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Written and produced by SF Team: J.Hawk, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson
The political and, in some cases, military stand-off between the West and Russia that has unfolded over Ukraine and Syria also includes a number of secondary fronts in which the two actors’ interests clash. The Baltic States, a long dormant political issue, reactivated itself following the Ukrainian coup of 2014, as the leaders of these states believed that they could benefit from fanning the flames of conflict. In that they were likely mistaken, as the status of the Baltics in the future of the European order is far from certain.
The coup in Ukraine and the subsequent defection of Crimea from Ukraine to Russia followed by the attempted secession of the Donbass prompted the leaders of the Baltic States to claim that they were the next target of the “resurgent Russian imperialism” that sought to restore the USSR via a variety of “hybrid war” measures. Perfectly normal peacetime activities, such as Russian military maneuvers in the European part of Russia, Baltic Fleet exercises, or military flights over the Baltic Sea were suddenly depicted as somehow illegitimate and aggressive. This approach had a twofold rationale: first, it sought to delegitimize ethnic Russian organizations and parties in the Baltics which counter the worst discrimination regime in Europe, one that deprives many ethnic Russians of citizenship in countries in which they reside. Secondly, the “look, look, Russia is attacking us too” card was intended at securing economic and military assistance from EU and NATO that, in 2014, seemed to pour to the front-line states for their new “Cold War” against Russia.
These hopes so far look misplaced. While NATO maneuvers on the Baltic Sea and on the territories of its “eastern flank” states make headlines, so far, they are far less than what meets the eye. NATO’s bark is still considerably worse than its bite. The most significant indicator of NATO intentions is the construction of permanent bases and logistical infrastructure. Thus far, the eastern-most permanent NATO presence appears to be in Poland, in the form of expanded logistical presence and a Polish-led divisional headquarters that, in the event of war, would coordinate the actions of Polish and Baltic States military formations. However, even the supposedly “permanent” US troop presence in Poland is limited to brigade rotations, deployed away from their permanent bases in Germany or even the United States. Those rotating brigades then spin off battalions on forays into the Baltics where they make use of local bases and training grounds, but with no indication of intent to settle for the long run. Other NATO countries have also contributed units to exercise in the Baltics, and the three countries still benefit from NATO air policing mission, which collectively makes them a significant security drain for NATO member-states. All in all, NATO actions are a response the shock at Russia’s ability to mount major surprise operations with hardly a warning from NATO’s intelligence services. They are unlikely to be a real effort in bolstering the Baltics’ defense posture, which, in any event would be a very expensive proposition.
The center of gravity of Baltic States politics are their economics. During the Soviet era, the three countries were significant manufacturing centers, well integrated into the overall economy of USSR. Following independence and the eventual EU integration, their economies have deteriorated to the point, that the single most important economic activity is transit of goods between the EU to Russia (and, to a lesser extent, China) and vice versa. In that respect, they are no different from Ukraine, whose economy also heavily depends on transit of goods between the East and the West. The closest Western European equivalent would be the Netherlands and Belgium, whose economies by themselves would not justify the existence of Rotterdam and Antwerp as the largest and second largest sea-ports in Europe. By the same token, Estonia has the ice-free port of Muuga, Latvia boasts of Riga, Liepaja, and Ventspils, and even Lithuania’s economy benefits heavily from the port of Klaipeda. All of these facilities were built by the USSR in order to provide commercial links to the rest of the world, and now they are the cornerstones of these countries’ economies. Imagine for a minute what will happen to the economies of the Netherlands and Belgium, if they decide to declare a “hybrid war” on the EU. This gives a glimpse of the effect that the Russia-West confrontations have on the economic viability of the Baltic states. Even though they are members of the EU and, in the case of Estonia, they have not succeeded in reorienting their economies westward, toward the EU which, frankly, has a very limited need for these countries. Russia’s response in the form of expanding maritime infrastructure in its own Baltic regions, and more recently, requesting that Belarus refrain from using Baltic States’ terminals to export its refineries’ and products from processing Russian petroleum, therefore represents a very effective means of political pressure particularly since the EU, is already planning to limit the structural adjustment subsidies for its Eastern European members, can hardly be expected to come up with the billions of euros necessary to offset the cost of losing Russian transit business. Even in the best of times, the “Baltic Tigers” have experienced major demographic problems due to the rise in emigration and the decline in birth rates, with the resulting aging of the population likely to place a major strain on the countries’ finances.
