The Hitler-Stalin Pact (1939)

The Hitler-Stalin Pact (1939)​

History.Com(This Day in History) ^ | 08/23/2017 | staff

On this day in 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact, stunning the world, given their diametrically opposed ideologies. But the dictators were, despite appearances, both playing to their own political needs. After Nazi Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia, Britain had to decide to what extent it would intervene should Hitler continue German expansion. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, at first indifferent to Hitler’s capture of the Sudetenland, the German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia, suddenly snapped to life when Poland became threatened. He made it plain that Britain would be obliged to come to the aid of Poland in the event of German invasion. But he wanted, and needed, an ally. The only power large enough to stop Hitler, and with a vested interest in doing so, was the Soviet Union. But Stalin was cool to Britain after its effort to create a political alliance with Britain and France against Germany had been rebuffed a year earlier. Plus, Poland’s leaders were less than thrilled with the prospect of Russia becoming its guardian; to them, it was simply occupation by another monstrous regime.
Hitler believed that Britain would never take him on alone, so he decided to swallow his fear and loathing of communism and cozy up to the Soviet dictator, thereby pulling the rug out from the British initiative. Both sides were extremely suspicious of the other, trying to discern ulterior motives.

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hitler-stalin-pact

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Hmm...., diametrically opposed ideologies - Fake history. It was really National Socialists conspiring with International Socialists to snuff out freedom. It was inevitable that two madmen who believed in the power of the state would get millions killed and enslaved.
Hitler and Stalin admired each other. In fact, it was seeing what Stalin did, that gave Hitler the inspiration to go through with The Final Solution.
And Stalin probably thanked Hitler for him helping Stalin with his “Jewish Problem”. Stalin had already used mobile gas chambers to kill Russians, especially Jews.

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You do know both sides were planning on stabbing each other in the back from the very beginning, right?

 

Actually the Russians had no stomach for war at the time.

Its why they pulled out of WWI.

They were similar to the US, they were just done and Stalin knew it.

It wasn't until they were invaded, like us, that they sparked back to life.

 

Yes. Even their art works were the same, re the propaganda posters and public statuary. And, neither were ideologues, despite all the grandiose rhetoric from their media hacks, just megalomaniac narcissists hiding behind hired thugs, like the current Democratic Party is now.

 

Well, they dropped out because of the revolution; they got their stomach back pretty quickly. Like the old saying about leopards never changing their spots, they were back on track and enthusiastic as usual about getting on with imperialist expansion just as they always were. the only difference was in the rhetoric.

 

Technically Lenin used the fact that they dropped out of the war as his main excuse for the revolution.

It wasn't the cause of it.

Lenin and Stalin and the others were going to start it regardless.

 

Actually there was a little matter of $20 million dollar in gold that was given to Lenin finance the Russian Revolution and take out Kerensky. "Between the fall of Nicholas II in March 1917 and the rise of Vladimir Lenin in October, Russia’s most significant national leader was Alexander Kerensky. During the eight months of the Provisional Government Kerensky held three important portfolios: justice, war and the prime minister ship. A liberal-socialist, popular with the masses and a compelling public speaker, Kerensky was the man who might have saved Russia from political extremism. Instead, his dogged commitment to keeping Russia in the war and his political short-sightedness signed the death warrant of the Provisional Government. In late October 1917 Kerensky was toppled from power and forced to flee Russia, an impotent and defeated figure who had failed to capitalize on the great opportunity passed to him".
Then there was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 where both Germany and Russia would attack Poland and split it between the two. Then invaded Russia in September 1941.

 

Like I said, it was the war that Lenin used for the revolution.

Not the only reason of course but a main one.

Your final point refers to WWII, not WWI.

 

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Do you realize that the Kaiser gave the gold to Lenin to keep Russia from resuming the WWI. BTW you mentioned WWI so I gave you information on both WWI and WWII about Russia. Only a few people on this board know that Russia attacked Poland simultaneously with Nazi Germany in September 1939.

 

Stalin had a Napoleon Complex (just like Putin).

 

So was that guy named Hilter.

 

it wasn't Lenin who started Revolution, that was perpetrated by the Aristocracy, merchants and bankers. Lenin came only later to start the Civil War he won in the end.

