The Nazi-Soviet Pact (Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact)

 Did the Nazi-Soviet Pact make war inevitable?
Neville Chamberlain to a friend, March 1939
Summary (From BBC Bitesize)
After Munich, everyone realised that Hitler's next target was Poland, so Chamberlain promised to defend Poland. But how? Britain was too far away to help and only had a small army.
In April 1939, Stalin suggested an alliance of Russia, France and Britain against Germany. Hitler would not have been able to invade Poland if taking that action would have meant war with Russia.
However, negotiations dragged on into August because:
  • Chamberlain did not like communist Russia.
  • Poland would not let Russian troops go into Poland.
  • Stalin did not trust that France and Britain would resist Germany.
Out of the blue, on 23 August 1939, Hitler made the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Stalin - a promise not to go to war with each other and (secretly) a promise to invade Poland and split it between them.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact and War
Historians have argued that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was instrumental in causing the Second World War, inasmuch as it:
  1. Freed up Hitler to invade Poland - he knew that Britain couldn't do anything to defend Poland (he invaded 9 days later).
  2. Ended Britain's hopes of an alliance with Russia to stop Hitler - people in Britain realised that nothing would stop Hitler now but war.
  3. Improved morale of British people for war - showed Hitler as an opportunist and a trickster, who could never be trusted.
From JD Clare

Summary