Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, also known as the Hitler-Stalin pact or Ribbentrop-Molotov pact or Nazi-Soviet pact and formally known as the Treaty of Nonaggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was in theory a non-aggression treaty between the German Third Reich and the Soviet Union. It was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939, by the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. The mutual non-aggression treaty lasted until Operation Barbarossa of June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Non-aggression treaty - German - Third Reich - Soviet Union - Moscow - August 23 - 1939 - Vyacheslav Molotov - Joachim von Ribbentrop - Operation Barbarossa - June 22 - 1941 - Nazi Germany

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Although officially labelled a "non-aggression treaty", the pact included a secret protocol, in which the independent countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania were divided into spheres of interest of the parties. The secret protocol explicitly assumed "territorial and political rearrangements" in the areas of these countries, which practically rendered it into an aggressive military alliance, in spite of its official name.

Related Topics:
Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Poland - Romania - Spheres of interest - Military alliance

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Subsequently all the mentioned countries were invaded by the Soviets, the Nazis, or both. Only Finland, which fought twice against the Soviet Union in WWII, successfully resisted conquest, but was forced to concede territory.

Related Topics:
Finland - Soviet Union - WWII

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