Santa margherita ligure, Italy
The treaty of Rappalo was signed in the town of Santa Margherita Ligure on 16 April, 1922 between Germany and the Soviet Union. The treaty reestablished normal relations between the two nations, and was negotiated by Soviet Union's Georgy V. Chicherin and Germany's Walter Rathenau. The Soviet Union and Germany agreed on dropping all financial claims opposed to each other, in order to strengthen both countries economy and military ties. [2] It was the aim to normalize diplomatic relations. After WW1 Germany was financially crippled and didn't have any money left with which they could pay of the reparations caused by WW1. [1] The same situation applied for the Soviets which were also financially crippled because of the Russian war dept.
[1] article 232 of the war guilt clause
[2] information coming from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rapallo_%281922%29, reliable however bias as this could have been published by anybody.
[1] article 232 of the war guilt clause
[2] information coming from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rapallo_%281922%29, reliable however bias as this could have been published by anybody.
On April, 10, 1922 representatives of 34 countries met in Genoa, Italy to discuss the global economic problems following WW1. It was the first conference after WW1 in which Germany and the Soviet Union were accepted on par with the other nations. It was the conference's aim to establish strategies to build up and strengthen central and eastern European economies. All nations demanded guarantees for future contracts, compensation for confiscated property and most importantly recognition of the Czarist debt. The Russians offered to accept this demand in exchange for cancellation of the Russian war debt as well as extensive credit for the Soviet government. The contrasting purposed of the nations and the announcement of the Treaty of Rapallo, made an agreement between the nations impossible.
In the morning of July, 4, 1922 Walther Rathenau was assassinated in Berlin-Grunewald whilst on his way to the Foreign Office. Rathenau, was elected Prime Minister in February 1922 Minister and signed the Treaty of Rapallo just few months after. The funeral of Rathenau was the biggest ever in Germany and the trade unions declared a day of mourning. More than 200,000 workers assembled before the castle in Berlin and there were further worker parades in Munich, Hamburg, Essen, Breslau etc. Not since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln did a nation make such a rich display of grieving. [1]
[1] see { http://tinyurl.com/po4o456 } for picture of Abraham Lincolm's funeral in 1865
[1] see { http://tinyurl.com/po4o456 } for picture of Abraham Lincolm's funeral in 1865
Germany after ww1
After WW1 Germany had lost everything they had. The country was out of raw material, soldiers, food, ammunition and money. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was therefor a futile but necessary act for the country as it would have been invaded or destroyed by France and Britain otherwise. Not only did the treaty blame Germany for the war [1]but it also stated that Germany had to pay reparations for WW1 [2] and it resulted it the country loosing 100% of its colonies and 13% of their rightful land. Of course Germany was not able to pay and so an outbreak of hyperinflation spread through the whole of Germany. Germany paid the first of three installments in coal, iron and wood. However in 1922 Weimar couldn't pay a further installment in any way and this caused great anger towards the German's from the French, as they thought Germany was trying to get out her reparations responsibilities. The effect of the hyperinflation was so big that by early 1922 a loaf of bread cost 163 marks [3] and people were always in rush to spend there money as it would loose its value any second. Only four months later the cost had increased by a tenfold.
[1] article 231 of the war guilt clause
[2] a total cost of £6,600,000,
[3] reliable article source coming from historylearning.co.uk created by Oxford history teacher Chris Windlesham rewarded with history A level and GCSE certificate
[1] article 231 of the war guilt clause
[2] a total cost of £6,600,000,
[3] reliable article source coming from historylearning.co.uk created by Oxford history teacher Chris Windlesham rewarded with history A level and GCSE certificate
A clip showing how the hyperinflation influenced the life of German citizens. People used suitcases instead of wallets because they couldn't carry their money around otherwise. Furthermore they had to visit the bank at least twice a day when buying groceries or other living essential, as the prices were so high that they could simply not carry around enough money.
1931 German Financial Crisis. Dir. SkoblinI. Youtube,Clip. N.p., 6 Mar. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
1931 German Financial Crisis. Dir. SkoblinI. Youtube,Clip. N.p., 6 Mar. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
The hyperinflation however wasn't Germany's only problem. A much more troubling problem Germany had to face was there national security. Although the Treaty of Versailles said that neither Britain nor France would attack or invade Germany, the country only had 100.000 soldiers and no air-force or heavy artillery they could defend themselves with. On top of that Germany also wasn't allowed to produce weapons anymore as according the Treaty of Versailles, and they had no source of defense for their country. Lloyd Goerge wanted to : 'Squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak,' (http://.tinyurlcom/n2setm6), and it was this election slogan in 1922 that caused wide spread unease in Germany. For such a large country an army of 100.000 soldiers was just large enough to keep order within Germany, but it would be useless against any kind of attack from bordering countries such as France. On extreme problem Germany had to face was the fact that the Rhineland had to be demilitarized as agreed on in the Treaty of Versailles. This meant that Germany was open to attack by France at any times. [1]
[1] reliable source coming from GCSE history teacher Natalya Luck at West Sussex college
[1] reliable source coming from GCSE history teacher Natalya Luck at West Sussex college
After the loss of WW1 Hitler visited as many political organizations as possible to check whether Germany was right wing, centre politics or left wing. Seething with anger about the defeat of WW1 and the fact that Germany was not accepted on par with other nations Hitler didn't know how to build up Germany's economy and Army. In addition to that came the conditions applying to Germany set free by the Treaty of Versailles. For both the nation and its leaders this seemed like a hopeless situation. However with the aftermath of the Russian Revolution taking place at the same time Germany saw a possibility in coming to a agreement with the Soviet Union that would be profitable for both parties, in terms of the economy and the army since the Soviet Union also didn't have any support from other countries exactly like Germany.
