iGCSE history
  • Home
  • Past Papers
  • Your Course
  • Sources
  • Timer
  • Home
  • Past Papers
  • Your Course
  • Sources
  • Timer
Search
What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
  • Also known as: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (named after the Soviet and Nazi foreign ministers)
  • Date signed: 23rd August 1939
  • Between: Nazi Germany (Hitler) and the Soviet Union (Stalin)

Terms of the Pact
Public Agreement:
  • A non-aggression pact: Germany and the USSR agreed not to attack each other.
  • Would last for 10 years (though it only lasted 2).

Secret Protocol: Poland would be divided between them:
  • Germany: western Poland
  • USSR: eastern Poland
  • Spheres of influence agreed for Eastern Europe (e.g. Baltic States to USSR)

Why Did Hitler Agree?

  • Avoid fighting a war on two fronts (France/UK in the west, USSR in the east)
  • Wanted to invade Poland without Soviet interference
  • Knew Britain and France had promised to defend Poland, so needed USSR neutral

Why Did Stalin Agree?

  • Gave him time to build up the Soviet military
  • Didn’t trust Britain/France to stand up to Hitler
  • Gained territory in Eastern Europe
  • Avoided immediate war with Germany

Consequences​
  • 1st September 1939: Germany invaded Poland from the west
  • 17th September 1939: USSR invaded from the east
  • 3rd September 1939: Britain and France declared war on Germany
  • Start of World War II

Key Points

✅ Use the pact to explain why WWII started
✅ Link it to appeasement — it showed Hitler that Britain & France were weak
✅ Shows Stalin’s distrust of Western powers
✅ Pact was temporary — Hitler broke it in June 1941 when he invaded the USSR (Operation Barbarossa)

Revise

Self Test
Quizlet
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Past Papers
  • Your Course
  • Sources
  • Timer