International situation on the eve of the Second World War

After the hopes of Soviet Russia for a world revolution collapsed, the Soviet leaders had to think about how to establish trade and diplomatic relations with the "capitalists". An obstacle to the recognition of the Bolshevik government was the refusal to recognize the debts made by the tsarist and Provisional governments, as well as to pay foreigners for the property taken from them by the Soviets. But there was also a more serious reason. In addition to the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, in Soviet Russia there was another body that pursued its own, unofficial foreign policy - the Comintern (Communist International), whose task was to undermine the state foundations of countries with whose governments Soviet diplomacy tried to establish normal relations.

Afraid of the communists, but at the same time needing a market for their industrial products and Russian raw materials, the European powers and the United States compromised. Not recognizing Soviet power, they began a lively trade with the Soviets. Already in December 1920, the United States lifted the ban on trade transactions of its private firms with Soviet Russia. Many European powers followed suit.

On April 10, 1922, an international conference opened in Genoa, to which the Soviet delegation was invited for the first time. Its head, Commissar for Foreign Affairs Chicherin, declared the readiness of the Soviet government to recognize the tsarist debts if it is recognized and if loans are opened to it. Of all the 33 countries present, Germany was the only one to accept this proposal, and on April 16 in Rapallo she concluded not only a trade but also a secret agreement with Soviet Russia - the “Operation Kama”. According to which the Junkers plant was built, which produced several hundred military aircraft for Germany by 1924, submarines began to be built for it at the shipyards of Petrograd and Nikolaev; in Lipetsk and Borsoglebsk, aviation schools were opened for German pilots and a whole network of airfields was built, on which, starting from 1927, German pilots received training; in Kazan, a tank school was opened, and in Lutsk, an artillery German school.

In 1926, an agreement on neutrality was signed between Germany and the USSR. German-Soviet cooperation continued further.

England was especially hostile to the Bolsheviks while the Conservatives, led by Churchill, were in power there. When power passed to the Labor Party in 1924, England established diplomatic relations with the USSR. Its example was followed by almost all European states, as well as Japan, China and Mexico. Only Yugoslavia and the United States firmly held on to non-recognition. This, however, did not prevent the Americans from conducting a lively trade with the Soviets.

In 1927, due to a scandal over secret British War Office documents, the British government broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviets, but continued trade between the two countries.

During the first 16 years after the war, the situation in Europe, from the outside, was calm. True, in Germany, after the social-democratic experiment, the people entrusted power to Field Marshal Hindenburg, but his presidency posed no threat to the world.

At the urging of France, Germany joined the League of Nations in 1925. On October 4 of the same year, a conference was convened in Locarno, at which England, Italy, France, Germany, and Belgium signed an agreement on mutual guarantees between these countries and on the guarantee of the inviolability of the borders of Poland and Czechoslovakia.

British politicians wanted conditions to be created in the East that would exclude the possibility of a German-Soviet clash. But Germany did not want to give up its claims in the East and come to terms with the loss of its lands that had gone to Poland, and rejected this proposal.

Germany is arming

While the victorious countries were enjoying a peaceful life and dreaming of a lasting peace, Germany was arming itself. Already in 1919, the German Minister Rethenau created the conditions for the restoration of the military industry. Many old factories and factories were converted, and new ones (built with American and British money) were built so that they could be quickly adapted to wartime needs.

In order to circumvent the ban on maintaining a regular army, the German General Staff, from the allowed one hundred thousandth contingent, created a cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers for a millionth army. Cadet corps were opened and many youth organizations were created, in which military training was secretly held. Finally, a general staff was created, developing a plan for a future war. Thus, everything was created so that, under favorable conditions, it would be possible to quickly create a powerful military force. It only remained to wait for the appearance of a leader who would break down the external barriers that prevented the creation of this force.

Hitler's rise to power

In the 1920s, a new, hitherto unknown figure appeared on the political arena of Germany - Adolf Hitler. An Austrian by birth, he was a German patriot. When the war began, he volunteered for the German army and rose to the rank of corporal. At the end of the war, during a gas attack, he was temporarily blind and ended up in the hospital. There, in his reflections, he explained his misfortune with the defeat of Germany. In search of the reasons for this defeat, he came to the conclusion that it was the result of betrayal by the Jews, who undermined the front with their intrigues, and the intrigues of the Bolsheviks - participants in the "world Jewish conspiracy."

In September 1919, Hitler joined the German Workers' Party. A year later, he already became its leader - the "Fuhrer". In 1923, the French occupation of the Ruhr area aroused the indignation of the German people and contributed to the growth of Hitler's party, which has since become known as the National Socialist.

After an unsuccessful attempt to seize power in Bavaria, Hitler had to spend 13 months in prison, where he wrote his book "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle").

Hitler's popularity grew rapidly. In 1928, he had 12 deputies in the Reichstag (parliament), and in 1930 there were already 230.

At that time, Hindenburg was already over 80 years old. The leaders of the general staff were supposed to find a deputy for him. Since Hitler was striving for the same goal as them, their choice settled on him. In August 1932, Hitler was unofficially invited to Berlin. After meeting him, Hindenburg said: “This man in the role of Chancellor? I'll make him postmaster and he can lick my head stamps." However, on April 30, 1933, although reluctantly, Hindenburg agreed to appoint him Chancellor.

Two months later, Hitler opened the first Reichstag of the III Empire, the next day the majority (441 against 94) of the deputies gave him emergency, unlimited powers for four years.

In 1929, after an era of economic prosperity, a severe crisis suddenly broke out in the United States. Very quickly, it spread throughout the world, it did not bypass Germany either. Numerous factories and factories closed, the number of unemployed reached 2,300,000. Germany became unable to pay reparations.

When an international conference on disarmament met in Geneva in April 1932, the German representatives began to seek the abolition of reparation payments. Having been refused, they demanded the abolition of all weapons restrictions. Not having received consent to this demand, they left the conference. This caused a stir among the representatives of the Western powers, who made every effort to return the German delegation. When Germany was offered equality in arms with other powers, her delegation returned.

