain a posture of legality throughout the Nazification process.
Domestically, during the next six years, Hitler completely transformed Germany into a police state. Germany steadily began rearmament of its military, in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles . Internationally, Hitler engaged in a "diplomatic revolution" by skillfully negotiating with other European countries and publicly expressing his strong desire for peace.
Starting in 1938, Hitler began his aggressive quest for Lebensraum,or more living space. Britain, France, and Russia did not want to enter into war and their collective diplomatic stance was to appease the bully Germany. Without engaging in war, Germany was able to annex neighboring Austria and carve up Czechoslovakia. At last, a reluctant Britain and France threatened war if Germany targeted Poland and/or Romania.
In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France had no choice but to declare war on Germany. World War II had begun.
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor.
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building went up in flames. Nazis immediately claimed that this was the beginning of a Communist revolution. This fact leads many historians to believe that Nazis actually set, or help set the fire. Others believe that a deranged Dutch Communist set the fire. The issue has never been resolved. This incident prompted Hitler to convince Hindenburg to issue a Decree for the Protection of People and State that granted Nazis sweeping power to deal with the so-called emergency. This laid the foundation for a police state.
This site covers the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor and the political infighting leading up to that event.
The Reichstag fire and the ensuing emergency decree restricting personal liberties are discussed.
Within months of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, the Dachau concentration camp was created. The Nazis began arresting Communists, Socialists, and labor leaders. Dachau became a training center for concentration camp guards and later commandants who were taught terror tactics to dehumanize their prisoners. Parliamentary democracy ended with the Reichstag passage of the Enabling Act, which allowed the government to issue laws without the Reichstag.
As part of a policy of internal coordination, the Nazis created Special Courts to punish political dissent. In a parallel move from April to October, the regime passed civil laws that barred Jews from holding positions in the civil service, in legal and medical professions, and in teaching and university positions. The Nazis encouraged boycotts of Jewish-owned shops and businesses and began book burnings of writings by Jews and by others not approved by the Reich.
"The Burning of the Books in Nazi Germany, 1933: The American Response" by Guy Stern.
Nazi antisemitic legislation and propaganda against "Non-Aryans" was a thinly disguised attack against anyone who had Jewish parents or grandparents. Jews felt increasingly isolated from the rest of German society.
Fifteen photographs record Nazi indoctrination of Germany's youth.
The SA (Sturmabteilung) had been instrumental in Hitler's rise to power. In early 1934, there were 2.5 million SA men compared with 100,000 men in the regular army. Hitler knew that the regular army opposed the SA becoming its core. Fearing the power of the regular army to force him from office, Hitler curried their favor by attacking the leadership of the SA in the "Night of the Long Knives." Hitler arrested Ernst Röhm and scores of other SA leaders and had them shot by the SS , which now rose in importance.
This site recounts the events of the "Night of the Long Knives," Hitler's bloody action against the SA.
On August 2, 1934, President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the offices of Reich Chancellor and President, declaring himself Führer and Reich Chancellor, or Reichsführer (Leader of the Reich).
Hitler announced the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. These laws stripped Jews of their civil rights as German citizens and separated them from Germans legally, socially, and politically. Jews were also defined as a separate race under "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor." Being Jewish was now determined by ancestry; thus the Germans used race, not religious beliefs or practices, to define the Jewish people. This law forbade marriages or sexual relations between Jews and Germans. Hitler warned darkly that if this law did not resolve the problem, he would turn to the Nazi Party for a final solution.
More than 120 laws, decrees, and ordinances were enacted after the Nuremburg Laws and before the outbreak of World War II, further eroding the rights of German Jews. Many thousands of Germans who had not previously considered themselves Jews found themselves defined as "non-Aryans."
This discussion of 1932-1935 includes Hitler's rise to power, the instruments of Nazi terror, and the Nuremberg Laws.
Read about the Hitlerjugend , a Nazi organization that counted 60% of Germany's youth among its members by 1935.
Jump to the Resource section to view photos of the Third Reich from 1933-39 including book burnings, Hitler, and Hitler Youth.
In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympics. Hitler viewed this as a perfect opportunity to promote a favorable image of Nazism to the world. Monumental stadiums and other Olympic facilities were constructed as Nazi showpieces. Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned to create a film, Olympia, for the purpose of Nazi propaganda. Some have called her previous film in 1935, Triumph of the Will, one of the great propaganda pieces of the century. In it, she portrayed Hitler as a god.
International political unrest preceded the games. It was questioned whether the Nazi regime could really accept the terms of the Olympic Charter of participation unrestricted by class, creed, or race. There were calls for a U.S. boycott of the games. The Nazis guaranteed that they would allow German Jews to participate. The boycott did not occur.
While two Germans with some Jewish ancestry were invited to be on the German Olympic team, the German Jewish athlete Gretel Bergmann, one of the world's most accomplished high jumpers, was not.
The great irony of these Olympics was that, in the land of "Aryan superiority," it was Jesse Owens, the African-American track star, who was the undisputed hero of the games.
The Resource section offers photos from the 1936 Berlin Olympics showing street decorations, the arrival of the US team, and the Olympic stadium.
This Resource gallery consists of recent photos showing the Olympic stadium in Berlin.
Recent photos of sculptures on the grounds of the Olympic stadium in Berlin.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers a Web tour of its Olympics exhibit.
In March 1938, as part of Hitler's quest for uniting all German-speaking people and for Lebensraum, Germany took over Austria without bloodshed. The Anschluss occurred with the overwhelming approval of the Austrian people. No countries protested this violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
In September 1938, Hitler eyed the northwestern area of Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland , which had three million German-speaking citizens. Hitler did not want to march into the Sudetenland until he was certain that France and Britain would not intervene. First, he met with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and threatened to go to war if he did not receive the territory. Then at the Munich Conference, Hitler prevailed upon Britain, France and, Italy to agree to the cession of the Sudetenland. The Western powers chose appeasement rather than military confrontation. Germany occupied the Sudetenland on October 15, 1938.
These photographs show the German annexation of the Sudetenland. In Germany, open antisemitism became increasingly accepted, climaxing in the "Night of Broken Glass" (Kristallnacht) on November 9, 1938. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels initiated this free-for-all against the Jews, during which nearly 1,000 synagogues were set on fire and 76 were destroyed. More than 7,000 Jewish businesses and homes were looted, about one hundred Jews were killed and as many as 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps to be tormented, many for months. Within days, the Nazis forced the Jews to transfer their businesses to Aryan hands and expelled all Jewish pupils from public schools. With brazen arrogance, the Nazis further persecuted the Jews by forcing them to pay for the damages of Kristallnacht .
This Nazi order instigated Kristallnacht "measures."
This gallery shows the desecration of synagogues, some of which were damaged during Kristallnacht.
Movie clip documenting the violence of Kristallnacht.
An extended article on Kristallnacht including an introduction, fact sheet, personal profiles, documents, eyewitness accounts, and an epilogue.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, officially starting World War II. Two days later, Britain and France, now obliged by treaty to help Poland, declared war on Germany. Hitler's armies used the tactic of Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, a combination of armored attack accompanied by air assault. Before British and French power could be brought to bear, in less than four weeks, Poland collapsed. Germany's military conquest put it in a position to establish the New Order, a plan to abuse and eliminate so-called undesirables, notably Jews and Slavs.
• 1918 End of Dreiklassenwahlrecht; universal suffrage introduced (women get the vote for the first time)
• 1919 Treaty of Versailles
• 1919–1933 Weimar Republic
• 1920 Kapp Putsch
• 1922 Treaty of Rapallo
• Munich Putsch
• Ruhr Crisis
• 1920s German inflation
• Gustav Stresemann becomes Chancellor and introduces Rentenmark
• 1924 Dawes Plan
• 1925 Locarno Treaties
• 1925 - Joins the League of Nations
• 1929 Young Plan
• 1929 Gustav Stresemann dies
• 1930 German election, 1930
• 1933 Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany; Gleichschaltung
• 1933 - 1945 Nazi Germany (Third Reich)
• 1939 - 1945 World War II (see also Timeline of World War II)
Few would have thought that the Nazi Party, starting as a gang of unemployed soldiers in 1919, would become the legal government of Germany by 1933. In fourteen years, a once obscure corporal, Adolf Hitler , would become the Chancellor of Germany.
World War I ended in 1918 with a grisly total of 37 million casualties, including 9 million dead combatants. German propaganda had not prepared the nation for defeat, resulting in a sense of injured German national pride. Those military and political leaders who were responsible claimed that Germany had been "stabbed in the back" by its leftwing politicians, Communists, and Jews. When a new government, the Weimar Republic , tried to establish a democratic course, extreme political parties from both the right and the left struggled violently for control. The new regime could neither handle the depressed economy nor the rampant lawlessness and disorder.
This site explores the consequences of Germany's defeat in WWI.
The German population swallowed the bitter pill of defeat as the victorious Allies punished Germany severely. In the Treaty of Versailles , Germany was disarmed and forced to pay reparations to France and Britain for the huge costs of the war.
This site contains the complete Treaty of Versailles as well as maps and related material.
The German Workers' Party , the forerunner of the Nazi Party, espoused a right-wing ideology, like many similar groups of demobilized soldiers. Adolf Hitler joined this small political party in 1919 and rose to leadership through his emotional and captivating speeches. He encouraged national pride, militarism, and a commitment to the Volk and a racially "pure" Germany. Hitler condemned the Jews, exploiting antisemitic feelings that had prevailed in Europe for centuries. He changed the name of the party to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, called for short, the Nazi Party (or NSDAP). By the end of 1920, the Nazi Party had about 3,000 members. A year later Hitler became its official leader, or Führer.
Adolf Hitler's attempt at an armed overthrow of local authorities in Munich, known as the Beer Hall Putsch , failed miserably. The Nazi Party seemed doomed to fail and its leaders, including Hitler, were subsequently jailed and charged with high treason. However, Hitler used the courtroom at his public trial as a propaganda platform, ranting for hours against the Weimar government. By the end of the 24-day trial Hitler had actually gained support for his courage to act. The right-wing presiding judges sympathized with Hitler and sentenced him to only five years in prison, with eligibility for early parole. Hitler was released from prison after one year. Other Nazi leaders were given light sentences also.
This site details Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch.
While in prison, Hitler wrote volume one of Mein Kampf (My Struggle) , which was published in 1925. This work detailed Hitler's radical ideas of German nationalism, antisemitism, and anti-Bolshevism. Linked with Social Darwinism, the human struggle that said that might makes right, Hitler's book became the ideological base for the Nazi Party's racist beliefs and murderous practices.
This site discusses many of the ideas contained within Mein Kampf.
After Hitler was released from prison, he formally resurrected the Nazi Party. Hitler began rebuilding and reorganizing the Party, waiting for an opportune time to gain political power in Germany. The Conservative military hero Paul von Hindenburg was elected president in 1925, and Germany stabilized.
Hitler skillfully maneuvered through Nazi Party politics and emerged as the sole leader. The Führerprinzip, or leader principle, established Hitler as the one and only to whom Party members swore loyalty unto death. Final decision making rested with him, and his strategy was to develop a highly centralized and structured party that could compete in Germany's future elections. Hitler hoped to create a bureaucracy which he envisioned as "the germ of the future state."
The Nazi Party began building a mass movement. From 27,000 members in 1925, the Party grew to 108,000 in 1929. The SA was the paramilitary unit of the Party, a propaganda arm that became known for its strong arm tactics of street brawling and terror. The SS was established as an elite group with special duties within the SA, but it remained inconsequential until Heinrich Himmler became its leader in 1929. By the late twenties, the Nazi Party started other auxiliary groups. The Hitler Youth , the Student League and the Pupils' League were open to young Germans. The National Socialist Women's League allowed women to get involved. Different professional groups--teachers, lawyers and doctors--had their own auxiliary units.
From 1925 to 1927, the Nazi Party failed to make inroads in the cities and in May 1928, it did poorly in the Reichstag elections, winning only 2.6% of the total vote. The Party shifted its strategy to rural and small town areas and fueled antisemitism by calling for expropriation of Jewish agricultural property and by condemning large Jewish department stores. Party propaganda proved effective at winning over university students, veterans' organizations, and professional groups, although the Party became increasingly identified with young men of the lower middle classes.
1929
The Great Depression began in 1929 and wrought worldwide economic, social, and psychological consequences. The Weimar democracy proved unable to cope with national despair as unemployment doubled from three million to six million, or one in three, by 1932. The existing "Great Coalition" government, a combination of left-wing and conservative parties, collapsed while arguing about the rising cost of unemployment benefits.
