the nazi soviet pact ༊*·˚

Question 1

why did stalin sign the nazi soviet pact?

Answer 1

• stalin had made several efforts to inform the allies of hitler’s true intent and the threat of his position and presence, but the allies dismissed his efforts of pacts between them against hitler
• hitler and stalin secretly agreed to split poland between them -> stalin could destroy poland and reclaim land that had been taken from russia, meaning he would gain territory and didn’t have to lift a finger to take it; hitler would do all the fighting.
• stalin distrusted hitler and suspected that hitler would turn against him at some point ( which he did, in 1941, when he invaded russia ) -> signing this pact meant that he was able to buy time to rearm and prepare for war
• stalin could see that the allies would not stand up against hitler
• the allies had not consulted stalin over key issues such as the munich agreement, and chamberlain had insulted him by sending a diplomat with no real power or status to negotiate an alliance
• stalin felt isolated and felt he had no other choice but to agree to the pact

Question 2

what was the nazi soviet pact?

Answer 2

• when poland was created at the end of ww1, it had been made up of former german + russian territories
• both countries despised the new state and the ussr had immediate immediately started questioning its existence
• stalin was determined to reclaim this land and hitler was concerned about what stalin would do if the germans invaded -> hitler could not risk stalin intervening, so he sent his foreign minister, joachim von ribbentrop, to make a deal
• if the ussr allowed hitler to invade poland, the ussr would be given polish territory

Question 3

when was the nazi soviet pact signed?

Answer 3

23rd of august 1939 -> a non-aggression pact

Question 4

why didn’t stalin trust the allies?

Answer 4

• stalin joined the l.o.n in 1934, but witnessed how weak it was due to manchuria, abyssinia and the rhineland crises -> lost faith in the league’s ability to protect russia from hitler’s threats
• in 1934

Question 5

why did hitler want poland?