In March 1933, the British government proposed the so-called "MacDonald Plan", according to which the French army should be reduced from 500 to 200 thousand, and the German army could be increased to the same number. Since Germany was forbidden to have military aircraft, the allied states had to reduce theirs to 500 aircraft each. When France began to demand a 4-year delay for the destruction of its heavy weapons, Hitler ordered the German delegation not only to leave the conference, but also the League of Nations.

Having received power, Hitler immediately set about implementing his idea - the unification of all German peoples into one state - Great Germany. The first object of his claims was Austria. In June 1934 he made an attempt to capture her. But the outbreak of the Nazi uprising was soon crushed, and Hitler decided to temporarily retreat. On March 9, 1935, the government officially announced the creation of an air force, and on the 16th, the introduction of universal military service. In the same year, Italy went over to the side of Germany and captured Abyssinia.

After the introduction of universal conscription, by a special agreement with England, Germany received the right to restore the navy with submarines. The secretly created military aviation has already caught up with the British. Industry openly produced armaments. All this did not meet with serious opposition from Western countries and the United States.

On March 7, at 10 o'clock in the morning, an agreement was signed on the demilitarization of the Rhineland, and 2 hours later, on Hitler's orders, German troops crossed the borders of this area and occupied all the main cities in it. Until mid-1936, all of Hitler's illegal actions were based solely on the indecision of France and England and the self-isolation of the United States. In 1938, the situation was different - Germany could now rely on the superiority of its military power, the military industry operating at full capacity, and on an alliance with Italy. This was enough to proceed with the capture of Austria, which was needed not only for the implementation of part of his plan - the unification of all Germanic peoples, but also opened the door for him to Czechoslovakia and Southern Europe. After appropriate diplomatic pressure, Hitler issued an ultimatum, which was rejected. On March 11, 1938, German troops crossed the Austrian border. After the occupation of Vienna, Hitler proclaimed the accession of Austria to the German Empire.

In order to find out the combat effectiveness of the Red Army, in the summer of 1938 the Japanese provoked a border incident in the Vladivostok region, which turned into a real battle that lasted about two weeks, ending with the Japanese retreating and a truce was concluded.

In May 1939, in order to test the Soviet-Mongolian defense capability, the Japanese invaded Mongolia. The Soviet command, located 120 km. from the place of hostilities, led the operations sluggishly and ineptly. When the command was entrusted to General Zhukov, the situation changed. After 4 months of stubborn fighting, Zhukov managed to surround and destroy the main enemy forces. The Japanese asked for peace.

The tense situation in the Far East forced the Soviets to keep an army of 400,000 there.

Negotiations between England and France with Nazi Germany

Despite the growing danger of German and Japanese aggression, the ruling circles of England, France and the USA tried to use Germany and Japan to fight against the Soviet Union. With the help of the Japanese and Germans, they wanted to destroy or at least significantly weaken the USSR and undermine its growing influence. It was precisely this that was one of the main reasons that led the ruling circles of the Western powers to pursue a policy of "appeasement" of the fascist aggressors. The reactionary governments of England and France, with the support of the United States, tried to come to an agreement with Nazi Germany at the expense of the USSR, as well as the states of Southeastern Europe. England was the most active.

The British government sought to conclude a bilateral Anglo-German agreement. To do this, it was ready to provide long-term loans, to agree on the delimitation of spheres of influence and markets. The policy of conspiring with Hitler was especially intensified after N. Chamberlain came to power. In November 1937, the British Prime Minister sent his closest collaborator, Lord Halifax, to Germany. The recording of a conversation between Halifax and Hitler in Obersalzberg on November 19, 1937, shows that the Chamberlain government was ready to give Germany "freedom of hands in Eastern Europe", but on the condition that Germany promised to redraw the political map of Europe in its favor by peaceful means and gradually. This meant that Hitler would undertake to coordinate with England his plans of conquest in relation to Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Danzig.

Shortly after this conversation between Halifax and Hitler, the British government invited French Prime Minister Chautain and Foreign Minister Delbos to London. The last to be declared was that the support that France considers to be giving to Czechoslovakia under the Mutual Assistance Pact goes far beyond what is approved in England. Thus, the Chamberlain government began to put pressure on France to withdraw from its obligations under the mutual assistance pact with Czechoslovakia. In London, not without reason, it was believed that the mutual assistance pacts that Czechoslovakia had with France and the USSR strengthened its international position, and therefore the Chamberlain government pursued tactics aimed at undermining these pacts.

The policy of complicity in Hitler's aggression in Europe was intended not only to "appease" Hitler and direct Nazi Germany's aggression to the East, but also to achieve the isolation of the Soviet Union.

On September 29, 1938, the so-called Munich Conference was convened. At this conference, Daladier and Chamberlain, without the participation of representatives of Czechoslovakia, signed an agreement with Hitler and Mussolini. Under the Munich Agreement, Hitler achieved the implementation of all his demands, presented to Czechoslovakia: the dismemberment of this country and the annexation of the Sudetenland to Germany. Also, the Munich Agreement contained the obligation of England and France to participate in the "international guarantees" of the new Czechoslovak borders, the determination of which was within the competence of the "international commission". Hitler, for his part, accepted the obligation to respect the inviolability of the new borders of the Czechoslovak state. As a result of the dismemberment, Czechoslovakia lost almost 1/5 of its territory, about 1/4 of its population, and almost half of its heavy industry. The Munich Agreement was a cynical betrayal of Czechoslovakia by England and France. The French government betrayed its ally, failed to fulfill its allied obligations.

After Munich, it became obvious that the French government was not fulfilling its obligations under the allied treaties. This applied primarily to the Franco-Polish alliance and the Soviet-French mutual assistance treaty of 1935. And, indeed, in Paris they were going to denounce all the agreements concluded by France, and especially the Franco-Polish agreements and the Soviet-French pact on mutual assistance, as soon as possible. In Paris, they did not even hide their efforts to push Germany against the Soviet Union.

