German-Soviet Relations
The Nonaggression Pact |
After completing the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Adolf Hitler set his sights on Poland. However, at a time in which Hitler seemed unstoppable in his ambitions, there was one power he was wary of: the Soviets. He even labeled the Soviet Union as "the greatest danger for the culture and civilization of mankind which has ever threatened it since the collapse of the ancient world". Invading Poland would bring German expansion right up to the USSR's doorstep, and the one thing Hitler's Nazi officials were cautious of was another two-front war with Britain and France on one side, and the Soviets on the other.
_______________________________________________________ Parallels Between the World Wars: During the first large-scale European war (World War I), Germany was labeled the aggressor nation, and the nation also ended up being defeated. In fact, the harsh punishments imposed on them through the Treaty of Versailles are some of the major factors to the rise of Nazism in Germany. Additionally, Hitler's caution and angst in creating some sort of an agreement with the Soviets was partly due to Germany's history in World War I. During this conflict, Germany were occupied with Britain, French, and American troops on their western border while they battled the Russian forces on their easter border. This created a two-front war for Germany, and many historians label this as one of the factors that led to Germany's surrender. The fronts on either side of Germany allowed the Allies at the time to create a blockade that eventually deprived the German troops and population of food and resources to the point in which surrender was the only choice. Hence, Hitler deployed his best diplomatic efforts in order to prevent this from happening again. However, Hitler eventually scrapped the nonaggression pact less than two years after its creation by sending three million German troops into Soviet territory. _______________________________________________________
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