Reich president Paul von Hindenburg's advisers persuaded him to invoke the constitution's emergency presidential powers. These powers allowed the president to restore law and order in a crisis. Hindenburg created a new government, made up of a chancellor and cabinet ministers, to rule by emergency decrees instead of by laws passed by the Reichstag. So began the demise of the Weimar democracy.
Heinrich Brüning was the first chancellor under the new presidential system. He was unable to unify the government, and in September 1930, there were new elections. The Nazi Party won an important victory, capturing 18.3% of the vote to make it the second largest party in the Reichstag.
The Great Depression has a large impact on Germany.
This is a description of the Nazi Party's 1930 campaign for Reichstag seats.
1932
Hindenburg's term as president was ending in the spring of 1932. At age 84, he was reluctant to run again, but knew that if he didn't, Hitler would win. Hindenburg won the election, but Hitler received 37% of the vote.
Germany's government remained on the brink of collapse. The SA brownshirts, about 400,000 strong, were a part of daily street violence. The economy was still in crisis. In the election of July 1932, the Nazi Party won 37% of the Reichstag seats, thanks to a massive propaganda campaign. For the next six months, the most powerful German leaders were embroiled in a series of desperate political maneuverings. Ultimately, these major players severely underestimated Hitler's political abilities.
With Adolf Hitler's ascendancy to the chancellorship, the Nazi Party quickly consolidated its power. Hitler managed to maintain a posture of legality throughout the Nazification process.
Domestically, during the next six years, Hitler completely transformed Germany into a police state. Germany steadily began rearmament of its military, in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles . Internationally, Hitler engaged in a "diplomatic revolution" by skillfully negotiating with other European countries and publicly expressing his strong desire for peace.
Starting in 1938, Hitler began his aggressive quest for Lebensraum,or more living space. Britain, France, and Russia did not want to enter into war and their collective diplomatic stance was to appease the bully Germany. Without engaging in war, Germany was able to annex neighboring Austria and carve up Czechoslovakia. At last, a reluctant Britain and France threatened war if Germany targeted Poland and/or Romania.
In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France had no choice but to declare war on Germany. World War II had begun.
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor.
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building went up in flames. Nazis immediately claimed that this was the beginning of a Communist revolution. This fact leads many historians to believe that Nazis actually set, or help set the fire. Others believe that a deranged Dutch Communist set the fire. The issue has never been resolved. This incident prompted Hitler to convince Hindenburg to issue a Decree for the Protection of People and State that granted Nazis sweeping power to deal with the so-called emergency. This laid the foundation for a police state.
This site covers the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor and the political infighting leading up to that event.
The Reichstag fire and the ensuing emergency decree restricting personal liberties are discussed.
Within months of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, the Dachau concentration camp was created. The Nazis began arresting Communists, Socialists, and labor leaders. Dachau became a training center for concentration camp guards and later commandants who were taught terror tactics to dehumanize their prisoners. Parliamentary democracy ended with the Reichstag passage of the Enabling Act, which allowed the government to issue laws without the Reichstag.
As part of a policy of internal coordination, the Nazis created Special Courts to punish political dissent. In a parallel move from April to October, the regime passed civil laws that barred Jews from holding positions in the civil service, in legal and medical professions, and in teaching and university positions. The Nazis encouraged boycotts of Jewish-owned shops and businesses and began book burnings of writings by Jews and by others not approved by the Reich.
"The Burning of the Books in Nazi Germany, 1933: The American Response" by Guy Stern.
Nazi antisemitic legislation and propaganda against "Non-Aryans" was a thinly disguised attack against anyone who had Jewish parents or grandparents. Jews felt increasingly isolated from the rest of German society.
Fifteen photographs record Nazi indoctrination of Germany's youth.
The SA (Sturmabteilung) had been instrumental in Hitler's rise to power. In early 1934, there were 2.5 million SA men compared with 100,000 men in the regular army. Hitler knew that the regular army opposed the SA becoming its core. Fearing the power of the regular army to force him from office, Hitler curried their favor by attacking the leadership of the SA in the "Night of the Long Knives." Hitler arrested Ernst Röhm and scores of other SA leaders and had them shot by the SS , which now rose in importance.
This site recounts the events of the "Night of the Long Knives," Hitler's bloody action against the SA.
On August 2, 1934, President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the offices of Reich Chancellor and President, declaring himself Führer and Reich Chancellor, or Reichsführer (Leader of the Reich).
Hitler announced the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. These laws stripped Jews of their civil rights as German citizens and separated them from Germans legally, socially, and politically. Jews were also defined as a separate race under "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor." Being Jewish was now determined by ancestry; thus the Germans used race, not religious beliefs or practices, to define the Jewish people. This law forbade marriages or sexual relations between Jews and Germans. Hitler warned darkly that if this law did not resolve the problem, he would turn to the Nazi Party for a final solution.
More than 120 laws, decrees, and ordinances were enacted after the Nuremburg Laws and before the outbreak of World War II, further eroding the rights of German Jews. Many thousands of Germans who had not previously considered themselves Jews found themselves defined as "non-Aryans."
This discussion of 1932-1935 includes Hitler's rise to power, the instruments of Nazi terror, and the Nuremberg Laws.
Read about the Hitlerjugend , a Nazi organization that counted 60% of Germany's youth among its members by 1935.
Jump to the Resource section to view photos of the Third Reich from 1933-39 including book burnings, Hitler, and Hitler Youth.
In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympics. Hitler viewed this as a perfect opportunity to promote a favorable image of Nazism to the world. Monumental stadiums and other Olympic facilities were constructed as Nazi showpieces. Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned to create a film, Olympia, for the purpose of Nazi propaganda. Some have called her previous film in 1935, Triumph of the Will, one of the great propaganda pieces of the century. In it, she portrayed Hitler as a god.
International political unrest preceded the games. It was questioned whether the Nazi regime could really accept the terms of the Olympic Charter of participation unrestricted by class, creed, or race. There were calls for a U.S. boycott of the games. The Nazis guaranteed that they would allow German Jews to participate. The boycott did not occur.
While two Germans with some Jewish ancestry were invited to be on the German Olympic team, the German Jewish athlete Gretel Bergmann, one of the world's most accomplished high jumpers, was not.
The great irony of these Olympics was that, in the land of "Aryan superiority," it was Jesse Owens, the African-American track star, who was the undisputed hero of the games.
The Resource section offers photos from the 1936 Berlin Olympics showing street decorations, the arrival of the US team, and the Olympic stadium.
This Resource gallery consists of recent photos showing the Olympic stadium in Berlin.
Recent photos of sculptures on the grounds of the Olympic stadium in Berlin.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers a Web tour of its Olympics exhibit.
In March 1938, as part of Hitler's quest for uniting all German-speaking people and for Lebensraum, Germany took over Austria without bloodshed. The Anschluss occurred with the overwhelming approval of the Austrian people. No countries protested this violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
In September 1938, Hitler eyed the northwestern area of Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland , which had three million German-speaking citizens. Hitler did not want to march into the Sudetenland until he was certain that France and Britain would not intervene. First, he met with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and threatened to go to war if he did not receive the territory. Then at the Munich Conference, Hitler prevailed upon Britain, France and, Italy to agree to the cession of the Sudetenland. The Western powers chose appeasement rather than military confrontation. Germany occupied the Sudetenland on October 15, 1938.
These photographs show the German annexation of the Sudetenland. In Germany, open antisemitism became increasingly accepted, climaxing in the "Night of Broken Glass" (Kristallnacht) on November 9, 1938. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels initiated this free-for-all against the Jews, during which nearly 1,000 synagogues were set on fire and 76 were destroyed. More than 7,000 Jewish businesses and homes were looted, about one hundred Jews were killed and as many as 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps to be tormented, many for months. Within days, the Nazis forced the Jews to transfer their businesses to Aryan hands and expelled all Jewish pupils from public schools. With brazen arrogance, the Nazis further persecuted the Jews by forcing them to pay for the damages of Kristallnacht .
This Nazi order instigated Kristallnacht "measures."
This gallery shows the desecration of synagogues, some of which were damaged during Kristallnacht.
Movie clip documenting the violence of Kristallnacht.
An extended article on Kristallnacht including an introduction, fact sheet, personal profiles, documents, eyewitness accounts, and an epilogue.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, officially starting World War II. Two days later, Britain and France, now obliged by treaty to help Poland, declared war on Germany. Hitler's armies used the tactic of Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, a combination of armored attack accompanied by air assault. Before British and French power could be brought to bear, in less than four weeks, Poland collapsed. Germany's military conquest put it in a position to establish the New Order, a plan to abuse and eliminate so-called undesirables, notably Jews and Slavs.
World War II is generally viewed as having its roots in the aftermath of the First World War:
World War II is generally viewed as having its roots in the aftermath of the First World War:
I WW
The First World War (1914-18)
After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Europe and the United States experienced a period of relative peace. There was rapid industrial and commercial progress. The western powers expanded trade and colonies. However, national rivalries gradually grew and alliance camps emerged. Economic competition and arms race also became intense. The Balkans became a hotpot of western intervention, as the Ottoman Empire declined. Finally war broke out in 1914, a war which was unexpectedly disastrous and destructive in scale.
The First World War lasted for four years and three months. It began on August 4, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. It involved sixty sovereign states, overthrew four Empires (German Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Turkish Empire, Russian Empire), gave birth to seven new nations, took ten million combatant lives (another 30 million were wounded).
The CAUSE OF THE WAR
The war was caused by a number of interwoven factors.
* National Rivalries
* Alliance System
* Militarism
* Economic Rivalries
* Colonial Rivalries
* Pre-war Crises
Nationalism
There were two kinds of nationalism in 19th Century Europe:
1. The desire of subject peoples for independence.
It led to a series of national struggles for independence among the Balkan peoples
2. . The desire of independent nations for dominance and prestige
As the powers try to dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one of the causes of the First World War.
Nationalism in Germany
Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and she rapidly became the strongest economic and military power in Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve her hegemony in Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances with other powers. After 1890, Germany was more aggressive. She wanted to build up her influence in every part of the world. German foreign policy in these years was best expressed by the term 'Weltpolitik' (World Politics). Because German ambitions were extended to many parts of the globe, Germany came into serious conflicts with all other major powers of Europe (except Austria-Hungary) from 1890 to 1914.
Nationalism in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially they were German) and the Hungarians had the right to rule. The other nationalities Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Rumanians and Poles resented their loss of political freedom. They desired for political independence. Thus the policy of the Dual Monarchy was to suppress the nationalist movements both inside and outside the empire. The particular object of the Dual Monarchy was to gain political control over the Balkan Peninsula, where nationalist movements were rife and were always giving encouragement to the nationalist movements within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Therefore the first enemy of Austria-Hungary from 1871 to 1914 was Serbia. Besides Serbia, Austria-Hungary also hated Russia because Russia, being a Slav country, always backed up Serbia in any Austro-Serbian disputes.
Nationalism in Russia
Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. Two thirds of her people were Slavs. She was still territorially ambitious. She wanted to expand in all directions. In 1870, Russia broke the Treaty of Paris and renewed her aggression in the Balkans. Thus, her territorial ambitions clashed with the interests of Austria-Hungary and Britain. However, Russia did not retreat. Being a 'landlocked' state, she wanted to acquire warm water ports in the Balkans. Moreover, as most of the Balkan peoples were of the Slavic race, Russia could claim to be the protector of her brother races in her expansion. In 1856, Russia was helped by Britain and France in the Crimean War. She was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, which stopped her expansion into the Balkans from 1856 to 1870.
Nationalism in Britain
In 1870 Britain was the most industrially advanced country in Europe. She also possessed the largest overseas empire and the largest navy in the world. She did not want to trouble herself with the continental affairs of Europe. Her main concern was to preserve her overseas empire and her overseas trade by maintaining a large navy. Before 1890, her chief enemies were France and Russia. The colonial interests of France often clashed with those of Britain . (Britain and France had colonial rivalries in Asia and Africa--for example, India, Burma, Thailand, Egypt.). Britain wanted to establish her influence in the Balkans because the Balkan area borders the Mediterranean Sea. lf Russia controlled the Balkan area, British naval power and trade in the Mediterranean Sea would be threatened. After 1890, as Germany went on increasing her naval strength and threatened British naval supremacy and the British overseas interests, she became Britain's chief enemy.