If anything, the Baltic States are expected to stop being net subsidy recipients and become active energy consumers from the West which will make the dilemma facing the Baltic States even more acute. Nowhere is this more evident than in the construction of LNG terminals in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and Swinoujscie, Poland, and the plans to construct the “Baltic Pipe” gas pipeline linking Poland with the natural gas deposits in the North Sea. Collectively, and consistent with the at least decade-old US aim to achieve dominance of the global energy markets, these efforts are supposed to “wean” the Baltic States off Russian oil and natural gas and replace them with more costly Western imports. In a way, this makes the Baltics’ the victim of their own policies because, as Donald Trump made clear on a number of occasions, buying US LNG is the price these countries must pay for protection provided by the US troops against “Russian aggression”.
However, the US is not the only country with designs on the Baltics. Poland has reactivated its interest in these countries, all of which at some point where part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The fact that Baltic Pipe would run through Poland appears to be part of the effort to recreate a Polish “sphere of influence” expanding into the Baltics. Sweden, whose sovereignty also used to expand into the Baltics, is also seeking a greater political role through the Nordic Council, in which the Baltic States all possess observer status, and whose activities have been endorsed by recent US administrations.
It is not clear whether the current Baltic governments can easily reverse course, given the empowerment of nationalists in each of the three countries. However, the combination of Russia-West conflict, EU retrenchment and renewed focus on integration among its core states, the political pressure exerted by Poland and the US, and the continued loss of Russia-Baltic economic ties may lead to a rapid deterioration of these countries economies with entirely unpredictable political and even military consequences.
the division of countries to pro/unified or anti/satanic towards russia is so clear cut now …. put in china and russia together … unimaginable …… both powerhouses will be changing the direction of the world in all aspects
China yes.
Russia no.
Eurasia is the Futur, American warmongers have to go home !
Baltic states will pay a lot more economically for being on the fringes of EU and crying wolf about presumed Russian aggression.
The US gov claims are of democracy. Fact is our government is not free from the control of the atheist zionist global powers. So when they spread economic development that is not for democracy but for control. The atheist zionists control the news media of the US and Europe to help people think they have democracy. The US congress, of democrats and republicans almost unanimously voted for new levels of sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Sanctions violate democracy as the giving of AIDS illness to the world. Reading the new sanction bill shows a plan for war against Russia. Our president Trump shouts threats at everybody that is not a terrorist country and supports terrorist countries as in Ukraine, the Mid East Royals. All need to see the coming World War Three. This article points to key information that shouts WWIII. This all fits the plans of the global atheist zionists. They want dead christians and more control of what is left. Russia is given no choice but defensive war.
By the “atheist” thing. Estonia is NR1 “unbelivers in worl :). But if u look forward, we belive great spirit and nature, belive that god is everiwhere. God is not person.
Go back to the menthal hospital again.If ou cant find it, find a taxi or a police. Remember to put the tiny liitle flowers in a vase.
Go away Jens, crazy Zio nutbag.
Perhaps the silver lining to this, as well as the loss of the Iran Nuke Deal, will come in the form of a more cohesive & structured Anti-NATO alliance. To my admittedly limited knowledge the starting line-up would be something like, Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Armenia, and Belarus. I don’t know, maybe Iraq and Lebanon as well, and Turkey assuming they eventually change sides. Any thoughts on this? I would hope that if these country’s can become a strong alliance, the absolute insanity and mutually assured destruction from an all-out war would be enough to deter aggression from U.S. and NATO.
For once I’m on your side Jordan.
kek, anyone allied with Nork deserves to be annihilated.
Im estonian ( so called “baltic” ). Russia isnt thret. But yes, soviet occupied us. Every elections our partys come out “Russian card”. And then is sanctions. Only one who suffers is our farmers, who have no Russia market. Same time big corporations does business with Russia.
By the way. Putin is half Mordova blood, it means Fenno-Ugri. Estonians are pure ugri like finlandia natives. Putin right hand Anton Vaino is pure estonian. But still, our goverment supports Kasparov or Hodorkovsky jewish rule.
And why we have this govermental süstem in rule? It because ONLY internet electronic voting system in planet. Even Japan or high-teck Geremany dont allow this ceating system…
they support whoever pays them the most, such a shame :)
That is interesting, so the Mordovan Republic is still significantly Fenno-Ugric (like your lands). The Slavs proceeded from West in Early Middle Ages and only reached those lands later?). Maybe after the switch from Principality of Vladimir to Moscovy?According to Polish School (as opposed to Vienna), homeland is further west for Slavs…this makes good sense in terms of archaeology: Luzycka culture, Przeworsk etc. into Prague Culture finally by AD 700. At this time, much of Western Russia is Finno Ugraic.
