Earle History 2 5 18 Quiz Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

Was it ultimately a god idea or bad idea for the Soviet Union? Explain why you think so?

Bad idea. Hitler initiated his eastern Europe allies into plans to invade the Soviet Union. Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact as a temporary maneuver. From the beginning of operational planning, German military and police authorities intended to wage a war of annihilation against the communist state as well as the Jews of the Soviet Union, whom they characterized as forming the "racial basis" for the soviet state. German forces invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, less than 2 years after the German-Soviet Pact was signed. (The pact fell apart when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union)

What is the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact?

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a ten-year nonaggression pact on August 23, 1939 in which each signatory promised not to attack the other (to take no military action against each other) for 10 years. This bound Hitler and Stalin to peaceful relations. Hitler stunned the world by announcing a nonaggression pact with this great enemy-Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator. Secretly, the two agreed not to fight if the other went to war and to divide up Poland other parts of Eastern Europe between them . The pact was based not on friendship or respect but on mutual need. Hitler feared communism as Stalin feared facism.

Why was the pact essential to Germany's early success in the war?

The German-Soviet Pact enabled Germany to attack Poland on September 1, 1939 without fear of Soviet intervention.