Such plans were hatched even more actively in London. Chamberlain hoped that after Munich Germany would direct its aggressive aspirations against the USSR. During the Paris talks with Daladier on November 24, 1938, the British Prime Minister said that "the German government may have an idea about how to start the dismemberment of Russia by supporting agitation for an independent Ukraine." It seemed to the countries participating in the Munich Agreement that the political course they had chosen was triumphant: Hitler was about to set off on a campaign against the Soviet Union. But on March 15, 1939, Hitler very expressively showed that he did not take into account either England or France, or the obligations that he had assumed to them. German troops suddenly invaded Czechoslovakia, completely occupied it and liquidated it as a state.

Soviet-German negotiations in 1939

In the tense political situation to the limit in the spring and summer of 1939, negotiations began and took place on economic, and then on political issues. The German government in 1939 was clearly aware of the danger of a war against the Soviet Union. It did not yet have the resources that, by 1941, the capture of Western Europe had given it. As early as the beginning of 1939, the German government offered the USSR to conclude a trade agreement. On May 17, 1939, the German Foreign Minister Schnurre met with the USSR Charge d'Affaires in Germany G.A. Astakhov, where they discussed the issue of improving Soviet-German relations.

At the same time, the Soviet government did not consider it possible, due to the tense political situation in relations between the USSR and Germany, to negotiate on expanding trade and economic ties between both countries. The People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs pointed this out to the German Ambassador on May 20, 1939. He noted that economic negotiations with Germany have recently started several times, but turned out to be fruitless. This gave the Soviet government a reason to tell the German side that it had the impression that the German government, instead of businesslike negotiations on trade and economic issues, was playing a kind of game, and that the USSR was not going to participate in such games.

Nevertheless, on August 3, 1939, Ribbentrop, in a conversation with Astakhov, stated that there were no unresolved issues between the USSR and Germany and proposed signing a Soviet-German protocol. Still counting on the opportunity to achieve success in negotiations with Britain and France, the Soviet government rejected this proposal.

But after negotiations with Britain and France reached an impasse due to their unwillingness to cooperate with the USSR, after the receipt of information about secret negotiations between Germany and England, the Soviet government became convinced of the complete impossibility of achieving effective cooperation with the Western powers in organizing a joint rebuff to the fascist aggressor. On August 15, a telegram arrived in Moscow in which the German government asked to receive the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Moscow for negotiations, but the Soviet government hoped for success in negotiations with England and France and therefore did not react to this telegram. On August 20, a new urgent request from Berlin followed on the same issue.

In the current situation, the government of the USSR then made the only right decision - to agree to the arrival of Ribbentrop to conduct negotiations, which ended on August 23 with the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact. Its conclusion for some time saved the USSR from the threat of a war without allies and gave time to strengthen the country's defense. The Soviet government agreed to conclude this treaty only after the unwillingness of Britain and France to repulse Hitler's aggression together with the USSR had finally become clear. The agreement, which was designed for 10 years, entered into force immediately. The agreement was accompanied by a secret protocol delimiting the spheres of influence of the parties in Eastern Europe: Estonia, Finland, Bessarabia ended up in the Soviet sphere; in German - Lithuania. The fate of the Polish State was passed over in silence, but in any case, the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories, included in its composition under the Riga Peace Treaty of 1920, were supposed to go to the USSR after the German military invasion of Poland.

Secret protocol in action

8 days after the signing of the treaty, German troops attacked Poland. On September 9, the Soviet leadership informed Berlin of its intention to occupy those Polish territories that, in accordance with the secret protocol, were to go to the Soviet Union. On September 17, the Red Army entered Poland under the pretext of providing "assistance to Ukrainian and Belarusian blood brothers" who were in danger as a result of the "disintegration of the Polish state." As a result of the agreement reached between Germany and the USSR, a joint Soviet-German communiqué was published on September 19, stating that the purpose of this action was to "restore peace and the order violated as a result of the collapse of Poland." This allowed the Soviet Union to annex a huge territory of 200 thousand km 2 with a population of 12 million people.

Following this, the Soviet Union, in accordance with the provisions of the secret protocol, turned its eyes towards the Baltic countries. On September 28, 1939, the Soviet leadership imposed a “mutual assistance pact” on Estonia, under the terms of which it “provided” its naval bases to the Soviet Union. A few weeks later similar agreements were signed with Latvia and Lithuania.

On October 31, the Soviet leadership presented territorial claims to Finland, which erected 35 km along the border along the Karelian Isthmus. from Leningrad, a system of powerful fortifications known as the Mannerheim Line. The USSR demanded to demilitarize the border zone and move the border 70 km. from Leningrad, liquidate the naval bases on Hanko and the Aland Islands in exchange for very significant territorial concessions in the north. Finland rejected these proposals, but agreed to negotiate. On November 29, taking advantage of a minor border incident, the USSR terminated the non-aggression pact with Finland. The next day, hostilities began. The Red Army, which failed to cross the Mannerheim Line for several weeks, suffered heavy losses. Only at the end of February 1940 did the Soviet troops manage to break through the Finnish defenses and capture Vyborg. The Finnish government sued for peace and, under an agreement on March 12, 1940, ceded the entire Karelian Isthmus with Vyborg to the Soviet Union, and also provided it with its naval base on Hanko for 30 years. This short but very costly war for the Soviet troops (50 thousand killed, more than 150 thousand wounded and missing) demonstrated to Germany, as well as to the most far-sighted representatives of the Soviet military command, the weakness and unpreparedness of the Red Army. In June 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were included in the USSR.

A few days after the entry of the Red Army into the Baltic states, the Soviet government sent an ultimatum to Romania, demanding that Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina be handed over to the USSR. In early July 1940, Bukovina and part of Bessarabia were incorporated into the Ukrainian USSR. The rest of Bessarabia was annexed to the Moldavian SSR, which was formed on August 2, 1940. Thus, within one year the population of the Soviet Union increased by 23 million people.

Deterioration of Soviet-German relations

Outwardly, Soviet-German relations developed favorably for both sides. The Soviet Union carefully complied with all the conditions of the Soviet-German economic agreement signed on February 11, 1940. For 16 months, right up to the German attack, he delivered in exchange for technical and military equipment agricultural products, oil and mineral raw materials totaling about 1 billion marks. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the USSR regularly supplied Germany with strategic raw materials and food purchased from third countries. The economic assistance and mediation of the USSR were of paramount importance for Germany in the conditions of the economic blockade declared by Great Britain.

