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====Germany' Violation of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact====
[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1974-099-19,_Russland,_Angriff_auf_ein_Dorf.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|German Troops in the Soviet Union in 1941]]
The two dictators signed secret protocols dividing central Europe between Stalin and Hitler, it effectively let both the USSR and the NAZIS Germany to invade freely countries listed within their “spheres of influence”. However, the agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union was not sustainable and ultimately set the stage for the Eastern Front of the World War II. Still, the initial improving relations with Germany meant that the Soviet Union could expand its territory in Eastern Europe unmolested into places such as the Baltic States. Stalin believed that his understanding with Hitler would last and he became complacent.<ref> Montefiore, Simon Sebag. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400076781/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400076781&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=eb9848bd0a98d402c5a3cab783e1108d Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar]''. (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003), p. 117</ref>
On 1 September 1939, within days of signing the pact and the secret protocols, Hitler invaded Poland, now confident that the Soviets would not oppose him. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany. A couple of weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east to grab its share. In 1940, the USSR followed up by occupying Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Romanian province of Bessarabia. Britain and France protested but with their forces already at war against Germany, they could not afford to fight Stalin as well. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact intially worked quite well and showed how similar the two states goals really were. But this peace it did not last for long.
