the nazi-soviet pact 1939

why was Stalin reluctant to make an agreement with B+F and why did he grow suspicious of them in the mid 1930’s

• he joined the league with hope that he would be protected against Germany (they had very different world views) but instead all he saw in the league was lack of action over Abyssinia and the Spanish civil war

• politicians in B+F had also not resisted Germanys rearmament in the 1930’s

• Stalin signed a treaty with France in 1935 that said France would help the USSR if Germany invaded the soviet union

  • Stalin was not sure if he could trust France to stick to it, particularly when they filed to stop Hitler moving his troops into the Rhineland (it was right on there border)

• The Munich agreement 1938 increases Stalins concerns, he was no consulted about it, he concluded that B+F were powerless in stopping Hitler or they were happy for Hitler to take over Eastern Europe and the USSR

what was the nazi soviet pact and when was it signed

• 23rd August 1939

• they agreed not to attack one another (privately agreed to divide Poland between them)

why did Hitler sign the Pact

• gave him half of Poland

• ensured he would not face a war on 2 fronts if he invaded Poland

• he had promised the Russians they could have the rest of Poland and the Baltic States but he never intended fro Stalin to keep theses territories

why did Stalin sign the pact

• gave him territory that was once part of Russia

• gave him time; Stalin did not expect Hitler to keep his word, he knew he was Hitler’s number 1 target but he didn’t trust B+F either (he didn’t think they were strong enough or reliable enough allies) . He expected he was going to have to fight Hitler alone- he needed time to build up his forces and protect the USSR from the attack that he knew was coming

what were the consequences of the pact

• the pact cleared the way for Hitler to invade Poland

• 1st September 1939 Germany invaded Poland from the west

  • B+F demanded he withdrew or they would declare war (After the past Hitler was certain B+F wouldn’t do anything)

  • B+F kept there pledge

  • 3rd September they declared war on Germany

How responsible was the pact in causing the outbreak of WW2

he gives Hitler confidence to invade Poland

why was the nazi soviet pact important

• it freed Hitler from the problem of war on 2 fronts, this helped him, to conquer Poland and most of western Europe in 1939-1949 during WW2

• It demonstrated B+F were ineffective at securing international peace, as Stalin preferred to form an alliance with Hitler, despite believing in a opposite ideology

• It demonstrated that Britain feared Stalin’s communist USSR as much as Hitler’s fascist Germany. Britain was unwilling to commit to signing an alliance with USSR and France against Hitler in March 1939