At the same time, the Soviet Union followed with concern the victories of the Wehrmacht. In August-September 1940, the first deterioration in Soviet-German relations occurred, caused by the presentation by Germany of foreign policy guarantees to Romania after the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. She signed a series of economic agreements with Romania and sent a very significant military mission there to prepare the Romanian army for war against the USSR. In September, Germany sent its troops to Finland.

Despite the changes in the Balkans caused by these events in the fall of 1940, Germany made several more attempts to improve German-Soviet diplomatic relations. During Molotov's visit to Berlin on November 12-14, very intense, although not leading to concrete results, negotiations were held regarding the accession of the USSR to the tripartite alliance. However, on November 25, the Soviet government handed the German Ambassador Schuleburg a memorandum outlining the conditions for the USSR to enter the tripartite alliance:

The territories located south of Batumi and Baku in the direction of the Persian Gulf should be considered as a center of attraction for Soviet interests;

German troops must be withdrawn from Finland;

Bulgaria, having signed an agreement on mutual assistance with the USSR, passes under its protectorate;

A Soviet naval base is located on Turkish territory in the Straits zone;

Japan renounces its claims to Sakhalin Island.

The demands of the Soviet Union remained unanswered. On behalf of Hitler, the Wehrmacht General Staff was already (since the end of July 1940) developing a plan for a lightning war against the Soviet Union, and at the end of August, the first military formations were transferred to the east. The failure of the Berlin negotiations with Molotov led Hitler to the adoption on December 5, 1940 of the final decision on the USSR, confirmed on December 18 by "Directive 21", which set the beginning of the implementation of the Barbarossa plan on May 15, 1941. The invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece forced Hitler on April 30, 1941 to postpone this date to June 22, 1941. The generals convinced him that the victorious war would last no more than 4-6 weeks.

At the same time, Germany used the memorandum of November 25, 1940, to put pressure on those countries whose interests were affected by it, and above all on Bulgaria, which in March 1941 joined the fascist coalition. Soviet-German relations continued to deteriorate throughout the spring of 1941, especially in connection with the invasion of Yugoslavia by German troops a few hours after the signing of the Soviet-Yugoslav friendship treaty. The USSR did not react to this aggression, as well as to the attack on Greece. At the same time, Soviet diplomacy managed to achieve a major success by signing a non-aggression pact with Japan on April 13, which significantly reduced tension on the Far Eastern borders of the USSR.

Despite the alarming course of events, the USSR, until the very beginning of the war with Germany, could not believe in the inevitability of a German attack. Soviet deliveries to Germany increased significantly due to the renewal on 11 January 1941 of the 1940 economic agreements. In order to demonstrate its "confidence" to Germany, the Soviet government refused to take into account the numerous reports that had been received since the beginning of 1941 about an attack being prepared against the USSR and did not take the necessary measures on its western borders. Germany was still viewed by the Soviet Union "as a great friendly power".

The Second World War was prepared and unleashed by the forces of the most aggressive states - fascist Germany and Italy, militaristic Japan with the aim of a new redivision of the world. It began as a war between two coalitions of imperialist powers. In the future, it began to take on the part of all states that fought against the countries of the fascist bloc, the character of a just, anti-fascist war, which was finally formed after the USSR entered the war.

Stabilization in the field of international relations in the 20s. was replaced by the world economic crisis (1929 - 1933). The way out is the growth of state intervention in the social and economic life of a number of European countries and the USA.

In Germany in 1933, as a result of democratic elections, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) led by A. Hitler came to power:

- economic policy - to expand the living space, achieve world domination;
- ideological support - propaganda of the idea of ​​racial exclusivity of the German nation, chauvinism;
- the social base of National Socialism - small proprietors, the unemployed, part of the intelligentsia, workers and youth.
Changes in German policy with the advent of the Nazis: withdrawal from the League of Nations (1933), rejection of the Geneva Convention on Disarmament, growth of militarism.

Military-political cooperation of extremist regimes:
October 1936 - "Berlin-Rome Axis" - an agreement between Germany and Italy, recognition of the annexation of Abyssinia, development of a common line of conduct regarding the war in Spain. November 1936 "Anti-Comintern Pact" - cooperation between Germany and Japan, directed against the Comintern. In 1937, Italy joined this pact.

By 1939 - the expansion of the anti-Comintern pact through Hungary, Spain, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Siam, Manchukuo, Denmark, Slovakia, Croatia. Great Britain and France adopted a policy of "non-intervention" when the fate of Spain was being decided.

Thus, the growth of militarism and revanchism in Germany, the aggressive actions of Japan and Italy, with the connivance of Great Britain and France, led to a sharp aggravation of international relations, to the emergence of three centers of military tension.

Steps taken by the USSR to prevent war:

1. Geneva International Conference on Disarmament - from 1932 to 1935 with the participation of representatives from 63 countries. It did not support the USSR's idea of ​​complete and general disarmament.
2. Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak mutual assistance treaties (1935).
3. The proposal of the USSR on the creation of a system of collective security and the protection of independent countries threatened by aggression. However, this initiative was perceived as an attempt to impose communist ideas on the West; Stalin's repressions, which undermined the international prestige of the USSR, also played a negative role.
4. "Pact of Ribentrop - Molotov" - a Soviet-German agreement for a period of 10 years (August 23, 1939), as well as a secret additional protocol "on the issue of delimitation of mutual interests in Eastern Europe". The treaty did not make Germany and the USSR allies either formally or in fact; it did not contain articles on military cooperation between the two countries.

Under the influence of the reactionary regimes of Germany, Italy, Japan, an aggressive bloc is being created. The initiative of the USSR to create a system of collective security did not find understanding on the part of Great Britain, France and Poland. As a result, the Soviet Union was presented with an alternative: to face the threat of waging war in the west and east, or to sign the non-aggression pact proposed by Germany. The last option was chosen.

