Open AccessUSSR and Germany in the context of the events of the 1920s-1930s
Author(s) -
Vladimir Shveitser
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
sovremennaâ evropa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0201-7083
DOI - 10.15211/soveurope52020193203
Subject(s) - nazi germany , appeasement , annexation , weimar republic , context (archaeology) , political science , militarization , german , foreign policy , treaty , economic history , nazism , great power , political economy , law , economy , history , sociology , politics , economics , archaeology
The article is dedicated to the Soviet-German relations of the 1920s-late 1930s. It explores the key issues that fit into the General context of the European situation of the interwar period. The most important normative acts of those years – the Treaty of Versailles, the Locarno and Rapallo agreements – are studied. The article analyses the core document of Hitlerism – Mein Kampf, its influence on the formation and development of foreign policy doctrines of Nazi Germany. The position of the Soviet Union towards the policy of the Weimar Republic before and after the national socialists rise to power in 1933 is evaluated. In response to the growing revanchist tendencies to solve the problems created by Versailles, the Soviet Union began to search for optimal options in order to create a collective security system in Europe. Special attention is paid to the initial stage of Hitler's aggressive course – the annexation of the Saarland, the militarization of the Rhineland, and the Anschluss of Austria. The appeasement policy of the leading European powers in these matters manifested clearly in the so-called Munich betrayal of September 1938, which opened the way for Hitler to implement his aggressive plans.