My Third Empire

Because the German economy was in trouble around 1923, two special committees were added in November 1923 at the request of the United Kingdom. One is dedicated to balancing the German budget and stabilizing German finance; one is responsible for investigating German capital outflows and devising methods to bring them back. Both institutions are chaired by American banker C?G? Dawes.

Then in April 1924, after careful analysis, Dawes drew up a plan to solve the problem of reparations, which is known as the Dawes plan in history. The German government was forced to accept the plan in August 1924 because of financial difficulties.

The plan stipulates that the Allied countries will supervise the reorganization of Deutsche Bank, implement currency reform, and loan 800 million gold marks (equivalent to 190 million U.S. dollars) by the Allied countries to stabilize its currency system. In the case that the total amount of reparations has not yet been finalized, the German reparations year is stipulated. The quota, that is, started from 1 billion gold marks in the first year (1924-1925), increased year by year, and increased to 2.5 billion gold marks in the fifth year (1928-1929).

Germany's sources of reparations come from tariffs, tobacco, alcohol and sugar monopoly taxes, railway revenue and industrial and commercial enterprise taxes; the issuance of 11 billion gold marks railway bonds and 5 billion gold marks industrial bonds; Germany's financial foreign exchange, railway operations and tax collection affairs are subject to international Supervision.

In other words, Germany, like China, sold its own tariffs and other sovereignty in exchange for large sums of money, and used these funds to repay the war reparations owed to countries around the world.

Originally, Germany wanted to default on its debt, but then the French invasion of the Ruhr industrial area broke out. Germany had to withdraw from the Ruhr by France and Belgium as a condition of accepting the reparations plan. On August 16, 1924, the plan was accepted by both sides, and France subsequently withdrew its troops from the Ruhr industrial area.

The implementation of the Dawes plan played an important role in the recovery and development of the German economy in the second half of the 1920s. From a long-term perspective, this plan was beneficial to Germany, because in 1924 Germany paid 1 billion gold marks in reparations to the countries, and received loans of 1.5 billion gold marks from the countries.

However, it is a pity that Germany was busy expanding its army and signing the New Versailles Peace Treaty in 1925. Therefore, with the efforts of German diplomats this year, the German government only paid 1.1 billion gold marks in war reparations this year. However, they received 2.5 billion gold marks from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Although the signing of this treaty has brought a lot of benefits to the United Kingdom and France, in response to the rise of the German armed forces, the Polish government ordered 400 Renault F-17 tanks from France and 95 new fighter jets from the United Kingdom. This arms race order has benefited the French and British alike.

However, after the New Versailles Peace Treaty was officially signed and implemented, the world once again saw Germany's terrifying war mobilization capabilities. In February 1926, the German Wehrmacht exceeded 250,000, reaching the upper limit of the new peace treaty. The number of navy and air force also They were expanded or armed in mid-March and the end of April, respectively.

Britain and France are also afraid that Germany will become stronger again, and will no longer accept their mercy to challenge their international status or even retaliate by force. Therefore, the two countries decided to attach another chain to the increasingly strong Germany.

In July 1926, the famous French hard-line Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré took office in place of Edouard Herriot. After he came to power, the French government began to take a tough policy on Germany, France and Belgium began to recover the war reparations owed by Germany, and Germany was forced to turn to Britain for help.

England did not side with the Germans this time,

Instead, he exchanged a selfless face and appeared between France and Germany as a fair mediator. In the end, President Hindenburg chose to compromise and ordered the Foreign Office to negotiate with France and the United Kingdom to develop a new treaty.

At the beginning, the situation was very unfavorable for Germany, but German Foreign Minister Stressmann showed his outstanding diplomatic skills, dealing with Britain and France, changing the unfavorable situation in Germany, and completing an impossible Diplomatic mission.

Soon after, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium and other countries held a meeting in Locarno, Switzerland, during which several important documents were passed.

Subsequently, representatives of various countries officially signed in London on December 1, 1926, and collectively referred to this series of important documents as the Locarno Convention.

Its main contents include: the final protocol of the Locarno Conference; Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and the United Kingdom Mutual Assurance Treaty, also known as the Rhine Security Convention, which stipulates that Germany, France and Belgium guarantee each other that the Derby, Germany and France borders are not bound. Infringement, abide by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles on the demilitarization of the Rhine area, Britain and Italy act as guarantors and undertake the obligation to assist the invaded country; the Arbitration Treaty between Derby, Germany, France, Deborah, and Degeria stipulates that Germany Hebei, France, Poland and Czech Republic use peaceful means to resolve disputes between them, and each group of states sets up a standing mediation committee to deal with the issues between the two parties; the Guarantee Treaty between France and Poland, France and Czech Republic Support each other during attacks.