The fragility and inferiority of Versailles. Washington system, the origins of a new confrontation. The economic crisis and the "Great" depression, its consequences for world politics. - "Closing" of the leading powers on internal problems - The coming of the Nazis to power in Germany - The beginning of aggressive actions aimed at revising the Versailles-Washington system. Fascism as a phenomenon of world history of the twentieth century. "People's Fronts" in Spain and France - resistance to fascism. F. Roosevelt's "New Deal" as an alternative to fascism and communism.

Cause of the collapse of the Versailles system. Relative stability in Europe. The tranquility of the European powers. Each country acts alone. The return of the US to the policy of isolation. Beginning of Japanese aggression against China. Germany's demand to revise the Versailles-Washington Treaty. The policy of "appeasement" of Germany and the direction of the threat to the East against the "communist threat" Occupation by Germany of the Saar region. in 1935 Capture of the Rhine region in 1936

Japanese aggression 1931 - capture of Manchuria 1933 - withdrew from the League of Nations 1937 - invasion of Northern China 1938 - invasion of Mongolia 1938 July-August armed conflict on the territory of the USSR in the area of ​​Lake Khasan 1939 - battles near the Khalkhin River Gol Hirohito - 124 emperor 1926 - 1989

Khasan A small freshwater lake in the Russian Federation, in the south of Primorsky Krai. Located southeast of Posyet Bay, near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 130 km southwest of Vladivostok. The lake entered the history of Russia thanks to the military operation in this area, as a result of which, in August 1938, Soviet troops defeated the Japanese military units that invaded the territory of the USSR.

Khalkhin - Gol An armed conflict (undeclared war) that lasted from spring to autumn 1939 near the Khalkhin Gol River in Mongolia. The final battle took place in late August and ended with the complete defeat of the 6th separate army of Japan. A truce between the USSR and Japan was concluded on September 15.

German aggression Adolf Hitler – Chancellor 1933-1945 Fuhrer 1934-1945 Remilitarization of Germany 1933 - withdrew from the League of Nations 1934 - creation of a military organization 1935 - introduction of universal conscription 1936 - entry of troops into the Rhine demilitarized zone 1936 -1937 - conclusion of the Anti-Comintern Pact 1938 - accession Austria September 1938 - Munich agreement August 23, 1939 - non-aggression pact

In November 1936, Germany and Japan conclude the "Anti-Comintern Pact" on the joint struggle against communism. Italy joined in 1937. This is how the axis "Berlin-Rome-Tokyo" ("Axis countries") was formed.

Anschluss of Austria The idea of ​​unifying Austria with Germany and specifically the annexation of Austria by Germany on March 11-12, 1938. The independence of Austria was restored in April 1945

30. 09. 1938 "Munich conspiracy" and the occupation of the Sudetenland. . Spring 1939 - invasion of Czechoslovakia

Appeasement policy A special kind of foreign military policy of peace-loving states based on compromises and concessions to the aggressor in the hope of keeping him from taking extreme measures and violating the peace. As historical experience shows, such a policy usually did not produce the expected results. On the contrary, most often it prompted a potential aggressor to take more decisive action and, in the final analysis, entailed the undermining of the international security system. A typical example of this is the Munich Agreement of 1938, which did not stop Nazi Germany, but, on the contrary, pushed it to unleash the Second World War.

An attempt to unite against fascist aggression. 1934, entry into the League of Nations of the USSR. 1934 "Eastern Pact" between the USSR and France on collective security in Europe. The Munich Agreement put an end to the Eastern Pact. France's refusal to help Czechoslovakia put the USSR in a difficult position. April 1939 Italian occupation of Albania. An attempt at negotiations between the USSR, France and Britain in 1939 ended in nothing. The USSR was isolated. On August 23, 1939, the forced signing of a non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany.

Non-aggression pact Non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union - “Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact” Concluded on August 23, 1939 The agreement was signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs: from the side of the Soviet Union - V. M. Molotov, from the side of Germany - J. von Ribbentrop. The treaty was accompanied by a secret additional protocol on the delimitation of spheres of mutual interests in Eastern Europe.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov Soviet politician and statesman, Hero of Socialist Labor (1943) Head of the Soviet government in 1930-1941 People's Commissar and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1939-1949, 1953-1956). In the 1930s - 1940s, according to the hierarchy of the Soviet party organs, including the Politburo The second person in the country after Stalin. One of the main organizers of political repressions during the construction of an industrial society in the USSR.

Joachem von Ribbentrop Adolf Hitler's foreign policy adviser In February 1938, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. On this occasion, as an exception, he received the Order of the German Eagle. Immediately after the appointment, he achieved the admission of all employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the SS. He himself often appeared at work in the uniform of an SS Gruppenfuehrer.

Soviet-Finnish war Armed conflict between the USSR and Finland in the period from November 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940. According to a number of historians - the offensive operation of the USSR against Finland during the Second World War. In Soviet and part of Russian historiography, this war was viewed as a separate bilateral local conflict that was not part of World War II, just like the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River. The war ended with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty, which fixed the rejection of a significant part of its territory from Finland.

Three groups of states on the eve of World War II Lines of comparison Participants in the Tripartite Pact Great Britain, France, USA USSR Goals of foreign policy Redistribution of the world and Preservation of world domination. existing struggle with the world order. communism Opposition to communism Strengthening the international positions of the USSR Features of the policy Germany's refusal from Great Britain and the conditions of France are pursuing the Treaty of Versailles policy. appeasement Expansion of the aggressor, the United States - territory in isolationist Europe. politics The unleashing of local wars by Italy and Japan The duality of the course: the desire to prevent a war and attempts to activate the communist movement through the Comintern. Solving the issue of a possible ally Sphere of foreign policy interests Division of the world into spheres of influence Territory of the former Russian Empire, zone of the straits World with borders established after the First World War

World War II September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 armed conflict between two world military-political coalitions, which became the largest war in the history of mankind. More than 70 states were involved in the Second World War (of which 37 took part in hostilities), on the territory of which more than 80% of the world's population lived. Military operations covered the territories of 40 states. According to various estimates, from 50 to 70 million people died. The reasons for the war are still disputed.