Nationalism in Serbia
Serbia was centre of the nationalist movements in the Balkans. Serbia always hoped to unite with the Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire so as to create a large Serbian state. The Serbian Black Hand had to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand because he wanted to convert the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (the Dual Monarchy) into a Triple Monarchy by the inclusion of Serbia. Although the Serbs might gain a certain degree of autonomy within the Triple Monarchy, their long cherished wish of creating a united Serbian state would be dashed to the ground. Francis Joseph, the reigning monarch was eighty-four years old and expected to die soon. Ferdinand's ideas might have a chance for realization very soon. The Black Hand thought that they should kill Ferdinand before it was too late. Some members of the Serbian cabinet knew the assassination plot in advance but did not stop it.
Nationalism in France
In 1871, France was defeated by Germany. She had to lose two provinces: Alsace and Lorraine. She also needed to pay heavy indemnities. From 1871 onwards, France's greatest ambition was to recover Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. She also wanted to prevent another defeat by Germany, to recover her national prestige by acquiring overseas colonies (e.g. Morocco) and to make diplomatic alliances with other important powers in Europe.
Nationalism in Italy
Italy was unified in 1870. She was barely powerful enough to be counted as a great power. Her parliamentary system was corrupt and inefficient. Her industrial progress was slow. But Italy had great territorial ambitions. She wanted Tunis and Tripoli in northern Africa. This brought her into conflicts with France because Tunis was adjacent to the French colony, Algeria, and was long regarded by France as French sphere of influence. Italy also wanted Italia Irredenta--Trieste, Trentio and Tyrol. Although the majority of the people in these places were Italians, they were kept under the rule of the Dual Monarchy . Thus Italy came into serious conflicts with Austria-Hungary
Alliance System
The alliance system was started by Bismarck, the German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890. After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck held that Germany was a "satiated state" which should give up ideas of further conquest. Thus Bismarck organized a system of alliances designed to maintain Germany's hegemony on the European continent. France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany. Bismarck tried to befriend Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain in order to isolate France.
A loose web of alliances around the European nations (many of them requiring participants to agree to collective defense if attacked):
• Treaty of London, 1839, about the neutrality of Belgium,
• German-Austrian treaty (1879) or Dual Alliance,
• Italy joining Germany and Austria in 1882,
• Franco-Russian Alliance (1894),
• "Entente" (less formal) between Britain and France (1904) and Britain and Russia (1907) forming the Triple Entente,
The alliance systems were one of most important cause of the First World War:
The alliances were made in secret and so produced much distrust and suspicion among the European powers.
The alliances were always made on a war-footing and so heightened the war tension and led to an arms race among the European powers. For example, within four years after the formation of the Triple Entente in 1907, Germany built nine dreadnoughts (battleships) and consequently Britain built eighteen. Thus all the European powers were ready for war in 1914.
The alliances were originally strictly defensive but by 1910, many alliances had changed their character. The Austro-German alliance of 1879 was so modified that it had become an aggressive alliance after the Bosnian crisis in 1909, the German government promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary, if Austria invaded Serbia and Russia intervened on behalf of the latter. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled.
After the formation of the Triple Entente, Germany began to feel the threat to her security. The German press loudly talked about "encirclement", i.e. being surrounded by enemies on all sides. This induced the aggressive William II to pursue a more vigorous foreign policy in an attempt to break the unity of the Entente powers. This resulted in a series of international crises from 1905 to 1914
Militarism
Militarism denoted
a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems.
Increase in military control of the civilian government. After 1907, there was an increase in military influence on policy making. This could be reflected particularly in Germany and Russia. The German Army at this period was called a "State within the State". The parliament and the politicians had to follow the General Staff. They had no say in the army's design to preserve the Fatherland. In 1914, the Russian generals were also able to force the Czar to accept full mobilization. They threatened him with the danger of defeat if he acted contrarily.
An increase in military cooperation among the army of the countries of the same camp. For example, all the three Entente powers held secret military talks. The British and the French naval authorities agreed that the French navy should be concentrated in the Mediterranean and the British in the North Sea. Germany and Austria also had military agreements. When the First World War was fought, it was to be fought by all powers because they had made the military plan cooperatively.
As a result of the armaments race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914.
Economic Rivalries
There were economic conflicts between Germany and Britain from 1890 onwards. Since 1871 Germany had been experiencing a period of rapid industrialization, and by 1890 the products of her industry were competing with British manufactures everywhere in the globe and German merchant ships threatened Britain's carrying trade.
There were also economic struggles between Germany and France. In 1870 France had already lost two of her coal producing provinces--Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. From 1871 onwards, France had to import coal from other countries. Thus France had to compete with Germany in Morocco because the place was rich in mineral resources.
Germany and Austria also rivalled with Russia in the Balkans for commercial privileges. As early as 1888 Germany began to build a railway in the area. Austria regarded the area as a field for profitable investment and as a big market for her manufactured goods. Russia also hoped to control the area because half of her exports passed through this area.
A Minor Cause
Thus economic rivalries played a minor part in causing the First World War. Undoubtedly economic rivalries played a considerable part in creating international tensions in the 43 years before the First World War.
As a matter of fact the commercial rivalry between Germany and Russia in the Balkans was not keen, for Russia was not yet a fully industrialized nation with a surplus of products to be sold abroad.
The trade rivalry between Britain and Germany had also eased off in the ten years before the war because they developed their markets in different parts of the world. Britain within her own Empire, and Germany on the continent of Europe.
Colonial Rivalries
After 1870, the European nations began to acquire colonies in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Their imperialistic activities accelerated from 1880 onwards.
In Africa, all the European powers except Austria and Russia had colonies there. Thus there were many clashes among France, Britain, Germany and Italy. For example, France rivalled with Italy over Tunis and with Germany over Morocco.
Colonial rivalry led indirectly to the formation and strengthening of alliances and ententes. Italy turned to Germany and Austria when she lost Tunis to France in 1881. Russia and Britain could patch up their differences and form an entente in 1907 as a result of their mutual fear of Germany's expansionist activities in the Balkans. Russia, Britain and France could become firm friends after 1907 partly because of aggressive attitude of Germany in both the first and the second Moroccan crises.
Colonial rivalry led to much hostility among the powers. In the first and the second Moroccan crises, war nearly resulted. France and Britain nearly came to war over their rivalry in the Sudan in 1898.
A Minor Cause
Thus colonial rivalry had little to do with the outbreak of the First World War.
After 1905 colonial issues became less important as the powers turned back to Europe and Europe remained their centre of rivalry. As stated earlier, from 1904 to 1907, Britain, France and Russia were able to settle their colonial disputes by the Anglo-French Entente and the Anglo-Russian Entente. By 1914 colonial disputes had greatly diminished.
Pre-war Crises (International Crises 1905-1913)
Early in the twentieth century, the European powers had formed themselves into two rival groups: the TRIPLE ENTENTE versus the TRIPLE ALLIANCE. The policies of these groups began to clash in many parts of the world. Altogether there were four important clashes from 1905 to 1913: two arising out of the Moroccan question, and two concerning disputes in the Balkans. Whenever a clash arose, the two groups seemed to be on the point of war.
1. First Moroccan Crisis 1905-06
2. Bosnian Crisis 1908-09
3. Second Moroccan Crisis 1911
4. Balkan Wars 1912-13
The immediate cause
The immediate cause of war was the assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist.
Ferdinand's death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, set in train a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war.
Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death of their heir (who was in any case not greatly beloved by the Emperor, Franz Josef, or his government) was three weeks in coming.
Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in the machinations of the Black Hand, the Austro-Hungarians opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians, crushing the nationalist movement there and cementing Austria-Hungary's influence in the Balkans.
It did so by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty. Austria-Hungary's expectation was that Serbia would reject the remarkably severe terms of the ultimatum, thereby giving her a pretext for launching a limited war against Serbia.
Austrian intention to destroy Serbia
Austria considered the murder of the heir to the throne an open Serbian attack on the existence of the Dual Monarchy because if Francis Joseph died Austria would be left without an heir. Although she could not find any evidence that the Serbian government was connected with the assassination, Austria consciously exploited the occasion to destroy Serbia as a state to put an end to the Serbian threat to the existence of the Dual Monarchy for ever. The crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia could have been a localized issue. But a war with Serbia might lead to a war with Russia. Thus Austria wanted to be assured of German support.
German support
The German Kaiser decided to support Austria because he regarded Austria as the only ally of Germany and because he believed that the Russian Zar would not come to help Serbia in a war involving the death of a future monarch. On July 6, Germany assured Austria that should there be an Austro-Serbian war, Germany would stand by her (Austrian) side and give her unlimited support as an ally.
Austria was still determined to destroy Serbia. After declaring the Serbian reply unsatisfactory, the Austrian government declared war on July 28. The bombardment of Belgrade began on July 29.
Russian mobilization
The Serbian ally, Russia, learnt of the ultimatum on July 24. On July 26 the Czar reassured the Serbian crown prince that "Russia will in no case be indifferent to the fate of Serbia." Russia certainly could not bear humiliations from Germany any more; if she failed to defend Serbia again and again, Russia could no longer set her foot on the Balkans as the leader of the Slav nations. The Russian Czar was probably encouraged by the French to take a firm stand against Germany, for France had learnt of the Schlieffen War Plan . France urged Russia to mobilize for fear of an immediate German attack. After the bombardment of Belgrade on July 30, the Czar was persuaded by his ministers and Chief of staff to order full mobilization.
German declaration of war
Germany feared that she would face attacks from both Russia and France. Germany demanded Russia to stop her mobilization at once. Russia refused. Germany at once declared war on Russia on August 1.
Britain joined the war
On August 4, according to the Schlieffen Plan, the German troops crossed the Belgian frontier. On the same day the British government declared war on Germany. There were two reasons which prompted Britain to take action at once. Firstly, German invasion of Belgium had aroused British opinion against Germany because the country had been guaranteed as a neutral state by all great powers in 1839 in the Treaty of London. Now the German invasion had treated the treaty as a scrap of paper and so committed a moral crime. Secondly, no British government would tolerate the domination of Belgium by any powerful continental nation because it directly endangered the security of Britain. (Belgium was separated from Britain by a narrow channel only.)
Italy and the Allies
Italy refused to support Germany and Austria on the ground that Austria was the aggressor.
Her real purpose in staying out was to bargain for territory. Because her irredentist claims were directed against Austria, only one outcome was possible.
In May 1915, after concluding a secret treaty (Treaty of London the 26 of April) with the Entente powers, who promised her nearly all the Austrian and Turkish territories that she wanted, Italy entered the War against her former allies.
One Thing Led to Another
The events of July and early August 1914 are a classic case of "one thing led to another". We have the following remarkable sequence of events that led inexorably to the 'Great War' - a name that had been touted even before the coming of the conflict.
* Austria-Hungary, unsatisfied with Serbia's response to her ultimatum (which in the event was almost entirely placatory: however her jibbing over a couple of minor clauses gave Austria-Hungary her sought-after cue) declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
* Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia, announced mobilisation of its vast army in her defence, a slow process that would take around six weeks to complete.
* Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilisation as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on 1 August.
* France, bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany and, by extension, on Austria-Hungary following a German declaration on 3 August. Germany was swift in invading neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route.
* Britain, allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a "moral obligation" upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on 4 August. Her reason for entering the conflict lay in another direction: she was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. With Germany's invasion of Belgium on 4 August, and the Belgian King's appeal to Britain for assistance, Britain committed herself to Belgium's defence later that day. Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary.
* With Britain's entry into the war, her colonies and dominions abroad variously offered military and financial assistance, and included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
* United States President Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, an official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping (which was in any event almost entirely directed towards the Allies led by Britain and France) - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on 6 April 1917.
* Japan, honouring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914. Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan.
* Italy, although allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both. In short, Italy was committed to defend Germany and Austria-Hungary only in the event of a 'defensive' war; arguing that their actions were 'offensive' she declared instead a policy of neutrality. The following year, in May 1915, she finally joined the conflict by siding with the Allies against her two former allies.
Course of the War 1914-18
Two sides of the war
In the First World War, the Allies, which made up of 27 states including France, Britain, Russia, Italy , the United States, Rumania, Greece, Serbia and Japan, fought against the Central Powers including Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. At the beginning of the war, the Central Powers scored some victories because Russia was too poorly equipped for the war, and Britain and France could not coordinate and concentrate their efforts to fight.