Yes sir, you nailed it! That is why Polish will never buy bullshit about panslavic movement under the reign of the mordovian-slavic-mongol empire of MOSKVA. the real panslavic movement can be created by Poland-Czech-Slovak-Ukraine-Belarussia-Croats Moskva is oppressor. But also… Moskva should never be the enemy of the intermarium countries. It should be beneficial friendship between us. The thing that would deliver more piece and security to the region is dismantling of Germany into little states.
USA is redy to fight Russia in the name of estonians. With estonians hands to the last estonian. This is theyr strategi all over the world. Specially Korea penisuela.
Well worth it considering the stakes…those precious Estonian peat bogs!
Baltic countries like Ukraine are poor and beggar states!..just only offer cheap labour and NATO bases near Russia!…like all JUDAS their fate is hanged themself!
As written above US has reduced troops in Europe from 64.000 to 30.000 the last 3-5 years. So a line in half seize is moved forward. there er not a single US tank in Europe anymore.
Is it enough we go naked and those countries trust Putin being agressive to the limit so often.
Its more polite to say Your behind then Judaas…
SF is always glad to see when people provide details to released articles in the comment section. However, it looks you are trying to twist the facts on the ground. We suppose you could do this unwittingly. So, we suggest you to check this link providing a look at “not a single US tank in Europe anymore”: https://www.stripes.com/news/army-maneuvers-through-hurricane-havoc-on-way-to-europe-mission-1.489994#.WeL4vGi0NPY https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bb987ac174f6fa31dd15b49ede4d94eb1cb8485d0e7561196c44c75d70e5ba7a.jpg
I dont see You put Your article into the context during time. As written fx here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/06/world/europe/russia-america-military-exercise-trump-putin.html
The US troops in Europe has gone down from 300.000 to 30.000 as I wrote. Its correct some troops has come in, but most of them seemes to ne hard needed in regained countries as a result of Russian extra activity.
We in Denmark see it has reaised and russians both are flying more often from there and more agressive. Furthersmore Russia has deployed big rockets there for fx Denmark, so we have to buy new missiles to try to shoort at least some of them down.
We see Russians have ignored, that dirty trade which gave no nukes from Ukrain against ud. Now its replaced by Kaliningrad.
The 2 Counties N.W. of Rostov seemes very agressive met by Ukraine as well as Russia. Hard to see Russians living inUkraine arm themselves.
There seemes no solutions there, but we see Putin has many soldiers there close to as well as those semi-russians Counties.
I have many times asked for voting about it. Same thing for many other places, but no escalation and boiling 98 degrees seemes to be better for some.
And Yes, American tanks has been deployed or semi deployded to eatern erurope. I had forgotten. So its not none as I wrote. Sorry.
But I dont see its as an escalation more then the Russian one and still insit in, that the background also is, that the troops had fallen from 64.000 to 30.
I will promise to update my memoryc ard better next time.
It seems Sputnik told several lies in that article, as did the Russian MoD. It looks you are trying to twist the facts on the ground. I suppose you could do this unwittingly:
https://medium.com/dfrlab/disinformation-deployed-against-nato-enhanced-forward-presence-c4223f6d7466
More Russian disinformation about American military deployments to Europe:
https://medium.com/@DFRLab/three-thousand-fake-tanks-575410c4f64d
The facts are undeniable: the MoD and Russian state media lied, launching several misleading articles.
A website moderator cited a source from Russian State-Run propaganda agency? Now I see what SouthFront’s credit is based on.
BS.
Not BS at all:
https://medium.com/dfrlab/disinformation-deployed-against-nato-enhanced-forward-presence-c4223f6d7466
An excellent debunking of Russia’s lies.
Net migration of non-Russian elements of population to wider EU is very great, sometimes whole high school graduating classes! As some of these countries place freedom of movement restrictions on Russian speakers, the relative population of such speakers should actually increase, ironically.
I think you will find that the majority of Ukrainians would just love to go back to how it was before Soros funded nazis came in and highjacked the place.
Can confirm, from Lithuania myself. We’re really poor, labour taxes insane here too, went for work to More Og Romsdal this summer in the strawberry and raspberry fields. But believe me, if you’d be in EU, you’d be going abroad too. 14000 kroner/month is worth it. But to be honest even my country seems rich in comparison to Ukraine, Ukrainians come here looking for work in construction, long haul logistics and even prostitution… sad how their country went down the drain starting like since 1989…
yes Lithuania is poor country if u compare to old eu members, but rich if u compare to russia nor ukraine..
