German–Soviet Credit Agreement (1939)
| Signed | August 19, 1939 |
|---|---|
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Signatories |
 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Nazi Germany
|
| Languages | German, Russian |
The German–Soviet Credit Agreement (also referred to as the German–Soviet Trade and Credit Agreement) was an economic arrangement between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany whereby Soviet Union received an acceptance credit of 200 million Reichsmark. over 7 years with an effective interest rate of 4.5 percent. The credit line was to be used during the next two years for purchase of capital goods (factory equipment, installations, machinery and machine tools, ships, vehicles, and other means of transport) in Germany and was to be paid off by means of Soviet material shipment from 1946 onwards. The economic agreement was the first step toward improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and Germany. The next day after the Credit Agreement, the Soviet Union went to war against Japan, in a successful four-week military campaign in the Far East. The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed four days after the Credit Agreement. The 1939 German–Soviet Commercial Agreement renewed declined Nazi–Soviet economic relations and was adjusted and expanded with the larger German–Soviet Commercial Agreement in February 1940 and January 1941 German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement. German shipments to the Soviets became tardy and failed to provide all that was promised the closer the date of Barbarossa came. The Soviets fulfilled their obligations to the letter right up until the invasion, wanting to avoid provoking Germany. All these agreements were terminated when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, in violation of the treaties between the two countries. Soviet trade with Germany in the pre-invasion period ended up providing the Germans with many of the resources they needed for their invasion of the Soviet Union.
Germany lacks natural resources, including several key raw materials needed for economic and military operations. Since the late 19th century, it had relied heavily upon Russian imports of such materials. Before World War I, Germany imported 1.5 billion Reichsmarks of raw materials and other goods per year from Russia. Such imports fell sharply after World War I. In the early 1930s, Soviet imports decreased as the more isolationist Stalinist regime asserted power and dwindling adherence to the disarmament requirements of the Treaty of Versailles decreased Germany's reliance on Soviet imports.
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