Victory of the Allies
Later, after the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, the tide began to turn against the Central Powers. The Allies finally defeated the Central Powers in November 1918 was signed all the armistice. In January 10 1920 the first meeting of the League of Nations signed the official end of World War IThe chief reasons for the defeat of the Central Powers were as follows:
(1) 27 Allied states fought against 4 Central Powers, so the Allied states had more manpower and more resources.
(2) The Allied states had almost complete control of the seas, so they could successfully blockade the German coastline and starve the Central Powers of food and raw materials.
(3) The Allied states had moral support due to their claim to fight for democracy.
Results of the First World War
The fighting in World War I ended when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war. New countries were formed, old ones were abolished, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideas took a firm hold in people's minds.
RUSSIA
Perhaps the single most important event precipitated by the privations of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917. A socialist revolutionary wave occurred in many other European countries from 1917 onwards, notably in Germany and Hungary.
As a result of the Russian Provisional Governments' failure to cede territory, German and Austrian forces defeated the Russian armies, and the new communist government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.
In that treaty, Russia renounced all claims to Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (specifically, the formerly Russian-controlled Congress Poland of 1815) and Ukraine, and it was left to Germany and Austria-Hungary "to determine the future status of these territories in agreement with their population." Later on, Lenin's government renounced also the Partition of Poland treaty, making it possible for Poland to claim its 1772 borders.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was rendered obsolete when Germany was defeated later in 1918, leaving the status of much of eastern Europe in an uncertain position.
Paris Peace Conference 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated powers following the Armistice of 1918.
The conference opened on 18 January 1919. It came to a close on 21 January 1920 with the inaugural General Assembly of the League of Nations.
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain, known as the Big Three, made all the decisions of the Conference.
The decisions of the Big Three were influenced by five factors:
1. Secret Treaties: While the war was being fought, there were a series of agreements made among the Allies for dividing up the spoils. In March 1915, France was promised Alsace-Lorraine, control of the left bank of the Rhine and German colonies in Africa while Britain was allowed to take over German colonies in Africa and the Pacific. In April of the same year, Italy was tempted to join the war on the side of the Allies by promises of Austrian and Turkish territory. In August 1916, Rumania was promised territories in Transylvania and Bukovina. The Big Three had to respect these treaties when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
2. New States: Before the Conference opened in January 1919, the Russian and the Austro-Hungarian Empires had collapsed. Within these empires, there arose many new states—Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The Big Three had to accept the existence of these new states when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
3. Communist Russia: Since November 1917, there was a communist government in Russia. The Big Three wanted to strengthen the neighbouring states of Russia so that they could form a "cordon sanitaire" to protect Europe against the spread of Communism.
4. After-war bitterness: During the war, the Allied governments had done their best to arouse the patriotism of their own people. Immediately after the war, the people of the Allied countries still had a fierce hatred against the enemy nations. Because they had suffered so much during the war, they brought pressure on their governments to exact heavy compensation from the losers.
5. Conflict between the objectives of the Big Three:
Wilson's Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a speech delivered by United States President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918.
Wilson's ideals consisted of a removal of all the basic causes of the First World War (namely armaments race, secret diplomacy, economic rivalry and the struggle of the oppressed nationalities to get independence) and the formation of an international organization to promote the political and economic cooperation of the whole world.
The first main theme of Wilson's Fourteen Points was the granting of national independence to all the 'oppressed peoples!'. In practice this involved the following points.
(a) Impartial adjustment of colonial claims: the settlement of colonial problems with reference to the interests of colonial peoples (point five);
(b) Germany's surrender of her past conquests:
Evacuation by the Germans of all Russian territory (point six).
Evacuation by the Germans of all Belgian territory (point seven).
Evacuation by the Germans of Alsace-Lorraine (the French territory) (point eight).
(c) The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkish Empire and the granting of independence to all the oppressed nationalities:
Italian frontier to extend northward to recover some land from Austria-Hungary (point nine).
Autonomous development for the people of Austria-Hungary (point ten).
Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro to be independent (point eleven).
Peoples under Turkish rule to be autonomous (point twelve).
An independent Poland (point thirteen).
The second main theme was that there should be
Open Diplomacy (according to point one - all diplomacy and negotiation between states should be carried on openly),
Open Sea (according to point two - there should be absolute freedom of navigation of the seas both in peace and war, except in territorial waters),
Open Trade (according to point three - trade conditions for nations should be fair and equal and there should not be any tariff barriers between them),
Disarmament (according to point four - armaments should be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety only). In other words,
The third theme was that an international association of nations should be established (point fourteen).
This association would not only guarantee the independence of all nations but would also do its very best to further their prosperity by promoting international cooperation in economic and social spheres.
Clemenceau
Clemenceau did not pay any high regard to the wishes of the oppressed nationalities to gain independence. His basic aims when he came to the Conference were to give to France first of all, her two lost provinces—Alsace and Lorraine; secondly, security against any possible German aggression in the years to come. To realize his second aim, he wanted to weaken Germany permanently by confiscating all her colonies and her past conquests, by depriving her of armed forces, by exacting heavy reparations from her and by creating a buffer state between Germany and France. This might be regarded as a policy of 'realism'. French hatred of Germany was excusable. It was Germany that effectively started the war with an attack on France through Belgium. France had in 1871 suffered a defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and demanded revenge for its financial devastation during the First World War (and its humiliation in the earlier war), which ensured that the various peace treaties.
As France was next to Germany, she always feared another German aggression.
Lloyd George
Lloyd George has been pressured by the complicated political and social situation and anti-German public opinion which said that Germany must pay for the war In the meantime, he also understood that excessively heavy reparations and exceedingly harsh political terms were imposed impoverished Germany too much. A poor and Germany would also render herself to be a poor customer of British goods.
A settlement with moderate, terms on Germany suited Britain's long-term interests. As a result, this tactful politician tried his best to smooth over the differences between the extreme viewpoints of Wilson and Clemenceau.
Peace Treaties
At the Paris Peace Conference were prepared the Peace Treaties. The outcome of the efforts of Lloyd George was that the Versailles settlement, taken as a whole, appeared to be a compromise between Wilson's pacifist ideals and Clemenceau's revengeful attitude.
The Big Three, first of all, drew up the Covenant of the League of The Nations. They decided that the Covenant should be included in each of the peace treaties. The peace treaties they drew up were as follows:
(1) Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.
(2) Austria signed the Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
(3) Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919).
(4) Hungary signed the Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
(5) Turkey signed the Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923).
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
The Treaty reflected chiefly two basic ideas: punishment of the defeated and the maintenance of the principle of self-determination. These two basic ideas were also reflected in the other treaties.
1) Territories:
Germany was to lose all her past conquests. These were to be returned to their own national units.
In the south-west, Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. The Saar, the coal-producing area of Germany, was brought under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. After this time, there would be a plebiscite in the Saar to decide its future. In the meantime, France was to operate its coal mines so as to compensate the damage done to the French mines during the war.
Poland was recreated as a state. Poland, in view of the communist threat from the north, was to be strengthened by:
(a) the cession of a large part of East Prussia,
(b) the cession of Posen so that she might have access to the sea (This was termed as the Polish Corridor. To safeguard Polish control of the corridor, Danzig was made a free international city under the League even though the port was predominantly German in population.),
(c) the acquisition of two-fifths of Upper Silesia even though Germans outnumbered the Poles by about five to three in the area. Memel was given first to the League of Nations, which ultimately passed the place of Lithuania.
Germany lost all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Most of them were transferred to the League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan to rule over them as Mandates.
Germany's territorial losses were severe (about 13% of her land and 7 million of her former population had to be given up) although these losses constituted chiefly her past conquests. Moreover, she was forbidden to enter into any union with Austria.
2) Disarmament:
Germany was almost totally disarmed. She was allowed an army of 100,000 men to be recruited by voluntary enlistment and six small battleships of less than 10,000 tons. Submarines and aeroplanes were strictly forbidden. The Rhineland would be occupied by the Allied forces for 15 years, during which it would remain permanently demilitarized.
3) War-guilt and Reparations:
In the Treaty all the whole blame of provoking the First World War was put on Germany. This is historically incorrect and so constituted a great hurt to the German national pride.
This 'war-guilt clause' provided the Allied justification for war trials and reparations. In 1921 the Reparations Commission decided that Germany had to pay £6,600 million in reparations.
This figure was considered too large, for the reparations covered not only direct loss and damage as a result of the war but also indirect war expenditure such as allowances paid to families of soldiers, the cost of maintaining Allied occupation in the Rhine and the war loans of the Belgian government. Part of the reparations was to be paid in annual instalments, part in ships, coal and other kinds of goods.
Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. The German resentment of the Treaty helped the rise of Hitler in the 1930's.
Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
Like Germany, Austria was punished for provoking World War I and much of her territory was given up to the newly-created states which were formed as a result of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the War. In most of the cases, the subject peoples of the Hapsburg Empire were now returned to land of the same nationality. The principle of self-determination was asserted once more.
Her territorial losses included:
Trieste, Istria, and part of Tyrol were given to Italy,
Bohemia including the Sudetenland, Moravia and part of Silesia to new state of Czechoslovakia, Bukovina to Rumania,
Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia to new state of Yugoslavia,
and Galicia to Poland.
The principle of severe punishment was at the same time meted out to Austria.
Firstly, in the vast territories lost by the Austrians, there lived millions of Austrian.
Secondly, the much reduced Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany. This was a severe blow to the survival of Austria because Austrian goods had always depended upon the German market. Thirdly, Austria had to pay reparations and had to be disarmed to the lowest limit.
All in all, the Austrian portion of the Dual Monarchy was deprived of 3/4 of her former area and 3/4 of her people. She became a land-locked state with little economic resources.
Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
Hungary was similarly treated. Under the principle of national independence and freedom, Hungary lost 3/4 of her territory and 2/3 of her people. Croatia was given to Yugoslavia, Transylvania to Rumania, and Ruthenia and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia.
Punishment was also a bit too much for Hungary. Firstly, much of the land ceded by Hungary contained many Hungarians. About 3 million Hungarians (Magyars) lived in the neighboring states as a result of the Treaty. Secondly, a severe blow was dealt to her economic progress because most of her industrial areas were lost and her concessions to Yugoslavia deprived her of access to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea. Like Austria, she became a landlocked state. Thirdly, she had to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.
Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919)
Bulgaria had to give up western Macedonia to Yugoslavia, western Some Thrace to Greece, and Dobruja to Rumania. These territorial losses were by no means severe. But the Bulgarians were not satisfied with the Treaty. Firstly, the reparations and loss of western Thrace to Greece not only deprived Bulgaria of her only access to the Mediterranean Sea but placed many Bulgarians under the rule of the Greeks (because western Thrace was inhabited by many Bulgarians). Secondly, like the other defeated powers, Bulgaria needed to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.
Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923)
The Treaty of Sevres met with immediate failure because the Big Three had almost completely discarded the principle of nationalism in making this treaty. They partitioned Turkey as a colony. Besides granting independence to Saudi Arabia and Armenia, the victors almost divided up Turkey among themselves as spoils. Syria and Lebannon were mandated to France, while Palestine, Trans Jordan and Iraq were mandated to Britain. Rhodes and the Dodecanese were given to Italy. Eastern Thrace, Adrianople and Smyrna were obtained by Greece. Even the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosporous were put under international control.
Soon after the Sultan had signed the treaty, a nationalist military leader, Mustapha Kemal immediately led a nationalist movement to overthrow the Sultan's government. In November 1922 the Sultan was deposed. Kemal demanded a new treaty. He also began a war to reconquer the land occupied by the powers. The powers were tired of war, and only Greece was intent on holding her territorial acquisitions. Greece fought with the Turks but after a short while she was defeated.
The resulting new Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. Unlike all the above-mentioned treaties, it was decided not by the Big Three. Russia, Italy, Greece, Rumania, Yugoslavia and, most important of all, Turkey also participated in the drafting of the treaties.
By the new treaty, Turkey gave up her claims to non-Turkish territories. They became mandates according to the Treaty of Sevres. But Turkey recovered purely Turkish territories (i.e., eastern Thrace). She retained Constaintinople, Adrianople and the land lying between them. Moreover, she had no need to pay reparations and limit her armed forces.
The Treaty of Lausanne turned out to be the most successful treaty because it was the only negotiated peace treaty and Turkey was treated as a nation but not as a defeated enemy.
