lamus-dworski:The Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, named
lamus-dworski:The Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was a non-aggression pact signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Russia in Moscow on 23rd August 1939. Its official name was a “Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”, but in reality comprised the demarcation of central and eastern Europe between those two regimes. Most of the territories annexed by the Soviet Union during that time remained within its boundaries up until the early 1990s.Poland was attacked from the West by the Nazi Germany on 1st September 1939. Just over 2 weeks later, in the early morning of 17th September, the Russian Soviet Union attacked from the East, violating the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact signed in 1932. In this situation, the Polish forces, concentrated on the Western borders, were not able to mount significant resistance against the unexpected attack of the Soviets. Following this joint attack, thousands of Poles, including not only civilians but also government and many remaining military units, were evacuated through the territory of Hungary and Romania [see: Polish govermnent-in-exile, Polish armed forces in the West].On 21st September, the Russians and Germans signed a formal agreement coordinating military movements in Poland, including “purging” of saboteurs. Their armies met in Brest-Litovsk (city in Belarus, then: Brześć Litewski within the Second Polish Republic). After the joint victory, they announced that the Polish state ceased to exist.Map © Polish History Museum via Google Cultural Institute. Czytaj dalej -- source link