How did the Nazi-Soviet Pact influence Hitler’s decision to
invade Poland
Answers
Explanation:
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the agreement was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939. It remained in effect for almost two years, until the Germans broke the pact on 22 June 1941 by invading the USSR.
A secret protocol in the pact stated that Germany and the USSR would divide and occupy Poland and bring their shares of the country under their respective spheres of influence. Both the Nazis and the Soviets subsequently invaded Poland.
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 and the campaign that followed was short yet destructive, with bombing raids devastating Poland’s physical landscape.
The Red Army likewise invaded the country on 17 September 1939. Poland was only able to resist for six weeks before surrendering on 6 October 1939.
Germany and the USSR subsequently divided Poland into separate occupation zones. The USSR annexed areas east of the Narew, Vistula and San rivers, while Germany annexed western Poland. The Nazis also united southern Poland with northern parts of Ukraine to create the “General Government”, a Nazi-occupied zone.