Criticism of the Versailles Settlement
Some of the criticism which has been made against the Versailles Settlement:
1) The peace settlement was made by the Big Three and the defeated states were never allowed to discuss the terms.
2) The punishment on Germany was somewhat excessive, since a democratic government had come to power.
3) The victorious powers did not disarm, even though the defeated powers had been disarmed to the lowest level.
4) There were many cases in which the Big Three abandoned the principle of nationality when they were making the territorial settlement — for example, Rumania obtained Transylvania where more than half of the population were Hungarians. Italy obtained South Tyrol where the majority of population was Austrian Germans.
Thus the defeated powers were suspicious of the intentions of the victorious powers and had deep resentment against the Versailles Settlement
General Effects of the First World War
The First World War had far-reaching repercussions on the political and economic developments of Europe.
After the First World War, there was little political stability in Europe.
1. In eastern Europe, the new states, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland were always threatened by the rapid increase in national strength of Russia.
2. In central Europe, the Germans always longed for a revision of the Treaty of Versailles. They would give full support to a government which advocated a strong foreign policy.
3. In southern Europe, the Italians also harboured ill-feeling towards the Versailles Settlement because the Big Three failed to realize the territorial ambitions of Italy as were promised in the Treaty of London of 1915.
4. There were only two states in Europe which hoped to preserve the Versailles Settlement. They were Britain and France. Especially France was gravely weakened by the war, it is doubtfu1 that she would be willing to make a costly war against any aggressors who were determined to revise the Versailles Settlement.
The First World War left crushing economic burdens on all the European countries. The economic burdens of the European governments were multiplied when they had to rehabilitate devastated areas, to pay pensions to the wounded and to the relatives of the dead and to pay the interest due on the public and foreign debts. To add to the economic burdens of the European governments, trade and industry did not revive after the war. There was mass unemployment in Italy, Germany, Britain and France shortly after the war. The immediate result was that in Italy the people were so discontented with their government that they overthrew it. The long term result was that to solve their economic problems, most of the European nations tried to become economically self-sufficient and to keep out the products of other countries by building high tariff walls. Economic nationalism was a bad omen for the peace of Europe.
Italy's after-war bitterness
In the 1915 Italy had been persuaded to join the Triple Alliance against the central powers by the promises to gain land contained in the Treaty of London .
The Treaty offered to Italy the Trentino and the Tyrol as far as Brenner, Trieste and Istria, all the Dalmatian coast except Fiume, full ownership of Albanian Valona and a protectorate over Albania, Antalya in Turkey and a share of Turkish and German Empires in Africa.
Vittorio Orlando was sent as the Italian representative with the aim of gaining these and as much other territory as possible. The loss of 700,000 Italians and a budget deficit of 12,000,000,000 Lire during the war made the Italian government and people feel entitled to these territories. There was an especially strong opinion for control of Fiume, which they believed was rightly Italian due to the Italian population.
Nevertheless, by the end of the war the allies had made contradictory agreements with other nations, especially in Central Europe and the Middle-East. The pact was nullified with the Treaty of Versailles, because President Woodrow Wilson, supporting Slavic claims and not recognizing the treaty, rejected Italian requests on Dalmatian territories.
The Great powers were only willing to offer Trentino to the Brenner, the Dalmatian port of Zara, the Island of Lagosta and a couple of small German colonies. All other territories were promised to other nations and the great powers were worried about Italy's imperial ambitions. As a result of this, Orlando left the conference in a rage and refuse to sign the Teatry of Versailles.
This event it's a representation of the critics linked to the Teatry of Versailles. The decisions contained in the teatry had drastic aftermath for Italy.
With the Treaty of Versailles Italy had been cheated out of the territories it had been promised by it’s wartime allies. It became known as the “vittoria mutilata” (mutilated victory), and produced a deep sense of resentement as feeling grew up that Italian sacrifice had not been rewarded and that the great power was not taking Italy’s claims seriously. The war had touched all the population. In Italy, as in other belligerant countries, many promises had been made concerning social and economic improvments once victory had been achieved and the postwar reconversion slump hundreds of thousands persons were out of work.
These condition produced drastic political and social changes that contributed to the rise of fascism. With economic problems and unemployment facing recently returned veterans of World War I, fascism appealed to honouring soldiers and the military by calling for the end of anti-patriotic bourgeois individualism. Moreover there were in all the country the perceptions of failures of democratic government which had failed to justify the costs of war and to guarantee an economical stability.
The fascism was a response to the failings of democracy and to fear of the economical power about a communistic revolution in Italy.
I WW
The First World War (1914-18)
After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Europe and the United States experienced a period of relative peace. There was rapid industrial and commercial progress. The western powers expanded trade and colonies. However, national rivalries gradually grew and alliance camps emerged. Economic competition and arms race also became intense. The Balkans became a hotpot of western intervention, as the Ottoman Empire declined. Finally war broke out in 1914, a war which was unexpectedly disastrous and destructive in scale.
The First World War lasted for four years and three months. It began on August 4, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. It involved sixty sovereign states, overthrew four Empires (German Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Turkish Empire, Russian Empire), gave birth to seven new nations, took ten million combatant lives (another 30 million were wounded).
The CAUSE OF THE WAR
The war was caused by a number of interwoven factors.
* National Rivalries
* Alliance System
* Militarism
* Economic Rivalries
* Colonial Rivalries
* Pre-war Crises
Nationalism
There were two kinds of nationalism in 19th Century Europe:
1. The desire of subject peoples for independence.
It led to a series of national struggles for independence among the Balkan peoples
2. . The desire of independent nations for dominance and prestige
As the powers try to dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one of the causes of the First World War.
Nationalism in Germany
Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and she rapidly became the strongest economic and military power in Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve her hegemony in Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances with other powers. After 1890, Germany was more aggressive. She wanted to build up her influence in every part of the world. German foreign policy in these years was best expressed by the term 'Weltpolitik' (World Politics). Because German ambitions were extended to many parts of the globe, Germany came into serious conflicts with all other major powers of Europe (except Austria-Hungary) from 1890 to 1914.
Nationalism in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially they were German) and the Hungarians had the right to rule. The other nationalities Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Rumanians and Poles resented their loss of political freedom. They desired for political independence. Thus the policy of the Dual Monarchy was to suppress the nationalist movements both inside and outside the empire. The particular object of the Dual Monarchy was to gain political control over the Balkan Peninsula, where nationalist movements were rife and were always giving encouragement to the nationalist movements within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Therefore the first enemy of Austria-Hungary from 1871 to 1914 was Serbia. Besides Serbia, Austria-Hungary also hated Russia because Russia, being a Slav country, always backed up Serbia in any Austro-Serbian disputes.
Nationalism in Russia
Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. Two thirds of her people were Slavs. She was still territorially ambitious. She wanted to expand in all directions. In 1870, Russia broke the Treaty of Paris and renewed her aggression in the Balkans. Thus, her territorial ambitions clashed with the interests of Austria-Hungary and Britain. However, Russia did not retreat. Being a 'landlocked' state, she wanted to acquire warm water ports in the Balkans. Moreover, as most of the Balkan peoples were of the Slavic race, Russia could claim to be the protector of her brother races in her expansion. In 1856, Russia was helped by Britain and France in the Crimean War. She was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, which stopped her expansion into the Balkans from 1856 to 1870.
Nationalism in Britain
In 1870 Britain was the most industrially advanced country in Europe. She also possessed the largest overseas empire and the largest navy in the world. She did not want to trouble herself with the continental affairs of Europe. Her main concern was to preserve her overseas empire and her overseas trade by maintaining a large navy. Before 1890, her chief enemies were France and Russia. The colonial interests of France often clashed with those of Britain . (Britain and France had colonial rivalries in Asia and Africa--for example, India, Burma, Thailand, Egypt.). Britain wanted to establish her influence in the Balkans because the Balkan area borders the Mediterranean Sea. lf Russia controlled the Balkan area, British naval power and trade in the Mediterranean Sea would be threatened. After 1890, as Germany went on increasing her naval strength and threatened British naval supremacy and the British overseas interests, she became Britain's chief enemy.
Nationalism in Serbia
Serbia was centre of the nationalist movements in the Balkans. Serbia always hoped to unite with the Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire so as to create a large Serbian state. The Serbian Black Hand had to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand because he wanted to convert the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (the Dual Monarchy) into a Triple Monarchy by the inclusion of Serbia. Although the Serbs might gain a certain degree of autonomy within the Triple Monarchy, their long cherished wish of creating a united Serbian state would be dashed to the ground. Francis Joseph, the reigning monarch was eighty-four years old and expected to die soon. Ferdinand's ideas might have a chance for realization very soon. The Black Hand thought that they should kill Ferdinand before it was too late. Some members of the Serbian cabinet knew the assassination plot in advance but did not stop it.
Nationalism in France
In 1871, France was defeated by Germany. She had to lose two provinces: Alsace and Lorraine. She also needed to pay heavy indemnities. From 1871 onwards, France's greatest ambition was to recover Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. She also wanted to prevent another defeat by Germany, to recover her national prestige by acquiring overseas colonies (e.g. Morocco) and to make diplomatic alliances with other important powers in Europe.
Nationalism in Italy
Italy was unified in 1870. She was barely powerful enough to be counted as a great power. Her parliamentary system was corrupt and inefficient. Her industrial progress was slow. But Italy had great territorial ambitions. She wanted Tunis and Tripoli in northern Africa. This brought her into conflicts with France because Tunis was adjacent to the French colony, Algeria, and was long regarded by France as French sphere of influence. Italy also wanted Italia Irredenta--Trieste, Trentio and Tyrol. Although the majority of the people in these places were Italians, they were kept under the rule of the Dual Monarchy . Thus Italy came into serious conflicts with Austria-Hungary
Alliance System
The alliance system was started by Bismarck, the German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890. After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck held that Germany was a "satiated state" which should give up ideas of further conquest. Thus Bismarck organized a system of alliances designed to maintain Germany's hegemony on the European continent. France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany. Bismarck tried to befriend Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain in order to isolate France.
A loose web of alliances around the European nations (many of them requiring participants to agree to collective defense if attacked):
• Treaty of London, 1839, about the neutrality of Belgium,
• German-Austrian treaty (1879) or Dual Alliance,
• Italy joining Germany and Austria in 1882,
• Franco-Russian Alliance (1894),
• "Entente" (less formal) between Britain and France (1904) and Britain and Russia (1907) forming the Triple Entente,
The alliance systems were one of most important cause of the First World War:
The alliances were made in secret and so produced much distrust and suspicion among the European powers.
The alliances were always made on a war-footing and so heightened the war tension and led to an arms race among the European powers. For example, within four years after the formation of the Triple Entente in 1907, Germany built nine dreadnoughts (battleships) and consequently Britain built eighteen. Thus all the European powers were ready for war in 1914.
The alliances were originally strictly defensive but by 1910, many alliances had changed their character. The Austro-German alliance of 1879 was so modified that it had become an aggressive alliance after the Bosnian crisis in 1909, the German government promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary, if Austria invaded Serbia and Russia intervened on behalf of the latter. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled.
After the formation of the Triple Entente, Germany began to feel the threat to her security. The German press loudly talked about "encirclement", i.e. being surrounded by enemies on all sides. This induced the aggressive William II to pursue a more vigorous foreign policy in an attempt to break the unity of the Entente powers. This resulted in a series of international crises from 1905 to 1914
Militarism
Militarism denoted
a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems.
Increase in military control of the civilian government. After 1907, there was an increase in military influence on policy making. This could be reflected particularly in Germany and Russia. The German Army at this period was called a "State within the State". The parliament and the politicians had to follow the General Staff. They had no say in the army's design to preserve the Fatherland. In 1914, the Russian generals were also able to force the Czar to accept full mobilization. They threatened him with the danger of defeat if he acted contrarily.
An increase in military cooperation among the army of the countries of the same camp. For example, all the three Entente powers held secret military talks. The British and the French naval authorities agreed that the French navy should be concentrated in the Mediterranean and the British in the North Sea. Germany and Austria also had military agreements. When the First World War was fought, it was to be fought by all powers because they had made the military plan cooperatively.
As a result of the armaments race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914.
Economic Rivalries
There were economic conflicts between Germany and Britain from 1890 onwards. Since 1871 Germany had been experiencing a period of rapid industrialization, and by 1890 the products of her industry were competing with British manufactures everywhere in the globe and German merchant ships threatened Britain's carrying trade.
