Treaty of Berlin, 1926
Encyclopedia
Treaty of Berlin - the treaty of 24 April 1926 under which Germany
and the Soviet Union
each pledged neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years. Non-aggression treaty reaffirmed the German-Soviet Treaty of Rapallo
signed in 1922. Ratifications for the treaty were exchanged in Berlin on June 29, 1926, and it went into effect on the same day. The treaty was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on August 3, 1926. It was renewed by additional protocol signed on June 24, 1931, ratified on May 5, 1933. The additional protocol was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on February 15, 1935.
And being convinced that the interests of the German people and the peoples of the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics demand constant and trustful co- operation,
Having agreed to strengthen the friendly relations existing between them by means of a special Treaty have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article 1
The relations between Germany and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics shall continue to be based on the Treaty of Rapallo.
The German Government and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics will maintain friendly contact in order to promote an understanding with regard to all political and economic questions jointly affecting their two countries.
Article 2
Should one of the Contracting Parties, despite its peaceful attitude, be attacked by one or more third Powers, the other Contracting Party shall observe neutrality for the whole of the duration of the conflict.
Article 3
If on the occasion of a conflict of the nature mentioned in Article 2, or at a time when neither of the Contracting Parties is engaged in warlike operations, a coalition is formed between third Powers with a view to the economic or financial boycott of either of the Contracting Parties, the other Contracting Party undertakes not to adhere to such coalition.
Article 4
The present Treaty shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Berlin.
It shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification and shall remain in force for five years. The two Contracting Parties shall confer in good time before the expiration of this period with regard to the future development of their political relations.
In faith whereof the plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty.
Signed: Herr Stresemann
Signed: M Krestinski
In Germany, it was compared with Bismarck’s famous "Reinsurance Treaty" with Russia in 1887. Votes endorsing the treaty in the Foreign Committee of the Reichstag
had been unanimous — a first for the Weimar Republic
.
— "thanks to the cooperation of the German Government"; interest was fixed at 9.4% per annum. In October 1926, the Soviet Government invited a notable group of Reichstag deputies to Moscow. Georgy Chicherin
—while visiting Berlin at December 1926—remarked on the improvement of the present German-Soviet relation in comparison with 1925.
From that time forward, however, there was a slow decline in relations, with a complete breakdown reached a few months after Hitler’s 1933 rise to power. Prolongations of the Treaty were signed on June 24, 1931, and in the same year German banks granted the Soviet Union 300 millions marks′ worth of additional credits for purchasing German industrial goods.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
each pledged neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years. Non-aggression treaty reaffirmed the German-Soviet Treaty of Rapallo
Treaty of Rapallo, 1922
The Treaty of Rapallo was an agreement signed at the Hotel Imperiale in the Italian town of Rapallo on 16 April, 1922 between Germany and Soviet Russia under which each renounced all territorial and financial claims against the other following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and World War I.The two...
signed in 1922. Ratifications for the treaty were exchanged in Berlin on June 29, 1926, and it went into effect on the same day. The treaty was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on August 3, 1926. It was renewed by additional protocol signed on June 24, 1931, ratified on May 5, 1933. The additional protocol was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on February 15, 1935.
Text of Treaty
The German Government and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, being desirous of doing all in their power to promote the maintenance of general peace,And being convinced that the interests of the German people and the peoples of the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics demand constant and trustful co- operation,
Having agreed to strengthen the friendly relations existing between them by means of a special Treaty have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article 1
The relations between Germany and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics shall continue to be based on the Treaty of Rapallo.
The German Government and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics will maintain friendly contact in order to promote an understanding with regard to all political and economic questions jointly affecting their two countries.
Article 2
Should one of the Contracting Parties, despite its peaceful attitude, be attacked by one or more third Powers, the other Contracting Party shall observe neutrality for the whole of the duration of the conflict.
Article 3
If on the occasion of a conflict of the nature mentioned in Article 2, or at a time when neither of the Contracting Parties is engaged in warlike operations, a coalition is formed between third Powers with a view to the economic or financial boycott of either of the Contracting Parties, the other Contracting Party undertakes not to adhere to such coalition.
Article 4
The present Treaty shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Berlin.
It shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification and shall remain in force for five years. The two Contracting Parties shall confer in good time before the expiration of this period with regard to the future development of their political relations.
In faith whereof the plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty.
Signed: Herr Stresemann
Signed: M Krestinski
By the time assessments
- "amplification of the Rapallo Treaty" – Soviet Diplomat Maxim LitvinovMaxim LitvinovMaxim Maximovich Litvinov was a Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet diplomat.- Early life and first exile :...
- "intent to adapt German-Russian relationship established at Rapallo to new political situation created by the Locarno treatiesLocarno TreatiesThe Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, on 5 October – 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 3 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of central and Eastern Europe sought to secure the post-war...
" – German Chancellor Wilhelm MarxWilhelm MarxWilhelm Marx was a German lawyer, Catholic politician and a member of the Centre Party. He was Chancellor of the German Reich twice, from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1926 to 1928, and also served briefly as minister president of Prussia in 1925, during the Weimar Republic.-Life:Born in Cologne to... - "the idea of combining this Locarno policy with a consolidation of our relations with Russia" – Weimar RepublicWeimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
Foreign Minister Gustav StresemannGustav Stresemannwas a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic. He was co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926.Stresemann's politics defy easy categorization...
.
In Germany, it was compared with Bismarck’s famous "Reinsurance Treaty" with Russia in 1887. Votes endorsing the treaty in the Foreign Committee of the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
had been unanimous — a first for the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
.
Aftermath
In June 1926, German banks granted to the Soviet Union credits to the total amount of 300 millions marksGerman mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
— "thanks to the cooperation of the German Government"; interest was fixed at 9.4% per annum. In October 1926, the Soviet Government invited a notable group of Reichstag deputies to Moscow. Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.-Childhood and early career:...
—while visiting Berlin at December 1926—remarked on the improvement of the present German-Soviet relation in comparison with 1925.
From that time forward, however, there was a slow decline in relations, with a complete breakdown reached a few months after Hitler’s 1933 rise to power. Prolongations of the Treaty were signed on June 24, 1931, and in the same year German banks granted the Soviet Union 300 millions marks′ worth of additional credits for purchasing German industrial goods.
Book references
- Akten zur deutschen auswärtigen Politik 1918-1945. Serie B, 1925–1933
- Документы внешней политики СССР. Том 9. 1 января — 31 декабря 1926 г. — М.: Политиздат, 1965
- League of Nations Treaty Series, http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/spectreat.htm