Causes of the Second World War - Isolationism of the leading powers and a focus on domestic problems. – Underestimation of the military danger by the governments of world powers. – The desire of a number of countries to revise the existing structure of the world. - Incapacity of the League of Nations as a regulator of international relations. - Folding an aggressive block - the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis.

Periodization of the Second World War Period and time frame Events First period (September 1, 1939 From the attack on Poland to June 22, 1941) of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War Second period (June 22, 1941 - November 1942) Defensive battles of the Red Army , the defeat of the Germans near Moscow, the failure of the "blitzkrieg" plan. The third period (November 1942 - Stalingrad and Kursk December 1943) battles, a radical turning point in the course of the war. The fourth period (January 1943 - May 9, 1945) The defeat of Nazi Germany, the end of the Great Patriotic War The fifth period (May - September 2, 1945) The capitulation of Japan, the end of World War II

1. Beginning Parade of German troops near Gdansk 1. 09. 1939 - German attack on Poland. 50 divisions. 3. 09. 1939 - Entry into the war of England and France. 8. 09. 1939 - to Warsaw. Blitzkrieg. September 17, 1939 - The Red Army crossed the Polish border. 28. 09. 1939 - Capitulation of Warsaw and Modlin. Soviet-German Treaty of Friendship and Border.

2. The conquest of Europe "Strange war" England and France - a threefold superiority on the western front. Refusal to take action. 09. 04. 1940 - Invasion of Denmark and Norway. May 10, 1940 - Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg. May 26, 1940 - The Dunkirk miracle. 14. 05. 1940 - Breakthrough of the line Evacuation of the English Maginot army. Entry near Dunkirk of the German army in Paris. Peten's government.

2. Conquest of Europe An air defense soldier on the roof of a London house "Battle of Britain" England's ultimatum. Blockade. "Sea Lion". 08. 1940 - submarine and air war. (losses: 1733 German aircraft, 915 British). 09. 1940 - Italy attacked Greece. 6. 04. 1940 - the invasion of the German army into Yugoslavia. In Croatia, the Ustasha are in power. Summer 1940 - Completion of the conquest of Europe.

2. Conquest of Europe General de Gaulle Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia join the Tripartite Pact. December 1940 - approval of the plan "Barbarossa" - the war with the USSR. June 18, 1940 - General de Gaulle appealed to France to organize resistance to the invaders. "Free France". Resistance movement.

3. 1941 -1942 22. 06. 1941 German attack on the USSR. The beginning of a new phase of the war. December 1941 Battle of Moscow - disruption of the blitzkrieg. 7. 12. 1941 - Pearl Harbor. US entry into the war. December 11, 1941 - Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. January 1, 1942 - formation of the anti-Hitler coalition. War in Africa American aircraft carrier Summer 1940 - Italy occupies a number of British colonies after a Japanese air strike.

3. 1941 -1942 General E. Rommel Spring 1941 - Germany to Libya. E. Rommel. October 1942 - El Alamein. Rommel in Tunisia. November 1942 - Operation Torch. D. Eisenhower. 1943 - the defeat of the German grouping of the Pacific Ocean. Summer 1942 - Midway (the Japanese lost 330 aircraft, 4 aircraft carriers). American occupation of Guadalcanal. The end of 1942 - the offensive of the German block was stopped.

4. A radical change in the Soviet-German front. Summer 1942 - Wehrmacht offensive against Stalingrad. 19. 11. 1942 - the counteroffensive of the Red Army. 2. 2. 1943 - capitulation of the German group, the capture of Paulus. Summer 1943 Kursk salient. Battle of Prokhorovka (greatest tank battle), "rail war", air superiority. Beginning of liberation A captive field marshal of the Soviet territory. Strat. Paulus near Stalingrad, the geic initiative is in the hands of the Red Army.

4. A radical change I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt, W. Churchill in Tehran Summer - autumn 1943 - Smolensk, Gomel, Left-bank Ukraine, Kyiv were liberated. 1943 - Allied landings in Italy. Removal of Mussolini from power. P. Badoglio truce with the Anglo-American Corps. 8. 9. 1943 - capitulation of Italy. The entry of German troops into the northern regions. Occupation of Rome. Summer 1944 - Liberation of Rome. 28.11-1. 12. 1943 - Tehran Conference - II front.

5. The surrender of Germany Operation "Overlord" 1944 - "10 Stalinist blows". Exit of the Red Army to the borders of Eastern Europe Summer-autumn 1944 - uprisings in Warsaw, Slovakia, Bulgaria. Liberation of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia. 6. 06. 1944 - operation "Overlord" - the opening of the II front in Europe. D. Eisenhower 18 -25. 8. 1944 - Liberation of Paris. 09. 1944 - Allies reach the German border. 12. 1944 - offensive in the Ardennes and East Prussia.

5. Surrender of Germany 12. 1. 1945 Liberation of Warsaw 4-11. 2. 1945 - Yalta conference: the end of the war, the post-war structure, the war with Japan. 16. 04. 1945 - attack on Berlin 2. 5. 1945 - flag over the Reichstag 07 -8. 5. 1945 - capitulation of Germany. 17. 7. -2. 8. 1945 - Potsdam conference: post-war arrangement, 3 D, reparations, Flag of victory over the Reichstag of the German border, trial of war criminals.

6. The defeat of Japan 1944 - Japan - the seizure of territories in China. Kwantung Army - 5 million. 6, 9, 8. 1945 - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 9. 08. 1945 - the USSR declared war. Three fronts. 14. 08. 1945 - Emperor Hirohito about surrender. 2. 9. 1945 - Battleship "Missouri" - the signing of the surrender. End of World War II. Signing of surrender Results: 54 million killed, Japan destroyed 35 thousand settlements, destroyed cultural values.

