THE FORGOTTEN PEACE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20989, 16 December 1939, Page 13 (Supplement)

THE FORGOTTEN PEACE

BREST-LITOVSK TREATY

IN THE SMALL Polish town of Brest-Litovsk, which Russia now controls under the Fourth Partition of Poland, Germany and Russia signed a treaty 21 years ago that throws striking light on the fate of Poland today. Because it was soon invalidated by the Versailles settlement, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk became known as the “forgotten peace.” Yet many historians and political observers feel that it is responsible for much of National Socialist ambition in eastern and south-eastern Europe; for they claim that Reichsfuehrer Hitler inherited many of his ideas on leadership and imperialism from the German High Command, which dictated the peace. After the military resistance of Czarist Russia had been broken by the advance of the German Army and by the Communist revolution working from within, the new Bolshevik regime was forced to sue for peace. The German High Command welcomed the armistice proposal, believing that an immediate peace in the East would make enough experienced troops available for use on the Western Front to bring about a speedy decision on French soil, in the great offensive planned for March, 1918. So sure were the German generals, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff, of their ultimate victory that they had visions of establishing an Empire Embracing All Remotely Germanic States, such as those to which German colonisation was directed during the Middle Ages, and where only isolated German settlements can be found today. In this policy they were supported by the Pan-German War Party, which advocated territorial acquisitions in Belgium as well as in the East. A further aspect of the imperialism of the General Staff was the attempt to create puppet States out of various nationalities in the former Russian domains, occupied by the German troops. Thus the Poles were allowed to form an “independent” kingdom, which “for the time being” was given a Regency Council, following closely the dictates of German generals. The Baltic provinces of Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Courland, and Livonia (Latvia) were encouraged to declare their desire for independence, to seek German protection, and to “choose” German princes as their rulers. For example, German troops landed in Finland in April, 1918, and not long afterward the throne was offered to a brother-in-law of the Kaiser. The Kaiser himself “accepted” the invitation to become ruler of Estonia, and Lithuania received a member of the ruling house of Wurtemberg as king. The General Staff also supported a separatist movement in the Ukraine and recognised it as an independent State. Soon a treaty was concluded with the. new Ukraine Government, providing for large grain shipments to the hungry population of Vienna and many other German cities. When Ukrainian peasants began to bury grain rather than hand it over to German agents for worthless paper money, German and Austrian troops marched into the country and established a military dictatorship under a pro-German general, Pavlo Skoropadski. Because German imperialism involved creation of such “independent” states, the High Command could accept the Bolshevik proposal for an immediate peace “Without Annexations and Without Indemnities.” As the strength of the new Soviet Government was not known, and as the Germans desired to impress the Allies with the probable justice of any peace that might be offered them, they allowed the negotiations to be carried on openly. The discussion was even radiocast by the Russians. Negotiations began in December, 1917, at BrestLitovsk and were continued intermittently until March, 1918. The German military men and old-school diplomats were faced by determined revolutionaries, whose ideas of diplomacy were decidedly new. In the earlier stages of the negotiation, for instance, Russian representatives made vigorous propaganda speeches in favour of world revolution across the conference table. Later when the Germans attempted to speed the proceedings, Leon Trotsky, leader of the Russian group, engaged Baron Richard von Kuhlmann, German Foreign Secretary, in lengthy philosophical discussion, on questions of nationality and self-determination. The Bolsheviks understood their formula of “no annexations” to mean that Germany would evacuate the former Russian provinces on the Baltic and in Poland and permit the various nationalities to determine their future status by means of plebiscites, without military interference. The German idea of self-determination, on the contrary, was to set up “independent” puppet States. When it became apparent to Soviet representatives that despite ample lip service the Germans were paying to the principle of “no annexations,” they intended to dispose of all territory held by their troops without regard for Russian demands, Mr Trotsky declared, “We are going

(Christian Science Monitor.)

HITLERS INSPIRATION

out of the war, but we feel ourselves compelled to refuse to sign the peace treaty.” This declaration Surprised and Angered the Germans, who were determined to have a signed peace. They resumed their military invasion of Russia and forced the Bolsheviks, who lacked an organised army, to seek peace and accept an ultimatum from the German General Staff. They signed the dictated peace treaty practically without reading it, on March 3, 1918, because Nicholai Lenin was convinced that Germany soon would be defeated by the Allies and the treaty would become meaningless. By its provisions, Russia lost 34 per cent, of its prewar population, 32 per cent, of its agricultural land, 89 per cent, of its coal mines, and 54 per cent, of its industrial undertakings. This, according to German editorial comment at the time, was a “peace of understanding and conciliation.” Herr Hitler himself says in his autobiography, “Mein Kampf,” that compared to the “inhuman cruelty” of the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk “showed truly boundless humanity.” Lithuania, Latvia, and all territory west of a line roughly corresponding to the one now reported held by the Germans in Poland were declared to be no longer under Russian sovereignty, and it was stated that “the future status of these territories (is) to be determined in agreement with their population.” Estonia, Finland, and the strategically located Finnish Aaland Islands wei’e to be evacuated and occupied by a German police force until such a time as local governments could “maintain order and provide security.” Bolsheviks had to promise to make peace with the Ukrainian Republic and cede the Caucasus region to Turkey, and to refrain from revolutionary propaganda in Germany. The economic and commercial sections of the Treaty seem less harsh than the political sections, for the vast regions in Poland and on the Baltic, which Germany had staked out for itself, would serve to meet immediate need for food supplies, and the German High Command felt it could postpone plans for a Large-Scale Economic Exploitation of Soviet Russia. Furthermore, the Central Powers had secured already for themselves, at least on paper, the material resources of the Ukraine. Even at best, the economic clauses of the Treaty were, designed to make Russia a commercial preserve for Germany. They revived a customs treaty between the two countries which was favourable to Germany and the Soviet Government pledged itself not to stop or levy duties on the export of ores or lumber into Germany. The fiction of a peace without indemnities was maintained by the provision that both sides agreed to waive all claims to compensation for war costs and reparations payments. However, Russia was forced to pay approximately 4,000,000,000 dollars for expenses incurred by Russian prisoners in Germany. By supplementary agreement, Russia agreed to pay about the same amount “as compensation for the loss to Germany caused by Russian measures,” plus additional sums which would help to continue the war in the West. Even more indicative of German imperialism in the East is the Treaty signed in May, 1918, between Germany and defeated Rumania at Bucharest. The break-down of Czarist Russia had left the Rumanian Army stranded on a small territory around Jassi and it was forced to ask for peace. In the negotiations that followed no pretext was made of renouncing indemnities and annexations. The right to exploit Rumanian oil and grain was ceded to Germany. The sovereignty of the country became a virtual farce because German troops were to remain in occupation for an undefined period. The Dobrudja region on the Black Sea was handed over to the Central Powers and the Rumanian borders along the Hungarian frontier were moved in from the Carpathian Mountains, in order to make Rumania’s Military Position Impossible in the future. If these measures had been intended only for the duration of the war they could be explained and justified on military grounds. However, they were drafted as final measures. With the defeat of Germany, the Treaty of BrestLitovsk was abrogated and all concessions and privileges gained by reason of military occupation were lost. The Baltic States became independent and Poland was allowed to form a republic embracing all Polish territory formerly held by Germany, Austria, and Russia. In 1920, however, in a private war with Soviet Russia, the Poles extended their boundaries to include a broad strip orUkrainian, White Russian, and Lithuanian land which Herr Hitler now appears to have bartered away to Russia.

As the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a humiliating peace for Russia, observers question whether the differences that appeared then will not be'reflected in the present relations between the Third Reich and the. Soviet Union.