This comic is from the English Punch magazine and was published in 1931. The comic shows Hitler and his Nazi party and the the effects the Treaty of Versailles had on them. The comic shows Hitler wrapped in a paper -representing the ToV- and it looks as if, like a dog, he is crawling away from the limitations under which put by the Treaty of Versailles. Despite the fact that the paper is wrapped around him multiple times, he seems to slowly be getting out of the paper role. The multiple layers in which Hitler is wrapped in represent the various nations that were involved in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and that were making sure Hitler didn't brake his agreements. The combinations of his grim face and the small intervals in his hand steps make us believe that Hitler is strongly upset with the limitations under which he was put however they still do not stop him from going on with his plans. The paper role representing the signing of the ToV however also could be interpreted as a cannon that is shooting Germany into a better future. Although the ToV forced Germany to pay reparations for WW1 it also resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo after which Germany steadily started regaining military and economic growth. This way the canon shows symbolism for improvement, that helped Germany into a better future. The assumption that the grim faced face expression and the small hand step intervals represent anger but also progress also applies to this interpretation as Hitler was angry at the League of Nations however yet happy because this way he was able to rebuild his military secreetly. This comic is a very valuable source for us because it shows us the English interpretation on Germanies progress after the signing of the ToV. It gives us a thorough insight into the amount of knowledge Britain had on Germanies secret activity after the signing of the ToR which makes this such valuable source. However it also brings along a limitations as it doesn't give us any insight on other countries knowledge and opinion which makes it bias.
This comic is from the American Time magazine and was published in 1930. Time magazine was first published in march 1923 and publishes one edition every week. This comic shows Hitler in Stalins arms and it looks as if Stalin is acting as a caring supervisor for Hitler. Hitler is displayed smaller than Stalin and he faced up to him which suggest that he is getting support by Stalin. Both of them are looking friendly which creates the impression of them being allies. Since Stalin is displayed as a more dominant character in the comic we get the impression that he is a more important than Hitler. The comic illustrates Hitlers cooperation with Stalin after the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo. Stalin is represented as the bigger and more powerful character in the comic because he allowed Hitler to train troops and produce weapons in the Soviet Union as he couldn't do this in Germany as of the Treaty of Versailles. Since HItler couldn't do all of this without the support from Stalin he is represented as the small one in this comic. One characteristic about the appearance of both character that is extremely important to point out is there physical wealthiness. Despite the fact that both countries were crippled after WW1 Stalin and Hitler are portrayed as happy and look well. This suggests that through the signing of the ToR both countries were able to start rebuilding their economy and military again rather quickly. This comic is a very valuable source as it shows us the American perspective on the effects that the ToR had on Germany and the Soviet Union. A further value of this source is that it shows us an objective view. The source however also has a big limitation as it from America. Since the Americans weren't part of the League of Nations the reliability could be questioned.
Germany and Its cooperation with the soviet union
Since the military clause of the Treaty of Versailles set strict limitations regarding the German army and its colonies, Germany had to find a way how they could hoodwink the agreement they made and the League of Nations. Since both Germany and the Soviet Union weren't strongly disliked -to put it mildly- by the League of Nations, due to the war dept and czarist debt on the Russian side and the actions throughout WW1 by the German's, both nations weren't supported by the League of Nations. This meant that both countries had to try and build up their army and economy individually without the support of any other nations. As Germany and the Soviet Union noticed rather quickly that they wouldn't be able to do this individually they tried to find a solution in the form of an agreement (treaty) with another country that would allow them to strengthen each others economy and military ties. To both the German's and the Soviet's a cooperation between their two countries seemed very profitable and therefor they agreed to work together. (Treaty of Rapallo signed)
Germany started producing and optimizing weapons in the Soviet Union that were then send back to Germany without anybody, especially the League of Nations finding out. The treaty also enabled them to station and train troops in the Soviet Union without the LoN [1] getting suspicious. This was one of the greatest advantages for Germany because this way they were able to extend and strengthen their army and military program again to prepare for possible attacks. On top of that the inclusion of extensive trading agreement was also very advantageous to Germany because the country didn't have any resources left as they used all their resources to pay one of three reparation installments.
[1] League of Nations
[1] League of Nations
Since the economy of the Soviet Union (Russia) had also been drastically damaged through WW1 the Nation had to find a way in which they could regain economic growth. They did this by allowing Germany to train and station troops in their land in exchange for an annual fee. The Germans were able to pay because the other countries still believed that Germany didn't have any money to pay with since they couldn't pay the reparation installments. However the Germans tricked the other Nations and used this money to pay the Soviet's. Furthermore they took money from the Germans for letting them produce weapons within their country. Lastly both benefited from the Treaty of Rapallo because they agreed on dropping all financial claims opposed to each other which strengthened both countries as a nation because they weren't alone in the struggle of rebuilding there country anymore. [1]
[1] article five or the treaty stated that : The two Governments shall co-operate in a spirit of mutual goodwill in meeting the economic needs of both countries.
[1] article five or the treaty stated that : The two Governments shall co-operate in a spirit of mutual goodwill in meeting the economic needs of both countries.
the league of nations and the treaty of rapallo
The League of Nations didn't have a direct influence in the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo and on its effect in the aftermath of WW1 however it did have some significance. Since the Germans were producing weapons in the Soviet Union and training troops they were breaking the agreements of the Treaty of Versailles. When Britain and France found this out they stopped all trades with Germany which furthermore complicated the economic situation in Germany. The league of nations used its combined power with the other nations to cut Germany of from trading with all other countries besides the Soviet Union, as these two nations had a common treaty. (Treaty of Rapallo)