Lithuania is rich compared to Russia? In yer dreams…
Baltic countries are free and democratic countries and are developing quite rapidly. Services are growing rapidly as is tourism.
They get ecnomic help from the EU.
Transit shipping is important for them, but also for Russia.
Nato support is, at the moment indeed relatively small, but growing.
Small permanently based Nato military are meant as deterrent. If Russia attacks, she attacks all.
Baltics are free and will remain free.
I don’t think there will be much help coming for the Baltics if the fur flies. The US will be trying to ascertain what is left at places like Norfolk Naval base and Polish facilities will definitely be smoldering. The next one would make the last one look quite placid. War is easy to talk until what actually kicks off takes it’s effect. Russia has been quite clear how they will play and a lot of stuff is getting nuked right off the bat, if they get pushed to go. They are also very clear that they do not want to go there. It would be kissing everything goodbye. NATO knows this.
Yup! The Baltics are so democratic that they have active discrimination against the ethnic Russians. Did you know that you can be fined for speaking Russian in Latvia? How democratic is that? Or maybe, you pretend not to know, or don’t care, because hating Russians is all the rage in the US/EU/NATO countries?
I call this anti-Russian RACISM, pure and simple.
I so call you, Dutchnational: a RACIST.
Your ilk disgust me. But then you could be one of the descendants of the SS Waffen volunteers on the Eastern Front from Holland during WW2.
Oh, yes, I thought that the Russian hordes invaded in 2013-2014? What happened? Did they run out of fuel before even reaching Mariupol, less than a 100km from their border?
Back in WW2 Stalin had reached Berlin and Vienna after 3 years.
Can you tell me when the Russian “Mongol hordes” will reach London so I could book my pizza and popcorn?
Like I said, LIARS and RACISTS like you truly disgust me.
“Did you know that you can be fined for speaking Russian in Latvia?”
Clearly, you don’t know much about Latvia and are merely repeating fake news from Russia. No, what you wrote is an absolute lie. And you know it’s a lie.
The rest of your post is borderline delusional, with petty insults, an artificial victim complex, and demonizing of dutchnational, for no good reason. Then you veer off into a tangent.
“When Ušakovs gave a speech to a mainly ethnic Russian crowd on 9 May, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the second world war, the Latvian state language board said it would investigate him for speaking without Latvian translation.
“https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/15/riga-mayor-im-a-russian-speaking-latvian-patriot-nils-usakovs
https://www.rt.com/news/378811-riga-mayor-russian-language-facebook/
So, in Latvia, is Russian the second state language, or is it only Latvian? Why do Latvians pretend to be civilized Europeans and expect the support of the UK?
Until the Baltics treat their Russian minorities with respect and accord them their proper EUROPEAN rights, they should be booted out of the EU and NATO. They have become disgusting barbarians.
How goes the marches of the Latvian SS Waffen brigades?
Like I said, many in the UK do not support the anti-Russian RACIST barbarians that currently run the Baltics.
I am so glad that my own birth country of India has English and HIndi as national languages and many state languages are also recognized.
Have you heard of bilingualism, or do you think that it is a Putin invention? How primitive!
You actually proved your own point wrong: bilingualism implies that TWO languages be given equal treatment. Not just the minority one. The mayor only spoke in Russian, the minority language, without providing some way for those who can’t speak Russian to understand him. He did not provide a Latvian translation despite being the mayor of a major Baltic city, speaking in Russian to a crowd of people about an historical topic like the 70th anniversary of WWII.
I live in Canada. In Quebec, PM Trudeau tends to speak French. But imagine if he went to, say, British Columbia, to commemorate the anniversary of WWII and ONLY spoke French, without any translation available for English speakers? That would be very bad and a violation of bilingualism. I have thus debunked your little example.
You then claim that the Baltics “have become disgusting barbarians.” This in and of itself is a racist statement.
“How goes the marches of the Latvian SS Waffen brigades?”
I have no European ancestry. Don’t care about SS brigades or whatever. Why do you assume that anyone who disagrees with you is a Nazi who participates in SS Waffen marches? Bizarre.
You sound hysterical. Calm down and think for a bit.
Hey Anon. The fact is that anti-Russian RACIST like you only have a problem when Russian is spoken. Why don’t you just confess your RACISM? You will feel better for it, I promise!
In London, people speak over a 100 different languages without being persecuted.
“bilingualism implies that TWO languages be given equal treatment.”
So, I ask again, do the Baltics give that respect to the Russian language, or are they on the path to persecution, backed by the anti-Russian RACIST leaders of the US/EU?
