1933-1945 Nazi Germany, 1921-1991 🇷🇺 Communist Russia, 1939-1945 World War II
Summary
A non-aggression treaty signed on August 23, 1939, between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The public agreement was for 10 years of peace (until 1949), with a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
- Significance: Paved the way for 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland
- strategic value to both nations: avoiding multiple theatres of war by pre-emptively signing an alliance
- the USSR and Nazis were each others’ greatest threats