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.

Effects

On September 1, barely a week after the pact had been signed, the partition of Poland commenced with the German invasion. The Soviet Union on September 17, practically concluding a fourth partition of Poland.

Related Topics:
September 1 - The German invasion - September 17 - Partition of Poland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The pact caused great shock in the West among governments which had most feared such an outcome and even more so among the communists themselves, many of whom found these Soviet dealings with their Nazi enemy incomprehensible. A famous cartoon by David Low from the London Evening Standard of 20 September 1939 has Hitler and Stalin bowing to each other over the corpse of Poland, with Hitler saying "The scum of the Earth, I believe?" and Stalin replying "The bloody assassin of the workers, I presume?".

Related Topics:
David Low - London Evening Standard - 20 September - 1939

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On September 28th 1939, the three Baltic States were given no choice but to sign a so-called Pact of defence and mutual assistance, which permitted the Soviet Union to station troops in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The same day a supplementary German-Soviet protocol had transferred most of Lithuania from the envisaged German sphere to the Soviet sphere of interest.

Related Topics:
September 28 - 1939 - Baltic States - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finland resisted similar claims, and was attacked by the Soviet Union on November 30. After more than three months of heavy fighting and losses in the ensuing Winter War, the Soviet Union gave up its intended occupation of Finland in exchange for approximately 10% of Finland's territory, most of which was still held by the Finnish army.

Related Topics:
November 30 - Winter War

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On June 15–17, 1940, after the Wehrmacht's swift occupation of Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and the defeat of France, it was time for the three Baltic states to be occupied, and soon annexed, by the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
June 15 - 17 - 1940 - Wehrmacht - Norway - Denmark - Netherlands - Belgium - France - Baltic states to be occupied - Annexed

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, on June 26, four days after France accepted its defeat by the Third Reich, the Soviet Union requested in an ultimatum, Bessarabia, Bukovina and the Hertza region from Romania. Alerted about this Soviet move, Ribbentrop had stressed on June 25, in his reply to the Soviet leaders, the strong German "economic interests" (oil industry and agriculture being paramount) in Romania. This ensured that Romanian territory wouldn't be transformed into a battlefield. Additionally, Ribbentrop claimed that this German interest also arose from concern over the "faith" and "future" of 100,000 ethnic Germans of Bessarabia. In September, almost all ethnic Germans of Bessarabia were resettled in Germany as part of the Nazi-Soviet population transfers.

Related Topics:
June 26 - Requested in an ultimatum - Bessarabia - Bukovina - Hertza region - Romania - June 25 - Nazi-Soviet population transfers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With France no longer in a position to be the guarantor of the status quo in Eastern Europe, and the Third Reich pushing Romania to make concessions to the Soviet Union, the Romanian government gave in, following Italy's counsel and Vichy France's recent example.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the month of August 1940, the fear of the Soviet Union, in conjunction with German support for the territorial demands of Romania's neighbors, and the Romanian government's own miscalculations, resulted in more territorial losses for Romania. The second Vienna Award, orchestrated mainly by Ribbentrop, created a competition between Romania and Hungary for Germany's favour concerning Transylvania. In the end, the territory ceded to Hungary also had a large Jewish community, which suffered deportation by the Hungarian government to Germany in 1944.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By September 1940, Romania's economic and military resources were fully dedicated to German interests in the East.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~