The Baltics are still very peaceful compared to the tragedy of Ukraine, where 10,000 have died in a war for US/EU/NATO expansion.
I find it particularly disgusting that bilingual and federal Canada could not advise their Kiev puppets to follow a similar path for Ukraine.
Instead, the Canadian violent barbarian leadership backed the sending of tanks and artillery to the cities of Donetsk, Lugansk and Gorlovka in 2014.
You really should be ashamed.
I guess that is why you are Anon!
“Canadian violent barbarian leadership” Crawl back into your hole, lowlife Russian troll
‘
Yes, these same violent barbarian Canadians built their country on lands STOLEN from the native Americans. These same people fully approved of the killing of more than 10,000 people in the Donbass.
Yes, get your tongue around this brutal fact:
CANADIAN VIOLENT BARBARIAN LEADERSHIP.
My birth country is India.
Do you know where that is or has Canadian education sunk so low that you only know about your own back-yard, dear???
Шлюха
Canada: built on STOLEN lands, unlike civilized India, thousands of years old. Canada, land of VIOLENT barbarian leaders who sanctioned the deaths of 10,000 people in the Donbass.
Total utter shame falls on these “leaders” and those ignoranuses who follow them, like YOU!
They have always been swap of big powers. And they have learnt nothing of their past.
“They get ecnomic help from the EU.”
*economic, and yes we do, EU helped us a great deal and opened a lot of opportunities, but I feel that the price of allowing gay parades in middle of Gediminas Avenue may be too much. People seriously don’t like them.
“Transit shipping is important for them, but also for Russia.”
Yup.
“Nato support is, at the moment indeed relatively small, but growing.”
Support for NATO is insane here though, it is essentially a state ideology forced upon every individual, if you oppose NATO, you’re essentially hiding and keeping your voice silent or you’re rendered a pariah if not beaten up by police and jailed.
“Small permanently based Nato military are meant as deterrent.”
Not really, they’re here because our government loves whining bout perceived russian threat.
“Baltics are free and will remain free.”
We are not free and unfortunately won’t be. They have removed chains from our legs and placed them around our necks and arms. Therefore all we can do is run the hell outta this craphole, my country (lithuania) loses 1.4% population to emigration every year. People flee wherever they can where there are great job opportunities, respect and some sense of personal freedom, so mainly to UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, German, Netherlands, Denmark.
Just my two cents, cause if you’re really dutch as your name says, I think you live in a paradise and don’t really understand how people here truly feel.
A lot is not in that article at all. Fx the US presence the last 3 years are reduced from 64.000 to 30.000 and it has no tanks.
Its also forgotten that russia so many times go to thre limits of airplanes being near us, so we are close to shoot airplanes down . The last move is units of the Chinese fleet has been with the Russian fleet in the Baltics.
So its more the Nato defence has moved into liberated countries much thinner, because the occupier collapsed by it self sponsored by ideas of Marx, Engels & Stalin. And we see again and again russians erashments with no respect.
One is the hard treatment som russiand has got in the Baltics. Thats correct. Many are emmigrants to there and retired russian soldiers and their families. And who are they loyal to. Well, we have seen that in the beginning being arrogant owners pof the worst kind being the privileged class in a Sovjet with no classes.
Those people has and had to understand their possition wasnt some long arm of Garbatjof, Jeltsin and like that.
Some might forget those little countries as well as half of poland and some finland was taken by the russians zars against their will. They got their freedom after Zar russia collapsed. Then Russia took them back by Molotov-Rippentrop where many non Communists were treated bad.
Next was germans killing communists and Jews and next was russia comming back killing many which had the slightest connection to nazis and many, many 1000 of the left came to Sibiria/Gulag for many Years.
So when those little ones suddenly are very small in own language and culturel tradition being threated to be brainwashed into russians in their minds, its very understandable, they want to protect them from Russia.
And let me say as it was made. Big areas wasnt even allowed for Estonians, lituanians and Latvias to come. Big areas were for military purposes but most could be used by the russians there. Most russians never saw the rest of the populations having there own villages and towns with own better facilities then the rest and mainly a better pension as well.
You cant have that in a normal country being divided like that.
And because of the Sovjet collapse those baltics became extra poor, so thats why we give them some help to this and that what we have, so the Sovjet dont grab them again.
We saw the differences in 2015, where Russia would celebrate the big victory of the fatherland there. Those countries has never asked Lenin, Stalin or Trotsky as their fathers.
Its very strange to me Russia cant handle an US reduction of US troops down to half and say its an extra trade.
NATO is the US warmongers unwelcome in Europe !
