1922-4-16 Treaty of Rapallo

16th April 1922: WW1 enemies Germany and Russia sign Treaty of Rapallo - HiPo > .

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On 16 April 1922 former First World War enemies Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Rapallo.

When Germany drew up the harsh Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, Russia had been forced to sign away large swathes of land. The Treaty of Rapallo meant the two countries ended all territorial and financial arguments stemming from Brest-Litovsk and agreed to ‘co-operate in a spirit of mutual goodwill in meeting the economic needs of both countries’.

Both Germany and Russia had been excluded from the League of Nations, and this acted as a catalyst for the pact. The Treaty of Rapallo was therefore particularly important for Russia as it was the first international recognition of the Bolsheviks as the official government. However, it was the secret military clauses that were most valuable to both sides. German factories that produced military goods were able to move to Russia and were able to bypass the Treaty of Versailles’ limits on German weaponry. Furthermore the two armies conducted joint training exercises deep inside Russia. These enabled the German army to continue to use technology banned by Versailles such as tanks and warplanes.

The Russians benefitted from this agreement as well. They were able to see Western European military technology, and work with German engineers who shared expertise that was to be the bedrock of Stalin’s Five Year Plans.

The Rapallo Treaty alarmed the Western Powers, but the danger was short-lived. By the middle of the 1920s Germany under Stresemann had begun to improve relations as a result of the Locarno Treaties. This meant that the close relationship with Russia was less vital.

The Treaty of Rapallo was an agreement signed on 16 April 1922 between the German Republic and Soviet Russia under which both renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other and opened friendly diplomatic relations. The treaty was negotiated by Russian Foreign Minister Georgi Chicherin and German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau. It was a major victory for Russia especially and also Germany, and a major disappointment to France and Great Britain. The term "spirit of Rapallo" was used for an improvement in friendly relations between Germany and Russia. 

The treaty was signed in Rapallo. Ratifications were exchanged in Berlin on 31 January 1923, and registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 19 September 1923. The treaty did not include any military provisions, but secret military co-operation was already scheduled between Germany and Russia, which was a violation of the Versailles Treaty.

A supplementary agreement, signed in Berlin on 5 November, extended the treaty to cover Germany's relations with the other Soviet republics: of Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Far Eastern Republic. Ratifications were exchanged in Berlin on 26 October 1923, and the supplementary protocol was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 18 July 1924. The agreement was reaffirmed by the Treaty of Berlin, 1926.

Not to be confused with 1920 treaty: The Treaty of Rapallo (1920) was a treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929) that was signed to solve the dispute over some territories in the former Austrian Littoral, which was in the northern Adriatic, as well as in Dalmatia.

The treaty was signed on 12 November 1920 in Rapallo, near Genoa, Italy. The signing was preceded by Italo-Yugoslavian negotiations at Villa Spinola, which were led notably by Ivanoe Bonomi and Francesco Salata.