Hitler’s Expansionist Policy (Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact)

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (23 August 1939)

• Hitler wanted to take over Poland without having to go to war with Soviet Union.
• On 23 August 1939, Germany & the USSR signed the Non-Aggression Pact that was to last for 10 years with both countries agreeing not to attack each other and they would resolve any problems between them in a friendly manner.

Motives of Stalin:

• He did not trust Allies since USSR was not consulted in the signing of Munich Agreement.
• He thought the Allies were encouraging Hitler to expand into Eastern Europe.
• Needed breathing space to prepare itself militarily for a possible war.
• Needed a land buffer in Poland in the event of an invasion by Germany.
• Failure of Franco-Soviet Alliance added to Stalin using any means necessary to secure the Soviet Union’s borders.

Motives of Hitler:

• He wanted to ensure non-involvement of the Soviet Union in Germany’s invasion of Poland.
• He wanted to avoid fighting a war on two fronts (Britain on Western Front and the Soviet Union on Eastern Front).

Secret Protocol in pact:

• Divide Eastern Europe into Soviet and German spheres of influence
• Soviet rights over the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania recognised.
• Poland divided between Germany and the Soviet Union.