Results of the war Political consequences of the war Fascism, one of the forms of totalitarianism, was defeated. The independence and sovereignty of the countries of Europe and Asia has been restored Conditions have been created for socio-political changes, opportunities for the democratic development of states The United Nations Organization has been created on the basis of the Anti-Hitler coalition There is experience and a further opportunity to develop relations between countries with different socio-political systems, there is a tool to prevent wars , improvement of weapons. The emergence of nuclear weapons The first attempts of "nuclear dictate" by the United States. The desire of the USSR to parity with the United States in the field of nuclear and other weapons The liberation of the countries of Central and Eastern The growth of the influence of leftist forces in these states, Europe by the Soviet Union the desire of the USSR to control the development of the region The growth of the international authority of the USSR The transformation of the USSR and the USA into superpowers In the post-war world, two contradictory trends are manifested : the possibility of maintaining peace and developing cooperation and the possibility of confrontation between states in a bipolar (bipolar) world.

"Peace is the virtue of civilization, War is its crime". V. Hugo "The Apotheosis of War" Vasily Vereshchagin

. V. Vereshchagin was an ensign, "who was attached to the Turkestan governor-general, wore civilian clothes and enjoyed the freedom of action and movement necessary to sketch and write what he saw. Until the spring of 1862 he tirelessly sketched nature, folk types, scenes of life in Central Asia" . Subsequently, the artist combined all his Turkestan paintings (along with sketches) into a series in order to strengthen the ideological impact on the viewer. Following one after another, these pictures unfolded the whole plot before the viewer ("Beggars in Samarkand", "Opium Eaters", "Selling a Slave Child", etc.). In the canvas "Samarkand zindan" V. V. Vereshchagin depicted an underground bedbug prison in which the prisoners eaten alive were buried. Every hour of their stay in this prison was a cruel torture for them. And only the light falling from above, which dissolves in the evening darkness of the dungeon, connected the prisoners with life. The central place among the Turkestan paintings by V. V. Vereshchagin is occupied by battle paintings, which he combined into a series of "Barbarians". The final canvas of this series is the world-famous painting "The Apotheosis of War". The painting by V.V. Vereshchagin is not so much concrete historical as symbolic. The canvas "The Apotheosis of War" is an image of death, annihilation, destruction. Its details: dead trees, a dilapidated deserted city, dried grass - all these are parts of one plot. Even the yellow color of the picture symbolizes dying, and the clear southern sky further emphasizes the deadness of everything around. Even such details as scars from saber blows and bullet holes on the skulls of the "pyramid" express the idea of ​​the work even more clearly. To express it more fully, the artist explained this with an inscription on the frame: "Dedicated to all the great conquerors: past, present and future." Continuing this idea of ​​the artist, the remarkable Russian critic V.V. Stasov wrote: “The point here is not only with what skill Vereshchagin painted with his brushes a dry, burnt steppe and among it a pyramid of skulls, with crows fluttering around, looking for another survivor, maybe be a piece of meat. No! Here appeared in the picture something more precious and higher than Vereshchagin's extraordinary virtuality of colors: this is a deep feeling of a historian and judge of mankind ... In Turkestan, Vereshchagin had seen enough of death and corpses: but he did not become coarse and dull The feeling did not die out in him, as in most of those who deal with war and murders, His compassion and philanthropy only grew and went to depth and breadth. He did not begin to regret about individual people, but looked at humanity and history going back centuries - and his heart was filled with bile and indignation. That Tamerlane, whom everyone considers a monster and a disgrace to mankind, that the new Europe is all the same!" The noble merit of Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin to humanity lies precisely in the fact that he debunked this beautiful bravura with a real display of the bloody essence of war. The strength of his picture was such that one Prussian general advised Emperor Alexander II "to order the burning of all the artist's military paintings, as having the most pernicious influence."

General History in Questions and Answers Tkachenko Irina Valerievna

12. How did international relations develop on the eve of World War II?

During the years of the economic crisis of 1929-1933. further destruction accelerated and the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system occurred. The rivalry between the leading capitalist countries intensified. The desire to impose their will on other countries by force was constantly growing.

Powers appeared on the international arena, ready to unilaterally go to the scrapping of the international situation that existed at that time. Japan was the first to embark on this path, aggressively defending its interests in China and the Pacific. In 1931, she carried out the occupation of Manchuria, one of the developed provinces of China.

Tensions also escalated in Europe. The main events unfolded in Germany, which was preparing for a radical demolition of the existing world order.

The USSR and France showed serious concern about the developments in Germany. These states came up with the idea of ​​creating a system of collective security in Europe.

Meanwhile, the situation in Europe was heating up. In 1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations. The country was building up its military power at a steady pace. Germany, Italy and Japan sought to dismantle the Versailles-Washington system. On October 3, 1935, Italian troops invaded Ethiopia. It was an act of undisguised aggression. Not all European politicians, not in words but in deeds, were ready for decisive action against the aggressor. Many politicians explained the increased aggressiveness of Germany, Italy and Japan by the fact that these powers were infringed in the process of the formation of the Versailles system. Consequently, if to a certain extent we meet their demands, it will be possible to restore the collapsing consensus in international relations. A. Hitler felt this policy of "appeasement" best of all. In March 1936, German troops entered the Rhineland demilitarized under the Treaty of Versailles. This move by Germany did not meet with condemnation in the West. Hitler began to feel more and more confident. The strategic tasks of Germany dictated the need to unite the forces of the countries concerned. In 1936–1937 The Anti-Comintern Pact was formed, which included Germany, Japan and Italy. Their main opponents - England, France, the USSR, the USA - failed to show the proper will, overcome the differences that separated them and come out as a united front against the militaristic forces.

Taking advantage of this, in March 1938, Hitler carried out his long-standing plan for the Anschluss (absorption) of Austria, which became part of the Reich. In the autumn of 1938, Hitler began to put pressure on Czechoslovakia so that the government of this country would agree to the transfer of the Sudetenland to Germany. On Hitler's part, this was a risky move, since Czechoslovakia had contractual ties with France and the USSR. However, the President of Czechoslovakia, E. Benes, did not dare to turn to the USSR for help, he placed his hopes only on France. But the leading Western European countries sacrificed Czechoslovakia. England and France gave the green light to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in exchange for Hitler's assurance that he had no more territorial claims against his neighbors.

