Agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Signed on August 23, 1939.
Negotiated by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
Known as German-Soviet Pact, Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Nazi-Soviet Pact, and Hitler-Stalin Pact.
Components of the Pact
Public Part
Non-aggression pact: Both countries agreed not to attack each other or support a third-party attack.
Promise not to engage in alliances adversely affecting the other.
Duration: 10 years with automatic renewal for 5 years unless terminated.
Secret Protocol
Division of Eastern Europe into Soviet and German spheres of influence.
Soviet sphere: Estonia, Latvia, Bessarabia.
Division of Poland along Narev, Vistula, and San rivers.
Impact and Actions
Enabled Germany to invade Poland on September 1, 1939, without fear of Soviet intervention.
September 17, 1939: Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland.
Poland was partitioned between Germany (western and central) and the Soviet Union (eastern).
Germany annexed western provinces; Soviets annexed eastern regions.
Further Soviet Expansions
November 30, 1939: Soviet attack on Finland, annexing territory near Leningrad.
Summer 1940: Soviet occupation and incorporation of Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Romanian provinces (Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia).
End of the Pact
Hitler viewed the pact as temporary; aimed at establishing Lebensraum in Soviet territories.
July 1940: Preparations for war against the Soviet Union began.
December 18, 1940: Hitler signed Directive 21 (Operation Barbarossa) as the invasion plan.
June 22, 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union, marking the end of the pact.
Strategic Outcomes
Allowed Germany to avoid a two-front war initially, focusing on Poland, France, and Britain.
Involved Axis alliances with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia by November 1940.
Less than two years after the pact, Germany broke it, indicating its tactical nature.
Visual Resources
Image of German and Soviet soldiers at Augustow, Poland (September 1939).