The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál

Unlike France Great Britain did not show any interest in Central Europe. Only
when the danger of war rose in the late 30s and British interests around the world
were invaded by Reich, Great Britain showed some interest in the matters of
Europe, 11 what symptoms were guarantees given to Poland and Romania.
One of the possible ways of strengthening national security of the newly
founded states was the peace - oriented international society, with the League of
Nations as its main representative. But although the League was working, it did not
have any special impact on the international situation. The most significant
agreements were negotiated between European powers. First important treaty was
signed in Locarno in October 1925, when Germany guaranteed an inviolability of
the borders with France and Belgium, but denied the possibility of signing
analogous treaties with Czechoslovakia and Poland. This was the potential ground
for German revisionism in Central Europe, and this showed that Central European
countries could not be assured of the international support for their independence
and self-governance. The hopes rose two years later when Aristide Briand, French
foreign relations ministry, formed an initiative of a pact, in which countries would
pledged themselves to abjure war. So called Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in
August 1928, but in was never of great importance, which was easily visible in the
early 30s. The marginalization of Central European countries appeared again in
1933, when four European powers: France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy,
worked on creating a forum of consulting their foreign policies. Finally it did not
come to realize, but the proposal of establishing the Four-Power Pact including
Germany, proved that western powers accepted the direct of political changes in
this country and became a kind of encouragement for Hitler to keep developing his
plans. 12 The problems of the relations with Germany, but also with Soviet Union,
next to dealing with rising fascist movements appeared as key ones in the 30s.
Poland signed a non-aggression pact with Soviet Union in July1932, but
denied Soviet attempts to form a multilateral cooperation agreement in Central
Europe and any possible military pacts. A year after Hitler came to power, in
January 1934, Poland signed a non-violence declaration with Germany (known
as Third Reich since 1933). Foreign affairs minister Józef Beck was realising
the policy of equal distance between Warsaw from one side, Berlin and
Moscow from another. At the turn of October 1938, just after Munich
Agreement, which I will describe later, Poland used a critical situation of
Czechoslovakia to regain a Cieszyn Silesia. This made an impression that
Poland is an ally of Reich, which was far from true. In October 1938 and then
at the special meeting in January 1939 Reich put forward demand of
annexation Danzig and building an exterritorial motorway and railway to East
Prussia. In exchange offered recognition of Polish borders and prolongation of
a non-aggression declaration for the next 25 years. Poland disagreed and in the
11
ZINS, Henryk: Historia Anglii. Zakład Narodowy i. Ossolińskich, Wrocław, Warsaw,
Cracow, 2001. 350-352.
12
Ibidem. 350.
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