Long ago, two big groups made a deal.
They promised not to fight each other. This deal changed where many people lived. It was a very sad time for some.
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Long ago, two big lands made a deal.
One land was Germany. The other was the Soviet Union. They promised not to fight. They also made a secret plan.
This plan was about land. They decided how to split up parts of Europe. This changed where people lived. Soon, after the deal, fighting began.
It was a very hard time for many. The two lands did not stay friends for long.
In 1939, two powerful lands made a big deal.
One was Nazi Germany. The other was the Soviet Union. They signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in Moscow.
This pact said they would not fight each other for ten years. They also made a secret plan. This plan was about land in Eastern Europe.
Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to split up Poland.
They also planned to take other lands. The Soviet Union took parts of Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. They also took parts of Romania.
One week after the deal, Germany invaded Poland.
Then, the Soviet Union also moved into Poland. This changed the borders of many countries. The two lands did not stay allies for long. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. This ended their secret deal and started more fighting.
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a very important agreement from 1939.
It was a deal between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Many people call it the Hitler–Stalin Pact. It was officially a treaty of non-aggression. This meant the two countries promised not to fight each other. They also promised not to help any enemies of the other side. This deal was meant to last for ten years.
The pact worked through a secret plan. This plan was called a secret protocol.
It divided Eastern Europe into two different areas. These areas were called spheres of influence. Germany and the Soviet Union decided which lands each side would control. They planned to split up the country of Poland between them. The Soviet Union was given parts of Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.
They also planned to take parts of Romania.
Before this deal, the two sides had many different relations. In the 1920s, Germany and the Soviet Union actually traded with each other. They even signed treaties in 1922 and 1926 to stay neutral. However, things changed when the Nazi Party rose to power.
Tensions grew because of different ideas and political fights. Germany and the Soviet Union even fought in the Spanish Civil War. By 1939, the leaders decided to make a deal instead of fighting.
Specific people signed the pact in Moscow on August 24, 1939.
Vyacheslav Molotov was the Foreign Minister for the Soviet Union. Joachim von Ribbentrop was the Foreign Minister for Germany. Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union.
Just one week later, Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The Soviet Union then invaded Poland on September 17. This led to many changes in the borders of Europe.
This pact changed the map of the world for a long time. Many lands like Estonia and Latvia became part of the Soviet Union.
Some of these areas are part of Russia or Ukraine today. The agreement did not last until the ten years were up. On June 22, 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa.
This was an invasion of the Soviet Union. This attack ended the pact and started a much larger war.
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a major non-aggression treaty signed in 1939.
It was a formal agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Because of the leaders involved, people often call it the Hitler–Stalin Pact. It is also known as the Berlin–Moscow Pact or the Nazi–Soviet Pact. This treaty was designed to prevent conflict between these two powerful nations. It officially committed both sides to avoid fighting one another for ten years.
Furthermore, both nations promised not to assist any enemy of the other side.
Behind the public promise lay a secret mechanism called the Secret Additional Protocol.
This hidden document established specific spheres of influence across Eastern Europe. A sphere of influence is an area where one nation exerts power over others. The protocol outlined how Germany and the Soviet Union would divide various territories. Under this plan, the two countries agreed to partition the nation of Poland. The Soviet Union was allotted control over Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Bessarabia.
In contrast, Lithuania was placed mostly within the German sphere of influence.
Before this pact, the relationship between Germany and the Soviet Union was very unstable. In the early 1920s, the two nations actually cooperated through the Treaty of Rapallo.
They even signed the Treaty of Berlin in 1926 to pledge neutrality. However, the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s changed everything. Nazi ideology viewed the Soviet Union and its people as inferior. This caused German–Soviet trade to drop significantly by 1934. The two nations also supported opposing sides during the Spanish Civil War. This conflict became a proxy war between German and Soviet interests.
Diplomacy in the late 1930s failed to prevent the coming conflict. In 1938, Britain and France signed the Munich Agreement regarding Czechoslovakia.
This agreement did not include the Soviet Union in its discussions. Consequently, Soviet leaders began to distrust the Western powers. They feared being surrounded by capitalist nations. Meanwhile, Germany needed raw materials to support its growing military. German planners believed a British blockade would cause massive shortages. Therefore, making a deal with Moscow became a strategic necessity for Hitler.
On August 24, 1939, the pact was signed in Moscow.
Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, signed for the USSR. Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German Foreign Minister, signed for Germany. Just one week later, Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
On September 17, the Soviet Union also invaded Poland. This second invasion occurred one day after the Supreme Soviet approved the pact. After a short war, the two nations created a new border on Polish territory. This was finalized through the German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty.
The pact led to rapid territorial changes across the region. In March 1940, the Soviet Union fought the Winter War against Finland. Following this, they annexed parts of Karelia, Salla, and Kuusamo. The Soviet Union also annexed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Romania. Specifically, they took Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region.
Some of these actions, like the invasion of Bukovina, actually violated the original pact. These movements significantly shifted the political map of Eastern Europe.
Many of these territorial changes had lasting historical significance. The lands the Soviet Union took from Poland east of the Curzon line remained Soviet after the war.
Today, these areas are part of Ukraine and Belarus. Some territories from Finland and Latvia remain part of Russia today. The core of Bessarabia has since become the nation of Moldova. The pact finally ended on June 22, 1941.
On this date, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa to invade the Soviet Union. This massive attack destroyed the non-aggression agreement entirely.
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