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The agreement between Hitler and Stalin meant that the German state was free to pursue its interests in Poland. Hitler wanted ‘living space’ in the east, to enable the German nation to grow and expand and to fullfill the destiny of the ‘master race’. Hitler was intent on wiping out Poland. There were tensions between Warsaw and Berlin over the city of Danzig and areas in Poland where German speakers were a majority.<ref>Moorhouse,p. 178</ref> Hitler used these tensions as a pretext to invade Poland. He wanted to conquer the country and remove it from the map of Europe. The Molotov-Rippentrop Agreement, allowed Hitler to attack Poland because he knew that Stalin would not intervene to stop his plans. In September 1939, Hitler’s forces invaded Poland and later, when the Poles were on the verge of defeat, the Soviets invaded eastern Poland.<ref>Davies, N. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0231043260/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0231043260&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1be37f6e09199031a2b3e044956a88c0 God's Playground]''(Oxford University Press. Oxford, 1986, p. 187), p. 213</ref>. The German invasion of Poland led to the western allies, France, and Britain declaring war on Germany and the start of WW II.

The Pact delivered enormous strategic advantages to the Germans. The Pact allowed them to concentrate their attacks on the western allies. They did not have to divide their forces and fight a war on the western and the eastern front. In 1914, Germany had been forced to divided its forces and this slowed down its advance in the west and possibly cost them a swift victory. This was not the case in 1939, the German war machine could concentrate on its western rivals. Freed from any threat from the east, by the agreement with Stalin, the German army launched a Blitzkrieg on western Europe. Soon Norway, Denmark, the Netherland, Belgium and France fell to the Nazis. It is highly unlikely that this would have been possible if the German’s had been forced to fight a war against the Soviet Union. The Pact neutralized the Soviet threat from the east. The Ribbentrop- Molotov pact had allowed Hitler to become the master of Europe and Stalin must have begun to wonder if he had not made a strategic mistake. However, he continued to hold to the terms of the Pact, as he feared a war with the German War Machine.<ref>Taylor, AJP. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684829479/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684829479&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a360376fd1f8c5f43d87219e7636bbc4 The Origins of the Second World War]'' (London: Simon & Schuster. 1961), p. 111</ref>

Nazi Germany ended the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact June 1941 by launching a massive invasion of Soviet territory. Stalin, when he heard that the Germans, had invaded and that the pact was no more and irrelevant went into a state of shock. He apparently went into hiding for several days, during which time the Soviet Union was left leaderless. Stalin had apparently gained very much for the pact however, he had really been duped by Hitler. The Pact had served Hitler very well it had allowed him to attack first the west and defeat the British and French. When he was completed he was able to invade the Soviet Union.<ref> Davies, p. 77</ref>.