There were also economic struggles between Germany and France. In 1870 France had already lost two of her coal producing provinces--Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. From 1871 onwards, France had to import coal from other countries. Thus France had to compete with Germany in Morocco because the place was rich in mineral resources.
Germany and Austria also rivalled with Russia in the Balkans for commercial privileges. As early as 1888 Germany began to build a railway in the area. Austria regarded the area as a field for profitable investment and as a big market for her manufactured goods. Russia also hoped to control the area because half of her exports passed through this area.
A Minor Cause
Thus economic rivalries played a minor part in causing the First World War. Undoubtedly economic rivalries played a considerable part in creating international tensions in the 43 years before the First World War.
As a matter of fact the commercial rivalry between Germany and Russia in the Balkans was not keen, for Russia was not yet a fully industrialized nation with a surplus of products to be sold abroad.
The trade rivalry between Britain and Germany had also eased off in the ten years before the war because they developed their markets in different parts of the world. Britain within her own Empire, and Germany on the continent of Europe.
Colonial Rivalries
After 1870, the European nations began to acquire colonies in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Their imperialistic activities accelerated from 1880 onwards.
In Africa, all the European powers except Austria and Russia had colonies there. Thus there were many clashes among France, Britain, Germany and Italy. For example, France rivalled with Italy over Tunis and with Germany over Morocco.
Colonial rivalry led indirectly to the formation and strengthening of alliances and ententes. Italy turned to Germany and Austria when she lost Tunis to France in 1881. Russia and Britain could patch up their differences and form an entente in 1907 as a result of their mutual fear of Germany's expansionist activities in the Balkans. Russia, Britain and France could become firm friends after 1907 partly because of aggressive attitude of Germany in both the first and the second Moroccan crises.
Colonial rivalry led to much hostility among the powers. In the first and the second Moroccan crises, war nearly resulted. France and Britain nearly came to war over their rivalry in the Sudan in 1898.
A Minor Cause
Thus colonial rivalry had little to do with the outbreak of the First World War.
After 1905 colonial issues became less important as the powers turned back to Europe and Europe remained their centre of rivalry. As stated earlier, from 1904 to 1907, Britain, France and Russia were able to settle their colonial disputes by the Anglo-French Entente and the Anglo-Russian Entente. By 1914 colonial disputes had greatly diminished.
Pre-war Crises (International Crises 1905-1913)
Early in the twentieth century, the European powers had formed themselves into two rival groups: the TRIPLE ENTENTE versus the TRIPLE ALLIANCE. The policies of these groups began to clash in many parts of the world. Altogether there were four important clashes from 1905 to 1913: two arising out of the Moroccan question, and two concerning disputes in the Balkans. Whenever a clash arose, the two groups seemed to be on the point of war.
1. First Moroccan Crisis 1905-06
2. Bosnian Crisis 1908-09
3. Second Moroccan Crisis 1911
4. Balkan Wars 1912-13
The immediate cause
The immediate cause of war was the assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist.
Ferdinand's death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, set in train a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war.
Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death of their heir (who was in any case not greatly beloved by the Emperor, Franz Josef, or his government) was three weeks in coming.
Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in the machinations of the Black Hand, the Austro-Hungarians opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians, crushing the nationalist movement there and cementing Austria-Hungary's influence in the Balkans.
It did so by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty. Austria-Hungary's expectation was that Serbia would reject the remarkably severe terms of the ultimatum, thereby giving her a pretext for launching a limited war against Serbia.
Austrian intention to destroy Serbia
Austria considered the murder of the heir to the throne an open Serbian attack on the existence of the Dual Monarchy because if Francis Joseph died Austria would be left without an heir. Although she could not find any evidence that the Serbian government was connected with the assassination, Austria consciously exploited the occasion to destroy Serbia as a state to put an end to the Serbian threat to the existence of the Dual Monarchy for ever. The crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia could have been a localized issue. But a war with Serbia might lead to a war with Russia. Thus Austria wanted to be assured of German support.
German support
The German Kaiser decided to support Austria because he regarded Austria as the only ally of Germany and because he believed that the Russian Zar would not come to help Serbia in a war involving the death of a future monarch. On July 6, Germany assured Austria that should there be an Austro-Serbian war, Germany would stand by her (Austrian) side and give her unlimited support as an ally.
Austria was still determined to destroy Serbia. After declaring the Serbian reply unsatisfactory, the Austrian government declared war on July 28. The bombardment of Belgrade began on July 29.
Russian mobilization
The Serbian ally, Russia, learnt of the ultimatum on July 24. On July 26 the Czar reassured the Serbian crown prince that "Russia will in no case be indifferent to the fate of Serbia." Russia certainly could not bear humiliations from Germany any more; if she failed to defend Serbia again and again, Russia could no longer set her foot on the Balkans as the leader of the Slav nations. The Russian Czar was probably encouraged by the French to take a firm stand against Germany, for France had learnt of the Schlieffen War Plan . France urged Russia to mobilize for fear of an immediate German attack. After the bombardment of Belgrade on July 30, the Czar was persuaded by his ministers and Chief of staff to order full mobilization.
German declaration of war
Germany feared that she would face attacks from both Russia and France. Germany demanded Russia to stop her mobilization at once. Russia refused. Germany at once declared war on Russia on August 1.
Britain joined the war
On August 4, according to the Schlieffen Plan, the German troops crossed the Belgian frontier. On the same day the British government declared war on Germany. There were two reasons which prompted Britain to take action at once. Firstly, German invasion of Belgium had aroused British opinion against Germany because the country had been guaranteed as a neutral state by all great powers in 1839 in the Treaty of London. Now the German invasion had treated the treaty as a scrap of paper and so committed a moral crime. Secondly, no British government would tolerate the domination of Belgium by any powerful continental nation because it directly endangered the security of Britain. (Belgium was separated from Britain by a narrow channel only.)
Italy and the Allies
Italy refused to support Germany and Austria on the ground that Austria was the aggressor.
Her real purpose in staying out was to bargain for territory. Because her irredentist claims were directed against Austria, only one outcome was possible.
In May 1915, after concluding a secret treaty (Treaty of London the 26 of April) with the Entente powers, who promised her nearly all the Austrian and Turkish territories that she wanted, Italy entered the War against her former allies.
One Thing Led to Another
The events of July and early August 1914 are a classic case of "one thing led to another". We have the following remarkable sequence of events that led inexorably to the 'Great War' - a name that had been touted even before the coming of the conflict.
* Austria-Hungary, unsatisfied with Serbia's response to her ultimatum (which in the event was almost entirely placatory: however her jibbing over a couple of minor clauses gave Austria-Hungary her sought-after cue) declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
* Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia, announced mobilisation of its vast army in her defence, a slow process that would take around six weeks to complete.
* Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilisation as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on 1 August.
* France, bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany and, by extension, on Austria-Hungary following a German declaration on 3 August. Germany was swift in invading neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route.
* Britain, allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a "moral obligation" upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on 4 August. Her reason for entering the conflict lay in another direction: she was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. With Germany's invasion of Belgium on 4 August, and the Belgian King's appeal to Britain for assistance, Britain committed herself to Belgium's defence later that day. Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary.
* With Britain's entry into the war, her colonies and dominions abroad variously offered military and financial assistance, and included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
* United States President Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, an official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping (which was in any event almost entirely directed towards the Allies led by Britain and France) - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on 6 April 1917.
* Japan, honouring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914. Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan.
* Italy, although allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both. In short, Italy was committed to defend Germany and Austria-Hungary only in the event of a 'defensive' war; arguing that their actions were 'offensive' she declared instead a policy of neutrality. The following year, in May 1915, she finally joined the conflict by siding with the Allies against her two former allies.
Course of the War 1914-18
Two sides of the war
In the First World War, the Allies, which made up of 27 states including France, Britain, Russia, Italy , the United States, Rumania, Greece, Serbia and Japan, fought against the Central Powers including Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. At the beginning of the war, the Central Powers scored some victories because Russia was too poorly equipped for the war, and Britain and France could not coordinate and concentrate their efforts to fight.
Victory of the Allies
Later, after the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, the tide began to turn against the Central Powers. The Allies finally defeated the Central Powers in November 1918 was signed all the armistice. In January 10 1920 the first meeting of the League of Nations signed the official end of World War IThe chief reasons for the defeat of the Central Powers were as follows:
(1) 27 Allied states fought against 4 Central Powers, so the Allied states had more manpower and more resources.
(2) The Allied states had almost complete control of the seas, so they could successfully blockade the German coastline and starve the Central Powers of food and raw materials.
(3) The Allied states had moral support due to their claim to fight for democracy.
Results of the First World War
The fighting in World War I ended when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war. New countries were formed, old ones were abolished, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideas took a firm hold in people's minds.
RUSSIA
Perhaps the single most important event precipitated by the privations of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917. A socialist revolutionary wave occurred in many other European countries from 1917 onwards, notably in Germany and Hungary.
As a result of the Russian Provisional Governments' failure to cede territory, German and Austrian forces defeated the Russian armies, and the new communist government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.
In that treaty, Russia renounced all claims to Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (specifically, the formerly Russian-controlled Congress Poland of 1815) and Ukraine, and it was left to Germany and Austria-Hungary "to determine the future status of these territories in agreement with their population." Later on, Lenin's government renounced also the Partition of Poland treaty, making it possible for Poland to claim its 1772 borders.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was rendered obsolete when Germany was defeated later in 1918, leaving the status of much of eastern Europe in an uncertain position.
Paris Peace Conference 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated powers following the Armistice of 1918.
The conference opened on 18 January 1919. It came to a close on 21 January 1920 with the inaugural General Assembly of the League of Nations.
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain, known as the Big Three, made all the decisions of the Conference.
The decisions of the Big Three were influenced by five factors:
1. Secret Treaties: While the war was being fought, there were a series of agreements made among the Allies for dividing up the spoils. In March 1915, France was promised Alsace-Lorraine, control of the left bank of the Rhine and German colonies in Africa while Britain was allowed to take over German colonies in Africa and the Pacific. In April of the same year, Italy was tempted to join the war on the side of the Allies by promises of Austrian and Turkish territory. In August 1916, Rumania was promised territories in Transylvania and Bukovina. The Big Three had to respect these treaties when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
2. New States: Before the Conference opened in January 1919, the Russian and the Austro-Hungarian Empires had collapsed. Within these empires, there arose many new states—Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The Big Three had to accept the existence of these new states when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
3. Communist Russia: Since November 1917, there was a communist government in Russia. The Big Three wanted to strengthen the neighbouring states of Russia so that they could form a "cordon sanitaire" to protect Europe against the spread of Communism.
4. After-war bitterness: During the war, the Allied governments had done their best to arouse the patriotism of their own people. Immediately after the war, the people of the Allied countries still had a fierce hatred against the enemy nations. Because they had suffered so much during the war, they brought pressure on their governments to exact heavy compensation from the losers.
5. Conflict between the objectives of the Big Three:
Wilson's Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a speech delivered by United States President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918.
Wilson's ideals consisted of a removal of all the basic causes of the First World War (namely armaments race, secret diplomacy, economic rivalry and the struggle of the oppressed nationalities to get independence) and the formation of an international organization to promote the political and economic cooperation of the whole world.
The first main theme of Wilson's Fourteen Points was the granting of national independence to all the 'oppressed peoples!'. In practice this involved the following points.
(a) Impartial adjustment of colonial claims: the settlement of colonial problems with reference to the interests of colonial peoples (point five);
(b) Germany's surrender of her past conquests:
Evacuation by the Germans of all Russian territory (point six).
Evacuation by the Germans of all Belgian territory (point seven).
Evacuation by the Germans of Alsace-Lorraine (the French territory) (point eight).
(c) The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkish Empire and the granting of independence to all the oppressed nationalities:
Italian frontier to extend northward to recover some land from Austria-Hungary (point nine).
Autonomous development for the people of Austria-Hungary (point ten).
Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro to be independent (point eleven).
Peoples under Turkish rule to be autonomous (point twelve).
An independent Poland (point thirteen).
The second main theme was that there should be
Open Diplomacy (according to point one - all diplomacy and negotiation between states should be carried on openly),
Open Sea (according to point two - there should be absolute freedom of navigation of the seas both in peace and war, except in territorial waters),
Open Trade (according to point three - trade conditions for nations should be fair and equal and there should not be any tariff barriers between them),
Disarmament (according to point four - armaments should be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety only). In other words,
The third theme was that an international association of nations should be established (point fourteen).
