August 23, 1939 - Soviet & Nazi Non-Agression Pact - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Soviets and Nazis sign a non-aggression pact that leads to World War II. World War I came to a close with Germany signing the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. Many a historian has written about the severity of the treaty and the negative impact it had on Germany’s ability to grow into a strong country. Germany was to repay the Allies for their costs of the war, lose significant parts of its territory, and all branches of the military were to be severely limited in personnel and armaments. In addition to the harsh realities of the Depression, Adolf Hitler exploited the German people’s outrage and feelings of humiliation from the treaty. He took his band of thugs from political obscurity to complete power in 1933 through the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – the Nazis. While Hitler was carrying out his plans for creating the perfect aryan nation internally, he was flouting Versailles left and right. He brought back conscription while increasing the size and might of his military. He reoccupied the demilitarized zone in 1936 and annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939 respectively. World leaders were at a loss to stop Hitler and he looked for ways to ensure certain countries would not interfere with his desire for world domination. On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union pledged not to attack each other or help countries with plans to attack for ten years. Signed in Moscow by the two countries’ foreign affairs ministers, this infamous non-aggression pact also included an economic treaty and plans to carve up Poland between them. A week later, Germany took advantage of the pact by invading Poland. The rest is history: The invasion gave rise to World War II.

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