The convention guarantees the status quo of the border between Germany and its western neighbors, that is, it clearly defines the border between Germany and France, Belgium and other countries, which is of positive significance for improving the relations between France and Germany and stabilizing the situation in Europe. But the pact did not give Germany a guarantee of borders with its eastern neighbors that would not bind Germany's eastward expansion.

To put it bluntly, this negotiation is a feast to win over Germany to suppress the Soviet Union. It is the first step in the strategy of Britain and France selling Germany and trying to divert Germany's desire for aggression. When this agreement was signed, Germany was still secretly flirting with the Soviet Union, and even more than 400 engineers were helping the Soviet Union to build the new battleships of the red regime. The British and French ruse was doomed before it even began.

Even though the situation in Eastern Europe was still tense, the Locarno Pact was regarded by all as an outstanding contribution to the improvement of relations between Western European countries in 1927. The signing of the convention made Germany the sixth permanent member of the League of Nations in May 1927, and to a certain extent got rid of the shadow of the defeated country. And the treaty clearly stipulated that the Allied forces must withdraw from the Rhineland in western Germany by January 1928. The compromise that Germany is about to achieve in 1928 without foreign troops on its territory is undoubtedly very encouraging.

As the first official institution to maintain world peace and encourage international cooperation, the League of Nations was able to admit Germany as one of its members, making a great contribution to the realization of peace in Europe.

The signing of the Locarno Convention is another major adjustment made by the Allied countries to the Versailles system on the issue of European security. It temporarily eased European security issues, improved the relations between the Allies, especially France and Germany, and brought European international relations into a relatively stable period. Create favorable conditions.

But this convention is not good news for the Wehrmacht. There are many new restrictions on the Wehrmacht, for example, it is reiterated that the Wehrmacht cannot enter the Rhine Demilitarized Zone, and for example, it is stipulated that Germany must restrict its arms business in the Far East, and for example, the Wehrmacht must connect the two western frontiers. The divisions were changed to light infantry divisions to reduce pressure on the French and Belgian borders.

However, because the British and Italians were interfering in the middle, the result of the signing of the treaty weakened France and lost the right to sanction Germany as a victorious country. Its own security needs the guarantee of Britain and Italy. The German government, not the German military, was the main beneficiary, gaining equal status with France and laying the groundwork for its return to political power.

It is a pity that the Locarno Convention clearly excluded the former Soviet Union, which made the Soviet Union feel isolated by the West because of the so-called unilateral Western peace talks. Around 1922, the Soviets reconciled with Germany through the Rapallo Treaty and a series of secret cooperation. However, the current actions of Western Europe have ostensibly pulled Germany toward Western Europe.

But in any case, the British and French attempts to tie one more chain around the Germans' necks are complete. For a time, the skies in Western Europe are clear, war seems to be no longer a threat, people are rejoicing, and the economy is in recession. Also because of the improvement in the signing of the treaty, even Time magazine of the United States made a high-profile comment in the article: The Germans not only build cannons, but also yearn for peace.

The signing of the pact made Akado feel powerless. The government faction and businessmen alliance within the Greater Deutsches Party finally compromised with the countries of the world. They gave up part of the interests of the Wehrmacht in exchange for their own greater interests, although on the surface Germany lost less and gained more, but from the perspective of the Greater Deutsches Party, the power of businessmen and politicians faintly overshadowed the military power of the Wehrmacht, which was loyal to Arkado alone.

All he could do was to silently develop the SS and expand this paramilitary organization to 100,000 people—this does not include the Gestapo of the Wehrmacht, but only thugs and cadres similar to the stormtroopers. Although the SS did not have an advantage in numbers compared to the 300,000-strong stormtroopers, most of these people were veterans and active-duty officers, and their training level and weaponry were significantly better than their opponents.

At the same time, the Wehrmacht was not idle, and secretly purchased 40 No. 3 assault guns for the 25th and 26th divisions, and secretly sealed up 300,000 barrels of foreclosed oil from the Soviet Union. Used as a future strategic resource reserve.

Of course, in addition to Accardo's dislike of the Locarno Pact, there was another person who was furious with the pact, Adolf Hitler. The signing of the pact made Germany's economy a little better, and his Nazi party preached anti-Semitism. The anti-communist topic no longer attracted attention, so the development of the Nazi party was seriously affected. Seeing the congressional elections approaching, he could not afford to lose again.