Anglo-American Money Owners Organized World War II
by Valentin Katasonov
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory against Nazism, we publish a study of Valentin Katasonov on financing of the NSDAP and the rearmament of the Third Reich. The author deals with new documents that confirm the organization of the Second World War by US and UK Bankers, covered by President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in the hope of destroying the USSR. This study raises new questions that will be addressed in a future article.
Hjalmar Schacht (left), Hitler’s finance minister, with his close friend Montagu Norman, Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. According to documents reveled by the Bank of England in 2012, he Czechoslovak gold was held in London in a sub-account in the name of the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel-based bank for central banks. When the Nazis marched into Prague in March 1939 they immediately sent armed soldiers to the offices of the National Bank. The Czech directors were ordered, on pain of death, to send two transfer requests. The first instructed the BIS to transfer 23.1 metric tons of gold from the Czechoslovak BIS account, held at the Bank of England, to the Reichsbank BIS account, also held at Threadneedle Street. The second order instructed the Bank of England to transfer almost 27 metric tons of gold held in the National Bank of Czechoslovakia’s own name to the BIS’s gold account at the Bank of England.
The war was not unleashed by frenzied Fuhrer who happened to be ruling Germany at the time. WWII is a project created by world oligarchy or Anglo-American “money owners”. Using such instruments as the US Federal Reserve System and the Bank of England they started to prepare for the next world conflict of global scale right after WWI. The USSR was the target.
The Dawes and Young Plans, the creation of Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the Germany’s suspension of reparations payments it had to pay according to Paris Peace Treaty and the acquiescence of Russia’s former allies in this decision, large-scale foreign investments into the economy of Third Reich, the militarization of German economy and the breaches of Paris Treaty provisions – they all were important milestones on the way of preparing the war.
There were key figures behind the plot: the Rockefellers, the Morgans, Lord Montagu Norman (the Governor of the Bank of England), Hjalmar Schacht (President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics in the Hitler’s government).The strategic plan of Rockefellers and Morgans was to subjugate Europe economically, saturate Germany with foreign investments and credits and make it deliver a crushing blow against the Soviet Russia so that it would be returned into the world capitalist system as a colony.
Montagu Norman (1871 – 1950) played an important role of go-between to keep up a dialogue between American financial circles and Germany’s business leaders. Hjalmar Schacht organized the revival of Germany’s defense sector of economy. The operation conducted by “money owners” was covered up by such politicians as Franklin Roosevelt, Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill. In Germany the plans were carried out by Hitler and Hjalmar Schacht. Some historians say Hjalmar Schacht played a more important role than Hitler. Simply Schacht kept away from spotlight.
The Dawes Plan was an attempt following World War I for the Triple Entente to compromise and collect war reparations debt from Germany. The Dawes Plan (as proposed by the Dawes Committee, chaired by Charles G. Dawes) was an attempt in 1924 to solve the reparations problem, which had bedeviled international politics following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles (France was reluctant to accept it got over 50% of reparations). In 1924-1929 Germany got $2, 5 billion from the United States and $ 1, 5 billion from Great Britain, according to Dawes Plan. In today’s prices the sum is huge, it is equal to $1 trillion of US dollars. Hjalmar Schacht played an active role in the implementation of Dawes Plan. In 1929 he summed up the results, saying that in 5 years Germany got more foreign loans that the United States in the 40 years preceding WWI. As a result, in 1929 Germany became the world’s second largest industrial nation leaving Great Britain behind.
In the 1930s the process of feeding Germany with investments and credits continued. The Young Plan was a program for settling German reparations debts after World War I written in 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, creator and ex-first chairman of Radio Corporation of America (RCA), who, at the time, concurrently served at board of trustees of Rockefeller Foundation, and also had been one of representatives involved in previous war reparations restructuring arrangement – Dawes Plan of 1924. According to the plan, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) was created in 1930 to make Germany pay reparations to victors. In reality the money flows went in quite a different direction – from the United States and Great Britain to Germany. The majority of strategically important German companies belonged to American capital or were partly under its control. Some of them belonged to British investors. German oil refinery and coal liquefaction sectors of economy belonged to Standard Oil (the Rockefellers). FarbenindustrieAG chemical industry major wasmoved under the control of the Morgan Group. 40% of telephone network and 30% of Focke Wulf shares belonged to American ITT. Radio and AEG, Siemens, Osram electrical industry majors moved under the control of American General Electric. ITT and General Electric were part of the Morgan’s empire. At least 100% of the Volkswagen shares belonged to American Ford. By the time Hitler came to power the US financial capital practically controlled all strategically important sectors of German industry: oil refining, synthetic fuel production, chemistry, car building, aviation, electrical engineering, radio industry, and a large part of machine-building (totally 278 companies). The leading German banks – Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Donat Bank and some others – were under US control.
