Проблемы белорусско-германских отношений в 1914-1922 гг.

Abstract

The article explores the issues of the Belarusian-German interaction in 1914—1922. Realization of German policy towards Belarusian lands during World War I and immediately after is discussed. The author draws the conclusion that it was during that period (1914—1922), that Germany discovered Belarus as a political partner, so it is a certain landmark in the history of the two countries' relations. German occupation of Belarus in 1915—1918 was ambivalent; on the one hand, Germans showed interest for and even sympathized with the development of national awareness, on the other hand, they put obstacles to the forms of its practical realization, denying Belarusians the right to establish their national state. In 1919—1922 Germany lost the possibility to exert any real influence on the process of formation of Belarusian statehood and pursued its "Belarusian policy" in accordance with international political conditions. Eventually, this policy led to Germany officially recognizing the Belarusian state in the form of the BSSR in November 1922. This recognition objectively put Belarusian-German relations on a new level, but the inter-state interaction failed to develop, for in December of the same year the BSSR joined the USSR, delegating its powers in implementing international policy to the USSR bodies.