Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

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.