Roger Moorhouse - The Devils' Alliance - Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941

Nonetheless, on August 23 that summer—the seventieth anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Pact—the first European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism was solemnly marked in the Baltic states and Sweden. In subsequent years, the commemorations would spread. Wreathes would be laid, flags would be raised, and prayers would be offered across central and eastern Europe, from Poland to Crimea and from Estonia to Bulgaria. It was a small victory, perhaps, but a significant one. The Nazi-Soviet Pact had come out of the shadows. It was no longer forgotten, no longer taboo. It had become an essential part of the narrative.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GERMAN REICH AND THE GOVERNMENT of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, desirous of strengthening the cause of peace between Germany and the USSR, and proceeding from the fundamental provisions of the Neutrality Agreement concluded in April, 1926 between Germany and the USSR, have reached the following Agreement:

ARTICLE I. Both High Contracting Parties obligate themselves to desist from any act of violence, any aggressive action, and any attack on each other, either individually or jointly with other Powers.

ARTICLE II. Should one of the High Contracting Parties become the object of belligerent action by a third Power, the other High Contracting Party shall in no manner lend its support to this third Power.

ARTICLE III. The Governments of the two High Contracting Parties shall in the future maintain continual contact with one another for the purpose of consultation in order to exchange information on problems affecting their common interests.

ARTICLE IV. Neither of the two High Contracting Parties shall participate in any grouping of powers whatsoever that is directly or indirectly aimed at the other party.

ARTICLE V. Should disputes or conflicts arise between the High Contracting Parties over problems of one kind or another, both parties shall settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly exchange of opinion or, if necessary, through the establishment of arbitration commissions.

ARTICLE VI. The present Treaty is concluded for a period of ten years, with the proviso that, in so far as one of the High Contracting Parties does not advance it one year prior to the expiration of this period, the validity of this Treaty shall automatically be extended for another five years.

ARTICLE VII. The present treaty shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Berlin. The Agreement shall enter into force as soon as it is signed.

Done in duplicate, in the German and Russian languages.

MOSCOW, August 23, 1939.

For the Government of the German Reich:

v. Ribbentrop

Plenipotentiary of the Government of the USSR:

V. Molotov

Secret Additional Protocol.

ARTICLE I. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. In this connection the interest of Lithuania in the Vilna area is recognized by each party.

ARTICLE II. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narew, Vistula and San.

The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish State and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments.

In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.

ARTICLE III. With regard to Southeastern Europe attention is called by the Soviet side to its interest in Bessarabia. The German side declares its complete political disinteredness in these areas.

ARTICLE IV. This protocol shall be treated by both parties as strictly secret.

Moscow, August 23, 1939.

For the Government of the German Reich:

v. Ribbentrop

Plenipotentiary of the Government of the USSR:

V. Molotov

From Nazi-Soviet Relations, 1939–1941: Documents from the Archives of the German Foreign Office , ed. Raymond James Sontag and James Stuart Beddie (Washington, DC: Department of State, 1948), 76–78.