Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact shocks the world
August 23, 1939
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, ideological sworn enemies, signed a non-aggression treaty in Moscow with a secret protocol carving up eastern Europe between them. Communists in Paris and New York resigned in disgust. Within a week German tanks were rolling east toward Warsaw with Stalin's blessing, and Poland's fate was sealed between two predators.
In context
Also in 1939 (4 other events on record)
- Germany invades Poland · Europe · War
- Einstein warns Roosevelt about atom bomb · North America · Science
- Spanish Civil War ends · Europe · War
- The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind · North America · Culture
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Modern Era (1901–2000), one of 590 events from that era on Saeculum.