Ribbentrop–Molotov pact

Non-aggression treaty signed by Germany and the USSR on 23 August 1939. The pact is named after the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Russian foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov, working under German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin respectively. Under the terms of the treaty both countries agreed to remain neutral and to refrain from acts of aggression against each other if either went to war. Secret clauses allowed for the partition of Poland – Hitler was to acquire western Poland, Stalin the eastern part. On 1 September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. The pact ended when Hitler invaded Russia on 22 June 1941 during World War II.