With each passing day, the approach of a new war became more and more obvious.

This circumstance prompted Britain and France to start negotiations with the USSR on possible joint actions in the event that Hitler launched a large-scale aggression against other European states. But these negotiations were difficult, the parties did not trust each other.

In this situation, the Soviet leadership, in order to ensure the security of the country, decided to drastically change the orientation of its foreign policy. On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed between the USSR and Germany. This agreement corresponded to the state interests of the USSR, as it gave it a respite from participation in the impending war. As for the spheres of influence that were discussed in the German-Soviet negotiations, this was a common practice, only those regions that were traditionally part of Russia were assigned to the sphere of Soviet influence.

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World War II and the post-war order of the world

1.

International relations on the eve of World War II. Reasons for the instability of the system of international relations. The impact of the world economic crisis of 1929-1933. to intensify rivalry among the major powers. Threat to world stability from fascist states. The foreign policy program of the Nazi Party of Germany. Causes of World War II. Beginning of World War II.

2. USSR on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War

The policy of creating a system of collective security. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and secret protocols on the delimitation of spheres of influence. German attack on Poland. The entry of Soviet troops into Western Ukraine and Belarus. War with Finland.

The main stages of the Great Patriotic War. Plan Barbarossa. Failures of the Red Army in the initial period of the war and their causes. Restructuring the life of the country on a military footing. Defensive battles in the summer and autumn of 1941. The defeat of the fascist troops near Moscow was a decisive military-political event in the first year of the war. Order No. 227 of July 28, 1942 "Not one step back." Defense of Stalingrad. Battles in the Caucasus. A radical turning point in the course of the war and its victorious end. World historical significance and lessons of the Great Patriotic War.

3. International relations after World War II. Cold War: confrontation between socialist and capitalist systems

Results of the Second World War. Nuremberg Tribunal. Creation of the UN, its composition, structure and functions. Causes of the Cold War. Fulton speech by W. Churchill. "Iron curtain". "The Truman Doctrine". Marshall plan. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the nuclear age. Creation of hostile military-political blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Arms race.

1. World War II as a Manifestation of the Crisis of Modern Civilization

The birth of fascism. The world on the eve of World War II

Fascism was a reflection and result of the development of the main contradictions of Western civilization. His ideology absorbed (bringing to the grotesque) the ideas of racism and social equality, technocratic and statist concepts. An eclectic intertwining of various ideas and theories resulted in the form of accessible populist doctrine and demagogic politics. The National Socialist German Workers' Party grew out of the Free Workers' Committee for a Good Peace, a circle founded in 1915 by workers Anton Drexler. At the beginning of 1919, other organizations of the National Socialist persuasion were created in Germany. In November 1921, a fascist party was created in Italy, with 300,000 members, 40% of them workers. Recognizing this political force, the king of Italy ordered in 1922 the leader of this party Benito Mussolini(1883-1945) to form a cabinet of ministers, which since 1925 becomes fascist.

According to the same scenario, the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. Party leader Adolf Gitler(1889-1945) receives the position of Reich Chancellor from the hands of the President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934).

From the first steps, the fascists proved themselves to be irreconcilable anti-communists, anti-Semites, good organizers, capable of reaching out to all segments of the population, and revanchists. Their activities could hardly have been so rapidly successful without the support of the revanchist monopoly circles in their countries. The presence of their direct ties with the Nazis is beyond doubt, if only because next to the dock in Nuremberg in 1945 were the leaders of the criminal regime and the largest economic magnates of Nazi Germany (G. Schacht, G. Krupp). It can be argued that the financial resources of the monopolies contributed to the fascisization of countries, the strengthening of fascism, designed not only to destroy the communist regime in the USSR (anti-communist idea), inferior peoples (the idea of ​​racism), but also to redraw the map of the world, destroying the Versailles system of the post-war system (revanchist idea).

The phenomenon of fascisization of a number of European countries has even more clearly demonstrated the critical state of the entire Western civilization. In essence, this political and ideological trend represented an alternative to its foundations by curtailing democracy, market relations and replacing them with a policy of etatism, building a society of social equality for the chosen peoples, cultivating collectivist forms of life, inhumane treatment of non-Aryans, etc. True, fascism did not imply total destruction of Western civilization. Perhaps this to a certain extent explains the relatively loyal attitude of the ruling circles of democratic countries towards this formidable phenomenon for a long time. In addition, fascism can be attributed to one of the varieties of totalitarianism. Western political scientists have proposed a definition of totalitarianism based on several criteria that have received recognition and further development in political science. Totalitarianism characterized by: 1) the presence of an official ideology, covering the most vital areas of human life and society and supported by the overwhelming majority of citizens. This ideology is based on the rejection of the hitherto existing order and pursues the task of rallying society to create a new way of life, not excluding the use of violent methods; 2) the dominance of a mass party built on a strictly hierarchical principle of government, as a rule, with a leader at the head. Party - performing the functions of control over the bureaucratic state apparatus or dissolving in it; 3) the presence of a developed system of police control, penetrating all public aspects of the life of the country; 4) the almost complete control of the party over the media; 5) full control of the party over law enforcement agencies, primarily the army; 6) management of the central government of the economic life of the country.

This characteristic of totalitarianism is applicable both to the regime that has developed in Germany, Italy and other fascist countries, and in many respects to the Stalinist regime that has developed in the 30s in the USSR. It is also possible that such a similarity of various guises of totalitarianism made it difficult for politicians who were at the head of democratic countries in that dramatic period of modern history to realize the danger posed by this monstrous phenomenon.

Already in 1935, Germany refused to comply with the military articles of the Treaty of Versailles, followed by the occupation of the Rhine demilitarized zone, withdrawal from the League of Nations, Italian assistance in the occupation of Ethiopia (1935-1936), intervention in Spain (1936-1939), Anschluss (or accession) of Austria (1938), the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938-1939) in accordance with the Munich Agreement, etc. Finally, in April 1939, Germany unilaterally terminates the Anglo-German naval agreement and the non-aggression pact with Poland, so the casus arose belli (cause for war).