This association would not only guarantee the independence of all nations but would also do its very best to further their prosperity by promoting international cooperation in economic and social spheres.
Clemenceau
Clemenceau did not pay any high regard to the wishes of the oppressed nationalities to gain independence. His basic aims when he came to the Conference were to give to France first of all, her two lost provinces—Alsace and Lorraine; secondly, security against any possible German aggression in the years to come. To realize his second aim, he wanted to weaken Germany permanently by confiscating all her colonies and her past conquests, by depriving her of armed forces, by exacting heavy reparations from her and by creating a buffer state between Germany and France. This might be regarded as a policy of 'realism'. French hatred of Germany was excusable. It was Germany that effectively started the war with an attack on France through Belgium. France had in 1871 suffered a defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and demanded revenge for its financial devastation during the First World War (and its humiliation in the earlier war), which ensured that the various peace treaties.
As France was next to Germany, she always feared another German aggression.
Lloyd George
Lloyd George has been pressured by the complicated political and social situation and anti-German public opinion which said that Germany must pay for the war In the meantime, he also understood that excessively heavy reparations and exceedingly harsh political terms were imposed impoverished Germany too much. A poor and Germany would also render herself to be a poor customer of British goods.
A settlement with moderate, terms on Germany suited Britain's long-term interests. As a result, this tactful politician tried his best to smooth over the differences between the extreme viewpoints of Wilson and Clemenceau.
Peace Treaties
At the Paris Peace Conference were prepared the Peace Treaties. The outcome of the efforts of Lloyd George was that the Versailles settlement, taken as a whole, appeared to be a compromise between Wilson's pacifist ideals and Clemenceau's revengeful attitude.
The Big Three, first of all, drew up the Covenant of the League of The Nations. They decided that the Covenant should be included in each of the peace treaties. The peace treaties they drew up were as follows:
(1) Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.
(2) Austria signed the Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
(3) Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919).
(4) Hungary signed the Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
(5) Turkey signed the Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923).
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
The Treaty reflected chiefly two basic ideas: punishment of the defeated and the maintenance of the principle of self-determination. These two basic ideas were also reflected in the other treaties.
1) Territories:
Germany was to lose all her past conquests. These were to be returned to their own national units.
In the south-west, Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. The Saar, the coal-producing area of Germany, was brought under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. After this time, there would be a plebiscite in the Saar to decide its future. In the meantime, France was to operate its coal mines so as to compensate the damage done to the French mines during the war.
Poland was recreated as a state. Poland, in view of the communist threat from the north, was to be strengthened by:
(a) the cession of a large part of East Prussia,
(b) the cession of Posen so that she might have access to the sea (This was termed as the Polish Corridor. To safeguard Polish control of the corridor, Danzig was made a free international city under the League even though the port was predominantly German in population.),
(c) the acquisition of two-fifths of Upper Silesia even though Germans outnumbered the Poles by about five to three in the area. Memel was given first to the League of Nations, which ultimately passed the place of Lithuania.
Germany lost all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Most of them were transferred to the League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan to rule over them as Mandates.
Germany's territorial losses were severe (about 13% of her land and 7 million of her former population had to be given up) although these losses constituted chiefly her past conquests. Moreover, she was forbidden to enter into any union with Austria.
2) Disarmament:
Germany was almost totally disarmed. She was allowed an army of 100,000 men to be recruited by voluntary enlistment and six small battleships of less than 10,000 tons. Submarines and aeroplanes were strictly forbidden. The Rhineland would be occupied by the Allied forces for 15 years, during which it would remain permanently demilitarized.
3) War-guilt and Reparations:
In the Treaty all the whole blame of provoking the First World War was put on Germany. This is historically incorrect and so constituted a great hurt to the German national pride.
This 'war-guilt clause' provided the Allied justification for war trials and reparations. In 1921 the Reparations Commission decided that Germany had to pay £6,600 million in reparations.
This figure was considered too large, for the reparations covered not only direct loss and damage as a result of the war but also indirect war expenditure such as allowances paid to families of soldiers, the cost of maintaining Allied occupation in the Rhine and the war loans of the Belgian government. Part of the reparations was to be paid in annual instalments, part in ships, coal and other kinds of goods.
Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. The German resentment of the Treaty helped the rise of Hitler in the 1930's.
Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
Like Germany, Austria was punished for provoking World War I and much of her territory was given up to the newly-created states which were formed as a result of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the War. In most of the cases, the subject peoples of the Hapsburg Empire were now returned to land of the same nationality. The principle of self-determination was asserted once more.
Her territorial losses included:
Trieste, Istria, and part of Tyrol were given to Italy,
Bohemia including the Sudetenland, Moravia and part of Silesia to new state of Czechoslovakia, Bukovina to Rumania,
Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia to new state of Yugoslavia,
and Galicia to Poland.
The principle of severe punishment was at the same time meted out to Austria.
Firstly, in the vast territories lost by the Austrians, there lived millions of Austrian.
Secondly, the much reduced Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany. This was a severe blow to the survival of Austria because Austrian goods had always depended upon the German market. Thirdly, Austria had to pay reparations and had to be disarmed to the lowest limit.
All in all, the Austrian portion of the Dual Monarchy was deprived of 3/4 of her former area and 3/4 of her people. She became a land-locked state with little economic resources.
Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
Hungary was similarly treated. Under the principle of national independence and freedom, Hungary lost 3/4 of her territory and 2/3 of her people. Croatia was given to Yugoslavia, Transylvania to Rumania, and Ruthenia and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia.
Punishment was also a bit too much for Hungary. Firstly, much of the land ceded by Hungary contained many Hungarians. About 3 million Hungarians (Magyars) lived in the neighboring states as a result of the Treaty. Secondly, a severe blow was dealt to her economic progress because most of her industrial areas were lost and her concessions to Yugoslavia deprived her of access to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea. Like Austria, she became a landlocked state. Thirdly, she had to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.
Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919)
Bulgaria had to give up western Macedonia to Yugoslavia, western Some Thrace to Greece, and Dobruja to Rumania. These territorial losses were by no means severe. But the Bulgarians were not satisfied with the Treaty. Firstly, the reparations and loss of western Thrace to Greece not only deprived Bulgaria of her only access to the Mediterranean Sea but placed many Bulgarians under the rule of the Greeks (because western Thrace was inhabited by many Bulgarians). Secondly, like the other defeated powers, Bulgaria needed to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.
Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923)
The Treaty of Sevres met with immediate failure because the Big Three had almost completely discarded the principle of nationalism in making this treaty. They partitioned Turkey as a colony. Besides granting independence to Saudi Arabia and Armenia, the victors almost divided up Turkey among themselves as spoils. Syria and Lebannon were mandated to France, while Palestine, Trans Jordan and Iraq were mandated to Britain. Rhodes and the Dodecanese were given to Italy. Eastern Thrace, Adrianople and Smyrna were obtained by Greece. Even the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosporous were put under international control.
Soon after the Sultan had signed the treaty, a nationalist military leader, Mustapha Kemal immediately led a nationalist movement to overthrow the Sultan's government. In November 1922 the Sultan was deposed. Kemal demanded a new treaty. He also began a war to reconquer the land occupied by the powers. The powers were tired of war, and only Greece was intent on holding her territorial acquisitions. Greece fought with the Turks but after a short while she was defeated.
The resulting new Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. Unlike all the above-mentioned treaties, it was decided not by the Big Three. Russia, Italy, Greece, Rumania, Yugoslavia and, most important of all, Turkey also participated in the drafting of the treaties.
By the new treaty, Turkey gave up her claims to non-Turkish territories. They became mandates according to the Treaty of Sevres. But Turkey recovered purely Turkish territories (i.e., eastern Thrace). She retained Constaintinople, Adrianople and the land lying between them. Moreover, she had no need to pay reparations and limit her armed forces.
The Treaty of Lausanne turned out to be the most successful treaty because it was the only negotiated peace treaty and Turkey was treated as a nation but not as a defeated enemy.
Criticism of the Versailles Settlement
Some of the criticism which has been made against the Versailles Settlement:
1) The peace settlement was made by the Big Three and the defeated states were never allowed to discuss the terms.
2) The punishment on Germany was somewhat excessive, since a democratic government had come to power.
3) The victorious powers did not disarm, even though the defeated powers had been disarmed to the lowest level.
4) There were many cases in which the Big Three abandoned the principle of nationality when they were making the territorial settlement — for example, Rumania obtained Transylvania where more than half of the population were Hungarians. Italy obtained South Tyrol where the majority of population was Austrian Germans.
Thus the defeated powers were suspicious of the intentions of the victorious powers and had deep resentment against the Versailles Settlement
General Effects of the First World War
The First World War had far-reaching repercussions on the political and economic developments of Europe.
After the First World War, there was little political stability in Europe.
1. In eastern Europe, the new states, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland were always threatened by the rapid increase in national strength of Russia.
2. In central Europe, the Germans always longed for a revision of the Treaty of Versailles. They would give full support to a government which advocated a strong foreign policy.
3. In southern Europe, the Italians also harboured ill-feeling towards the Versailles Settlement because the Big Three failed to realize the territorial ambitions of Italy as were promised in the Treaty of London of 1915.
4. There were only two states in Europe which hoped to preserve the Versailles Settlement. They were Britain and France. Especially France was gravely weakened by the war, it is doubtfu1 that she would be willing to make a costly war against any aggressors who were determined to revise the Versailles Settlement.
The First World War left crushing economic burdens on all the European countries. The economic burdens of the European governments were multiplied when they had to rehabilitate devastated areas, to pay pensions to the wounded and to the relatives of the dead and to pay the interest due on the public and foreign debts. To add to the economic burdens of the European governments, trade and industry did not revive after the war. There was mass unemployment in Italy, Germany, Britain and France shortly after the war. The immediate result was that in Italy the people were so discontented with their government that they overthrew it. The long term result was that to solve their economic problems, most of the European nations tried to become economically self-sufficient and to keep out the products of other countries by building high tariff walls. Economic nationalism was a bad omen for the peace of Europe.
Italy's after-war bitterness
In the 1915 Italy had been persuaded to join the Triple Alliance against the central powers by the promises to gain land contained in the Treaty of London .
The Treaty offered to Italy the Trentino and the Tyrol as far as Brenner, Trieste and Istria, all the Dalmatian coast except Fiume, full ownership of Albanian Valona and a protectorate over Albania, Antalya in Turkey and a share of Turkish and German Empires in Africa.
Vittorio Orlando was sent as the Italian representative with the aim of gaining these and as much other territory as possible. The loss of 700,000 Italians and a budget deficit of 12,000,000,000 Lire during the war made the Italian government and people feel entitled to these territories. There was an especially strong opinion for control of Fiume, which they believed was rightly Italian due to the Italian population.
Nevertheless, by the end of the war the allies had made contradictory agreements with other nations, especially in Central Europe and the Middle-East. The pact was nullified with the Treaty of Versailles, because President Woodrow Wilson, supporting Slavic claims and not recognizing the treaty, rejected Italian requests on Dalmatian territories.
The Great powers were only willing to offer Trentino to the Brenner, the Dalmatian port of Zara, the Island of Lagosta and a couple of small German colonies. All other territories were promised to other nations and the great powers were worried about Italy's imperial ambitions. As a result of this, Orlando left the conference in a rage and refuse to sign the Teatry of Versailles.
This event it's a representation of the critics linked to the Teatry of Versailles. The decisions contained in the teatry had drastic aftermath for Italy.
With the Treaty of Versailles Italy had been cheated out of the territories it had been promised by it’s wartime allies. It became known as the “vittoria mutilata” (mutilated victory), and produced a deep sense of resentement as feeling grew up that Italian sacrifice had not been rewarded and that the great power was not taking Italy’s claims seriously. The war had touched all the population. In Italy, as in other belligerant countries, many promises had been made concerning social and economic improvments once victory had been achieved and the postwar reconversion slump hundreds of thousands persons were out of work.
These condition produced drastic political and social changes that contributed to the rise of fascism. With economic problems and unemployment facing recently returned veterans of World War I, fascism appealed to honouring soldiers and the military by calling for the end of anti-patriotic bourgeois individualism. Moreover there were in all the country the perceptions of failures of democratic government which had failed to justify the costs of war and to guarantee an economical stability.
The fascism was a response to the failings of democracy and to fear of the economical power about a communistic revolution in Italy.
Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939-1941 : List of Principal Persons
Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939-1941 : List of Principal Persons
Alfieri, Dino, Italian Ambassador in Germany
Astakhov, Georgei, Counselor of Embassy of the Soviet Embassy in Germany
Beck, Josef, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
Blucher, Dr. Wipert, German Minister in Finland
Ciano, Count Galeazzo, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Cripps, Sir Stafford, British Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Dekanosov, Vladimir G., Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, later Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Gaus, Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm, Under State Secretary, Head of the Legal Division of the German Foreign Office
Goering, Hermann, Reichsmarshal, Reich Air Minister and Commander-ln-Chief of the Air Force
Grundherr, Dr. von, Minister, Head of the Baltic and Scandinavian Section of the Political Division of the German Foreign Office
Hencke, Andor, Under State Secretary in the German Foreign Office
Hewel, Walter, Representative of the Reich Foreign Minister on the staff of the Fuhrer
Hilger, Gustav, Counselor of Legation, later Counselor of Embassy in the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Hitler, Adolph, Fuhrer of the German Reich and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
Jodl, Major General Alfred, Chief of Operations Staff (Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab) of the German High Command
Keitel, Marshal Wilhelm, Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW)
Kollontay, Alexandra, Soviet Minister in Sweden
Kostring, Lieut. General Ernst, Military Attache of the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Litvinov, Maxim, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs to May 3, 1939
Mackensen, Hans Georg von, German Ambassador in Italy
Matsuoka, Yosuke, Japanese Foreign Minister
Meissner, Dr. Otto, Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery (Praesidialkanzlei)
Merekalov, Alexei, Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Mikoyan, Anastas I., Soviet Commissar for Foreign Trade; Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
Molotov, Vyacheslav M., Chairman, later Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union; Commissar for Foreign Affairs from May 3,1939
Mussolini, Benito, Head of the Italian Government
Oshima, Hiroshi, Japanese Ambassador in Germany
Ott, General Eugen, German Ambassador in Japan
Papen, Franz von, German Ambassador in Turkey
Potemkin, Vladimir, Soviet Deputy Commissar for Foreign Aairs
Raeder, Grand Admiral Erich, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
Ribbentrop, Joachim von, Reich Foreign Minister
Ritter, Dr. Karl, Ambassador on special assignment in the German Foreign Offlce, in charge or economic warfare questions
Rosso, Augusto, Italian Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Schielp, Dr., Counselor of Legation, Head of the Eastern European Section of the Political Division of the German Foreign Oflice.
Schmidt, Dr. Paul Otto Gustav, Minister, Chief of the Bureau of the Reich Foreign Minister, interpreter in diplomatic negotiations
Schnurre, Dr. Karl, Counselor of Legation, later Minister, lIead of the Eastern European and Baltic Section of the Commercial Policy Dlvision of the German Foreign Office
Schulenburg, Friedrlch Werner, Count von der, German nbassador in the Soviet Union
Schwerin-Krosigk, Lutz, Count von, Reich Finance Minister
Shkvartsev, Alexander, Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Skirpa, Kazys, Lithuanian Minister in Germany
Sobolev, Arkady A., General Becretary of the Soviet Commissariat for Foreign Affairs
Stalin, Josef, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
Steinhardt, Laurence A., United States Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Strang, Sir William, Head of British Mission to the Soviet Union
Tippelskirch, Werner von, Counselor of Embassy, later Minister in the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Vishinsky, Andrei, Deputy Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
Warlimont, General Walter, Deputy Chief of the Operations Staff (Wehmachtfurungsstab) of the German High Command (OKW)
Weiszacker, Ernst, Baron von, State Secretary in the German Foreign Office
Wiehl, Emil Karl Josef, Ministerialdirektor, Head of the Commercial Policy Division of the German Foreign Office
Woermann, Dr. Ernst, Under State Secretary, Head of the Political Division of the German Foreign Office
Wuorimaa, Aarne, Finnish Minister in Germany
Alfieri, Dino, Italian Ambassador in Germany
Astakhov, Georgei, Counselor of Embassy of the Soviet Embassy in Germany
Beck, Josef, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
Blucher, Dr. Wipert, German Minister in Finland
Ciano, Count Galeazzo, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Cripps, Sir Stafford, British Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Dekanosov, Vladimir G., Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, later Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Gaus, Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm, Under State Secretary, Head of the Legal Division of the German Foreign Office
Goering, Hermann, Reichsmarshal, Reich Air Minister and Commander-ln-Chief of the Air Force
Grundherr, Dr. von, Minister, Head of the Baltic and Scandinavian Section of the Political Division of the German Foreign Office
Hencke, Andor, Under State Secretary in the German Foreign Office
Hewel, Walter, Representative of the Reich Foreign Minister on the staff of the Fuhrer
Hilger, Gustav, Counselor of Legation, later Counselor of Embassy in the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Hitler, Adolph, Fuhrer of the German Reich and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
Jodl, Major General Alfred, Chief of Operations Staff (Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab) of the German High Command
Keitel, Marshal Wilhelm, Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW)
Kollontay, Alexandra, Soviet Minister in Sweden
Kostring, Lieut. General Ernst, Military Attache of the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Litvinov, Maxim, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs to May 3, 1939
Mackensen, Hans Georg von, German Ambassador in Italy
Matsuoka, Yosuke, Japanese Foreign Minister
Meissner, Dr. Otto, Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery (Praesidialkanzlei)
Merekalov, Alexei, Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Mikoyan, Anastas I., Soviet Commissar for Foreign Trade; Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
Molotov, Vyacheslav M., Chairman, later Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union; Commissar for Foreign Affairs from May 3,1939
Mussolini, Benito, Head of the Italian Government
Oshima, Hiroshi, Japanese Ambassador in Germany
Ott, General Eugen, German Ambassador in Japan
Papen, Franz von, German Ambassador in Turkey
Potemkin, Vladimir, Soviet Deputy Commissar for Foreign Aairs
Raeder, Grand Admiral Erich, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
Ribbentrop, Joachim von, Reich Foreign Minister
Ritter, Dr. Karl, Ambassador on special assignment in the German Foreign Offlce, in charge or economic warfare questions
Rosso, Augusto, Italian Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Schielp, Dr., Counselor of Legation, Head of the Eastern European Section of the Political Division of the German Foreign Oflice.
Schmidt, Dr. Paul Otto Gustav, Minister, Chief of the Bureau of the Reich Foreign Minister, interpreter in diplomatic negotiations
Schnurre, Dr. Karl, Counselor of Legation, later Minister, lIead of the Eastern European and Baltic Section of the Commercial Policy Dlvision of the German Foreign Office
Schulenburg, Friedrlch Werner, Count von der, German nbassador in the Soviet Union
Schwerin-Krosigk, Lutz, Count von, Reich Finance Minister
Shkvartsev, Alexander, Soviet Ambassador in Germany
Skirpa, Kazys, Lithuanian Minister in Germany
Sobolev, Arkady A., General Becretary of the Soviet Commissariat for Foreign Affairs
Stalin, Josef, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
Steinhardt, Laurence A., United States Ambassador in the Soviet Union
Strang, Sir William, Head of British Mission to the Soviet Union
Tippelskirch, Werner von, Counselor of Embassy, later Minister in the German Embassy in the Soviet Union
Vishinsky, Andrei, Deputy Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
Warlimont, General Walter, Deputy Chief of the Operations Staff (Wehmachtfurungsstab) of the German High Command (OKW)
Weiszacker, Ernst, Baron von, State Secretary in the German Foreign Office
Wiehl, Emil Karl Josef, Ministerialdirektor, Head of the Commercial Policy Division of the German Foreign Office
Woermann, Dr. Ernst, Under State Secretary, Head of the Political Division of the German Foreign Office
Wuorimaa, Aarne, Finnish Minister in Germany
Treaty of Nonaggression Between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (“Hitler-Stalin-Pact”), August 23, 1939
Treaty of Nonaggression Between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (“Hitler-Stalin-Pact”), August 23, 1939
The Government of the German Reich and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics desirous of strengthening the cause of peace between Germany and the U.S.S.R and proceeding from the fundamental provisions of the Neutrality Agreement concluded in April 1926 between Germany and the U.S.S.R., have reached the following agreement:
ARTICLE I
Both High Contracting Parties obligate, themselves to desist from any act of violence, any aggressive action, and any attack on each other, either individually or jointly with other powers.
ARTICLE II
Should one of the High Contracting Parties become the object of belligerent action by a third power, the other High Contracting Party shall in no manner lend its support to this third power.
ARTICLE III
The Governments of the two High Contracting Parties shall in the future maintain continual contact with one another for the purpose of consultation in order to exchange information on problems affecting their common interests.
ARTICLE IV
Neither of the two High Contracting Parties shall participate in any grouping of powers whatsoever that is directly or indirectly aimed at the other party.
ARTICLE V
Should disputes or conflicts arise between the High Contracting Parties over problems of one kind or another, both parties shall settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly exchange of opinion or, if necessary, through the establishment of arbitration commissions.
ARTICLE VI
The present treaty is concluded for a period of ten years, with the provision that, in so far as one of the High Contracting Parties does not denounce it one year prior to the expiration of this period, the validity of this treaty shall automatically be extended for another five years.
ARTICLE VI
The present treaty shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Berlin. The agreement shall enter into force as soon as it is signed.
Done in duplicate, in the German and Russian languages.
MOSCOW, August 23, 1939.
For the Government of the German Reich:
V. RIBBENTROP
With full power of the Government of the U.S.S.R.:
V. MOLOTOV
Secret Additional Protocol
On the occasion of the signature of the Nonaggression Pact between the German Reich and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics the undersigned plenipotentiaries of each of the two parties discussed in strictly confidential conversations the question of the boundary of their respective spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. These conversations led to the following conclusions:
1. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. In this connection the interest of Lithuania in the Vilna area is recognized by each party.
2. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narew, Vistula, and San.
The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish state and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments.
In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.
3. With regard to Southeastern Europe attention is called by the Soviet side to its interest in Bessarabia. The German side declares; its complete political disinterestedness in these areas.
This protocol shall be treated by both parties as strictly secret.
Moscow, August 23, 1939.
For the Government of the German Reich:
V. RIBBENTROP
Plenipotentiary of the Government of the U.S.S.R.:
V. MOLOTOV
The Government of the German Reich and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics desirous of strengthening the cause of peace between Germany and the U.S.S.R and proceeding from the fundamental provisions of the Neutrality Agreement concluded in April 1926 between Germany and the U.S.S.R., have reached the following agreement:
ARTICLE I
Both High Contracting Parties obligate, themselves to desist from any act of violence, any aggressive action, and any attack on each other, either individually or jointly with other powers.
ARTICLE II
Should one of the High Contracting Parties become the object of belligerent action by a third power, the other High Contracting Party shall in no manner lend its support to this third power.
ARTICLE III
The Governments of the two High Contracting Parties shall in the future maintain continual contact with one another for the purpose of consultation in order to exchange information on problems affecting their common interests.
ARTICLE IV
Neither of the two High Contracting Parties shall participate in any grouping of powers whatsoever that is directly or indirectly aimed at the other party.
ARTICLE V
Should disputes or conflicts arise between the High Contracting Parties over problems of one kind or another, both parties shall settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly exchange of opinion or, if necessary, through the establishment of arbitration commissions.
ARTICLE VI
The present treaty is concluded for a period of ten years, with the provision that, in so far as one of the High Contracting Parties does not denounce it one year prior to the expiration of this period, the validity of this treaty shall automatically be extended for another five years.
ARTICLE VI
The present treaty shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Berlin. The agreement shall enter into force as soon as it is signed.
Done in duplicate, in the German and Russian languages.
MOSCOW, August 23, 1939.
For the Government of the German Reich:
V. RIBBENTROP
With full power of the Government of the U.S.S.R.:
V. MOLOTOV
Secret Additional Protocol
On the occasion of the signature of the Nonaggression Pact between the German Reich and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics the undersigned plenipotentiaries of each of the two parties discussed in strictly confidential conversations the question of the boundary of their respective spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. These conversations led to the following conclusions:
1. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. In this connection the interest of Lithuania in the Vilna area is recognized by each party.
2. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narew, Vistula, and San.
The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish state and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments.
In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.
3. With regard to Southeastern Europe attention is called by the Soviet side to its interest in Bessarabia. The German side declares; its complete political disinterestedness in these areas.
This protocol shall be treated by both parties as strictly secret.
Moscow, August 23, 1939.
For the Government of the German Reich:
V. RIBBENTROP
Plenipotentiary of the Government of the U.S.S.R.:
V. MOLOTOV
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