***
On January 30, 1933 Hitler was named the Chancellor of Germany. Before that his candidacy had been thoroughly studied by American bankers. HjalmarSchacht went to the United States in the autumn of 1930 to discuss the nomination with American colleagues. The Hitler’s appointment was finally approved at a secret meeting of financiers in the United States. He spent the whole 1932 trying to convince the German bankers that Hitler was the right person for the position. He achieved the goal. In mid-November 1932 17 German largest bankers and industrialists sent a letter to President Hindenburg expressing their demand to make Hitler the Chancellor of Germany. The last working meeting of German financiers before the election was held on January 4, 1933 in Kölnat the home of banker Kurt von Schröder. After that the National Socialist Party came to power. As a result, the financial and economic ties of Germany with Anglo-Saxons elevated to a higher level.
Hitler immediately made an announcement that he refused to pay postwar reparations. It put into doubt the ability of England and France to pay off WWI debts to the United States. Washington did not object to the Hitler’s announcement. In May 1933 Hjalmar Schacht paid another visit to the United States. There he met with President Franklin Roosevelt and big bankers to reach a $1 billion credit deal.In June the same year Hjalmar Schacht visited London to hold talks with Montagu Norman. It all went down smoothly. The British agreed to grant a $2 billion loan. The British offered no objections related to the Germany’s decision to suspend debt payments.
Some historians say the American and British bankers were pliant because by 1932 the Soviet Union had fulfilled the 5-year economic development plan to make it achieve new heights as an industrial power. A few thousand enterprises were built, especially in the sector of heavy industry. The dependence of USSR on import of engineering production has greatly dwindled. The chances to strangle the Soviet Union economically were practically reduced to zero. They decided to rely on war and launched the runaway militarization of Germany.
It was easy for Germany to get American credits. By and large, Hitler came to power in his country at the same time as Franklin Roosevelt took office in the United States. The very same bankers who supported Hitler in 1931 supported Roosevelt at the presidential election. The newly elect President could not but endorse large credits to Germany. By the way, many noticed that there was a big similarity between the Roosevelt’s “New Deal Policy” and the economic policy of the German Third Reich. No wonder. The very same people worked out and consulted the both governments at the time. They mainly represented US financial circles.
The Roosevelt’s New Deal soon started to stumble on the way. In 1937 America plunged into the quagmire of economic crisis. In 1939 the US economy operated at 33% of its industrial capacity (it was 19% in the heat of the 1929-1933 crisis).
Rexford G. Tugwell, an economist who became part of Franklin Roosevelt’s first “Brain, a group of Columbia University academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt’s New Deal,wrote that in 1939 the government failed to reach any success.There was an open seatill the day Hitler invaded Poland.Only the mighty wind of war could dissipate the fog. Any other measures Roosevelt could take were doomed to failure. [1] Only the world war could save the US capitalism. In 1939 the money owners used all leverage at their disposal to put pressure of Hitler and make him unleash a big war in the east.
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The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) played an important role during the Second World War. It was created as an outpost of American interests in Europe and a link between Anglo-American and German businesses, a kind of offshore zone for cosmopolitan capital providing a shelter from political processes, wars, sanctions and other things. The Bank was created as a public commercial entity, it’s immunity from government interference and such things as taxes collection was guaranteed by international agreement signed in the Hague in 1930.
The bankers of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who were close to the Morgans, Montagu Norman, the Governor of the Bank of England, German financiers: Hjalmar Schacht (President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics in the Hitler’s government), Walther Funk (who later replaced Hjalmar Schacht as President of the Reichsbank) and EmilPuhl – all of them played an important role in the efforts to establish the Bank. The central banks of Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and some private banks were among the founders. The Federal Bank of New York did its best to establish the BIS, but it was not listed as a founder. The US was represented by the private First National Bank of New York, J.P. Morgan and Company, the First National Bank of Chicago – all parts of the Morgan’s empire. Japan was also represented by private banks. In 1931-1932 19 European central banks joined the Bank of International Settlements. Gates W. McGarrah, a banker of Rockefeller’s clan, was the first BIS chairman of the board. He was replaced by Leon Fraser, who represented the clan of Morgans. US citizen Thomas H. McKittrick was President of the Bankduring the war years.
