The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was a mutually beneficial document signed by the governments of Nazi Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop met with the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow on August 14, 1939 to draft a deal between the two powers. The two foreign ministers drafted the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (as it was also known) and signed it on August 23, 1939. The section that was released to the public stated that the document was meant to ensure that the two countries did not attack each other or ally themselves with the enemies of the other country. A second section, kept secret from the rest of the world, European territory was divided amongst the …show more content…
The agreement with the Soviets allowed Hitler to obtain raw materials, such as oil, to continue building the German Army. It meant that he could invade Poland whenever he desired without having to worry about fighting a war on two fronts. Germany had been forced to fight on both the Eastern and Western fronts during World War I, which was a major factor contributing to the country’s defeat. Also, Hitler expected the nonaggression pact to ensure the neutrality of Britain and France. Though he turned out to be wrong, Hitler believed the two Western Powers would not support the Poles without the U.S.S.R. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviets, had his own reasons for agreeing to the 1939 agreement. He viewed the pact as a way to keep the U.S.S.R. at piece with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Stalin was in the process of rebuilding his country’s military, which at the time was in no condition to begin fighting. He thought that if he would ally his country with Britain and France, he would not control half of Poland and would have to declare war on Germany before the Red Army was ready. When signing the nonaggression pact with Hitler, Stalin anticipated a German invasion of the Soviet Union in the future and planned to be fully prepared. The land that the U.S.S.R received acted as a buffer zone between the country and Germany that Stalin thought would someday be