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The Nazi-Soviet Alliance and the Fate of the Baltic States
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11782 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1987 |
13,246 Words |
| Author
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Alexander Shtromas
Alexander Shtromas is a reader in politics in the Department
of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of
Salford, United Kingdom. |
Most Western historians agree that the Baltic issue played an important role in shaping the alliances of World War II. In their view, it was Britain's reluctance to grant the Soviets a free hand in their dealings with the Baltic states which precipitated the breakdown of British-Soviet talks in the summer of 1939 and led Stalin to conclude the notorious Non-Aggression Treaty with Germany, which in this respect was much more complaint with Soviet demands than Britain or France. "For all practical purposes," writes D.M. Crowe, Jr., "the Baltic question ended any hope for a strong British-Soviet front against Hitler." D. Kirby also implies that the Non-Aggression Treaty with Germany was concluded by the Soviet Union, in preference to a pact with Britain and France, because "the British and French negotiators showed little enthusiasm for the Soviet plan...but the Germans emphasized their readiness to adopt a benevolent attitude towards vital Soviet interests in the Baltic area."
No one can deny that the Baltic issue played a certain role in Stalin's choice of sides in the growing conflict between Nazi Germany and the Allied Powers. However, one should not exaggerate it. There is very little doubt that in the aftermath of Munich and the fall of Czechoslovakia Stalin had already dismissed the possibility of an alliance with the Allied powers against Hitler and took a firm course toward forging an alliance with the latter, which for him was now the surest way not only to stay out of war but, even more importantly, to precipitate the outbreak of war between the major anti-Soviet powers of the world. (And what could be a happier event than such a war for any Soviet leader, let alone Stalin?) The negotiations with the British and French were therefore conducted by Stalin mainly in order to induce Hitler to raise the stakes (for example, concede to the USSR the Baltic states) for Stalin's agreement to conclude the pact with Germany, in preference to the one with Britain and France, but not in any serious way which could have really brought about an anti-Hitler coalition treaty between the Soviet Union and Britain and France.
In this respect, it is worthwhile to remember that Hitler was not entirely forthcoming in meeting all Stalin's demands concerning, if one uses Kirby's expression, "vital Soviet interests in the Baltic area." According to the Secret Additional Protocol to the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the USSR of August 23, 1939, the "northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and the USSR," which meant that Finland, Estonia, and Latvia were thus assigned to the Soviet Union, whereas Lithuania had to fall to the German "sphere of influence." Only
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