 

this wasn't merely "the fall of Nicholas II in March 1917" in fact but the Russian Revolution itself taking place. Kerensky was its tribune. Lenin arrives to snatch the laurels and make Russia the headquarters for the World Revolution he and those behind him were planning.

 

The alliance with the USSR was one of the greatest tactical moves in military history. Violating that agreement was one of the worst.

Most people don't tend to realize how close we came to a global political system dominated by openly authoritarian ideologies.

Instead we got a world dominated by closet authoritarians. Go figure.

 

Totalitarian is more apt. Governments are by nature authoritarian civic bodies, but yes, they do have a spectrum. The middle classes in most western countries are pretty much incapable of ruling themselves now, at least outside of the small ones, which is the major problem today, especially true in the U.S. Like the old Chinese curse, we're going to be 'living in interesting times'; very Wiemar Republic-ish in many ways.

 

Interesting what is about giving back all stolen German Territorials by Polska?

 

The Revolution started BEFORE Russia dropped out of the war.

 

It’s amusing to read these accounts of the history of WW2. Hitler’s main aim was always to invade Russia and the Slav nations because of their vast of natural resources of oil etc. which Europe lacked.
In the 1940s it made sense to invade Russia whose army was in a sorry state because Stalin had disposed his top generals fearing a coup against him. Evidence for this is in the disastrous war against the small nation of Finland in the late thirties.

Hitler, despite his swift and dramatic victory over the rest of Europe, faced a major military and political problem. The British would not do what seemed logical and what the Führer expected - they would not make peace. Yet Hitler was frustrated by geography - in the shape of the English Channel - from following his immediate instincts and swiftly crushing the British just as he had the French.
Many powerful nations had attempted to invade Britain and every one had failed for over a thousand years.

But the thread is about the invasion of Russia though Germany’s attempt to put Britain out of the war had a pronounced effect of defeating the USSR because Hitler, like Napoleon before him, was caught in the cruel Russian winter which could have been avoided if a quick way had been found to put Britain out of the war.

What would the German total defeat of Russia have on the result ofWW2? It’s a matter of
debate but bear in mind that Germany was far in advance of America in the field of missiles, jet aircraft and the atomic bomb. Plus America would be on her own fighting a war on two fronts without a land base to attack the German home land. It bears thinking about.

 

Germany was NOT far in advance of America in regards to the atomic bomb.

 

Well there is a lot of evidence that Germany had tested an atomic devise before the end of WW2 and conducting experiments in the late 1930s. It’s also feasible that Hitler would have had years to produce a device if he hadn’t had the problem of conducting a loosing war from the middle forties.

Documents unearthed in an American archive suggest that Nazi Germany may have tested an operational nuclear bomb before the end of the Second World War.
Recently declassified file APO 696 from the National Archives in Washington is a detailed survey of how far Third Reich scientists got in the development of an atomic bomb - something Hitler craved.

 

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You're right on the money. It was Kerensky that originally led the revolution. The Kaiser needed to keep the revolution going. That's why he financed Lenin who was in exile to return to Russia and keep the revolution going in order reduce pressure on his Eastern front.

 

At best it was a radiological device. The Germans were years away from any atomic bomb. Hell, the lead scientist they had in charge of their bomb program thought nuclear chain reactions were self-limiting! If he would have actually built a breeder reactor, it would have caused a runaway criticality incident and irradiated half of Germany.

 

The Brits developed jet aircraft before Germany did, which is why they decided not to waste big production budgets on them. Germany got a lot of their early rocket tech from Goddard, and they were just as ineffective in applying them to war as they were jet aircraft. They lost.

 

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You're right on the money. Hitler gambled that with the fall of France and the UK's military shattered at Dunkirk, they would sue for peace whereupon Hitler could turn his army on Russia in Spring of 1941 (May) instead of late June. Fortunately the UK's and especially Churchill's tenacity were able to survive the battle of Britain holding off any invasion of the UK and delaying the invasion of Russia by at least 8 weeks. There was also another glitch that foiled the invasion of Russia. See:
"The unforeseen necessity of invading Yugoslavia and Greece in April (41) of that year forced them to postpone the Soviet campaign to late June".

 

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Fortunately for the allies, Nazi Jets only came on line in just after the Normandy invasion of 1944.