MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP PACT | 83RD ANNIVERSARY

On August 23, 1939, Germany shocked the world when Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop flew to Moscow and signed a non-aggression pact with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. The secret terms called for a partition of Poland, with Germany invading the Western half, while Soviet forces occupied the East. Ideological enemies, Germany and the Soviet Union were the unlikeliest of allies, but the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact proved beneficial to both nations.

Unbeknownst to the world, Germany could now invade Poland without fear of a two-front war, and the Soviet Union was free to add more territory to its Communist realm. The German-Soviet Pact proved to be the final step in the long road that led to the outbreak of World War II.

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WWII Veterans History Project