A lot has already been written about the BIS activities serving the interests of Third Reich. The Bank was involved in deals with different countries, including those Germany was at war with. Ever since Pearl Harbor the Bank of International Settlements has been a correspondent bank for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It was under Nazi control during the war years, no matter American Thomas Huntington McKittrick was the Bank’s President. Soldiers were dying on the battlefields while the leadership of BIS held meetings in Basel with the bankers of Germany, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain and the United States. There, in the Swiss offshore zone, it was all peaceful, the representatives of belligerents quietly worked in the atmosphere of mutual understanding.
Switzerland became the place where gold seized by Germany in different corners of Europe was transported to for storage. In the March of 1938, when Hitler captured Vienna, part of Austrian gold was transferred to BIS vaults. The same thing happened with the gold of Czech National Bank (48 million USD). As the war started, the flows of gold poured into the Bank of International Settlements. Germany got it from concentration camps and as a result of plundering the wealth of occupied countries (including whatever belonged to civilians: jewels, gold crowns, cigarette cases, utensils…). It was called the Nazi Gold. The metal was processed into ingots to be stored in the Bank of International Settlements, Switzerland, or outside Europe. Charles Higham in his Trading With The Enemy: An Expose of The Nazi-American Money Plot 1933-1949 wrote that during the war Nazi transferred $378 million into the accounts of Bank of International Settlements.
A few words about the Czech gold. The details surfaced when after the Bank of England’s archives were declassified in 2012. [2] In the March of 1939 Germany captured Prague. Nazi demanded $48 million of national gold reserves. They were told that the sum had already been transferred to the Bank of International Settlements. Later it became known that the gold was transferred from Basel to the vaults of Bank of England. Upon the command from Berlin the gold was transferred to the ReichsbankBIS account. Then the Bank of England was involved in transactions done upon the orders of Reichsbank given to the Bank of International settlements. The commands were retransmitted to London. There was collusion between German Reichsbank, the Bank of International Settlements and the Bank of England. In 1939 a scandal broke out in Great Britain because the Bank of England executed the transactions with Czech gold upon the commands coming from Berlin and Basel, not the Czech government. For instance, in the June of 1939, three months before the war between Great Britain and Germany started, the Bank of England helped Germans to get into their accounts the amount of gold equal to 440 thousand pounds sterling and transfer some gold to New York (Germany was sure that in case of German intervention into Poland the United States would not declare war).
The illegal transactions with Czech gold were implemented with tacit approval of the government of Great Britain which was aware of what was going on. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon and other top officials did their best to hide the truth, including outright lies (the gold was returned to the lawful owner or had never been transferred to Reichsbank). The recently declassified materials of Bank of England reveal the truth and show that the government officials lied to cover up themselves and the activities of the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements. It was easy to coordinate the joint criminal activities because Montagu Norman, the head of Bank of England, served as the chairman of the board of Bank of International Settlements. He never made secret of his sympathy for fascists.
The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II. The conference was held from 1 to 22 July 1944. All of a sudden the issue of the Bank of International Settlements hit the agenda. It was reported that the bank collaborated with fascist Germany. Leaving many details aside, I’d only mention that with great difficulty (some US delegates opposed the motion) the delegates reached an agreement to close the BIS. The decision of international conference has never been enacted. All the discreditable information related to the BIS wartime activities was classified. Today it helps to falsify the history of the Second World War.
Finally, a few words about Hjalmar Schacht (1877-1970) who served as President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics in the fascist Germany’s government. He was a key figure controlling the economic machine of Third Reich, an extraordinary and plenipotentiaryambassador representing Anglo-American capital in Germany. In 1945 Schacht was tried at Nuremberg to be acquitted on October 1, 1946. He got away with murder. The same way it happened to Hitler. For some unexplained reasons he was not in the 1945 leading wartime criminals list. More to it, Schacht returned to his profession like if nothing happened and founded Schacht GmbH in Düsseldorf. This detail may go unnoticed, though it serves as another testimony to the fact that Anglo-American “money owners” and their plenipotentiary representatives in Germany prepared and, to some extent, influenced the outcome of the Second World War. The “money owners” want to rewrite the history of the war and change its results.
Valentin Katasonov
http://www.voltairenet.org/article187508.html
Nyet.
Why NATO is here? Because not Russia, but because of phosphorite, uranium and shale gas. It means digging all of our beautiful country up and selling it to the Geremany. People will have resistance, but that is why those soliders come here…
Estonia have EU biggest phosphorus reserves…
Yes but if Estonia does what Finland did and sells the phosphorus to private investors for DIRT cheap, perhaps NATO will spare it.