Transcript Soviet Foreign Policy 1918-1941 Part III

SOVIET
FOREIGN
POLICY
1918-1941
(PART III)
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT 1939
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Stalin knew that USSR was too weak to defeat Germany
Still building up USSR’s industries
Did not want to risk war unless he could win
Since he could not trust Britain and France, the
alternative was to come to terms with Germany
• Signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in Aug 1939
• Agreed to divide Poland among themselves
– USSR would remain neutral in the imminent war along
Germany’s eastern frontier with Poland
– Germany would not stop USSR from taking over the
eastern part of Poland as well as Estonia and Latvia
– Germany agreed later not to oppose USSR taking over
Lithuania as well
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT 1939
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT 1939
WHY STALIN SIGNED THE PACT
1. Recovery of lost USSR
territories
2. Gained time for Stalin
3. Stalin’s worry about
fighting a war on two
fronts
4. Loss of confidence in
Britain and France
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov signs the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact while German Foreign Minister Von
Ribbentrop and Soviet leader Stalin look on under a
portrait of Lenin, August 23, 1939.
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov signs the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact while German Foreign Minister Von
Ribbentrop and Soviet leader Stalin look on under a
portrait of Lenin, August 23, 1939.
NAZI LEADERS AFTER SIGNING THE PACT WITH USSR
Upon signing the mutual non-aggression pact, German Foreign
Minister Ribbentrop (center) boasted that he could "fill a
chest with all the treaties that he had violated."
(Germany violated this treaty after twenty-two months.)
WHY STALIN SIGNED THE PACT
1. Recovery of lost USSR
territories
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Land lost in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty
Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
Secret agreement that Russia could
recover territory lost to Poland
during the Russian civil war period
Advantage of moving USSR’s
western frontier further away from
the main cities and industries
In the event of war with Germany,
German forces would have to fight
through all these territories before
getting to USSR ie creation of a
buffer zone
WHY STALIN SIGNED THE PACT
2. Gained time for Stalin
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More time to build up his armed
forces
Why?
USSR would be in a better
position to fight Germany then
Probably one reason why the
USSR defeated Germany later in
WWII
WHY STALIN SIGNED THE PACT
3. Stalin’s worry about
fighting a war on two
fronts
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West : Against Germany
East : Against Japan
Limit German expansion to the east
by redirecting it to the West towards
France
“Front seat” to watch the Western
powers slug it out with Germany
WHY STALIN SIGNED THE PACT
3. Stalin’s worry about
fighting a war on two
fronts
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1937 : China at war with Japan
USSR supported China
Stalin feared a Japanese attack on
Soviet territories in East Asia
Did not want to fight a war there and
in Europe
This war between Japan and USSR
never materialized but it seemed
very likely at that time
WORLD WAR II
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WWII started in Sep 1939 with Hitler’s invasion
of Poland on 1 Sep 1939
As agreed in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Stalin moved
into eastern Poland, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
at the same time
Less than 2 years later, in June 1941, Germany
attacked USSR
There was no declaration of war by Germany
3,000,000 German troops poured into USSR in
one of the biggest invasions in world history
The Soviet army was swept before it
Thus began what the Russians call “The Great
Patriot War”
WORLD WAR II
German attack on USSR
1941
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Information and image sources
– Moreira J., World in Transition – Perspectives on
Modern World History, Singapore : SNP Education Pte
Ltd, 2000.
– Kelly N. and Shuter J., As It Was Lived – A History of the
Modern World, Singapore : Pearson Education Asia Pte
Ltd, 2000.
– Lim S H, Tham Y P, Wang Z and Yeo L, Inroads – Modern
World History, Singapore : Oxford University Press, 2000.
– Tate N., A History of the Modern World, Singapore :
Federal Publications, 1995.