aug 23, 1939 - Nazi-Soviet Pact

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Background info:
- Stalin had been worried about Germany ever since Hitler came to power in 1933. Even then, Stalin was being able to make agreements between Britain and France. In 1934, the USSR joined the LON in the hopes of being protected against Germany but saw how terrible the LON was within Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War. Some parts of Britain even encouraged German rearming as a way of rebelling against the TOV. His fears grew in the 30s, for 2 main reasons: In 1935, the Mutual Assistance pact was signed between the USSR and France; but Stalin was not sure he could trust the French since they had failed to remove Hitler from Rhineland, which was literally within their own borders. Another reason was the Munich Agreement of 1938 because he wasn't even consulted about it. Despite all of this, Stalin still tried to talk with France and Britain. The 3 counties met in 1939, but Britain was suspicious of the USSR and was reluctant to commit. From Stalin's POV, France and Britain made this even worse by signing a deal with Poland promising protection.

Due to the inaction from Britain and France, the USSR decided to make a deal with Germany, the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Within the pact, it stated that Germany and the USSR had agreed to never attack each other, and privately also agreed to divide Poland between them.

Why did they sign this pact?

- Hitler was now confident that he would not face a 2 sided war if he invaded Poland, and he had promised the USSR that it could keep half of Poland and the Baltic states. However, this ended up being a lie.

- Stalin received territory, and he had a strong alliance with Hitler. Due to the mistrust between the USSR, Britain, and France, he was now more relaxed as he now knew he wouldn't have to fight alone if something happened because now he had Germany.

This pact cleared the way for Hitler to invade Poland, and on September 1st, 1939 he did so. Germany invaded Poland with little resistance from Poland. France and Britain demanded Hitler to retreat, but as seen from before Hitler was confident nothing would happen. But, to his surprise, on the 3rd of September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

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