COUNTDOWN IN EUROPE 33
Norwegian
Sea
North
Sea
G E
R M
A N Y
F R A N C E Y
U
G
O
S
L
A
V
I A
ROMANIA
T U
R
K
E Y
POLAN
D
Me
dit
err
an
ea
n
Se
a
Bl
ac
k^
S
ea
Balt
ic^ S
ea
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
U
S
S R
S P
A
I
N
P
O
R
T
U
G
AL
UNITED
KINGDOM
IRELAND
NETHERLANDS
FINLAND
NORWAY
SWEDEN
HUNGARY
ALBANIA
AUSTRIA
BOHEMIA
& MORAVIA
GREECE
BULGARIA
SLOVAKIA
LITHUANIA
LATVIA
ESTONIA
I
T
A
L
Y
SWITZERLAND
BELGIUM
DENMARK
LUXEMBOURG
EAST
PRUSSIA
BE
SS
A
R
A
B
IA
Madrid
Stockholm
Tallinn
Riga
Helsinki
Leningrad
Glasgow
Warsaw
Krakow
Bratislava
Budapest
Belgrade
Sofia
Athens
Palermo
Barcelona
Marseille
Bucharest
Vienna
Nuremberg
Amsterdam
Munich
Zurich
London
Dublin
Belfast
Rome
Berlin
Memel
Danzig
Oslo
Copenhagen
Paris
Milan
Wilno
△ Hitler and the bear
In a critique of the pact between the USSR and Germany,
this French satirical cartoon from 1939 depicts Hitler and
the USSR—the “bear”—wrestling over a map of Europe.
The pact was negotiated in secret and was met with shock
across Europe when it was announced.
Nov 1, 1936
In a speech in Milan,
Mussolini uses the
term “Axis” to
denote his alliance
with Nazi Germany.
May 22, 1939
The Pact of Steel
is signed in Berlin.
Jul 1938
A declaration of
neutrality is signed
by nine states
in Copenhagen.
1939 Originally assigned
to Germany in the Nazi–
Soviet Pact, Lithuania is
later transferred to the
Soviet sphere of influence.
1939 Under the Nazi–
Soviet Pact, Poland is to
be split between Germany
and the USSR and wiped
off the map.
Signatories to the Nonaggression Pact
THE NAZI–SOVIET
NONAGGRESSION PACT AUGUST 23, 1939
On August 23, 1939, the German and Russian
foreign secretaries Joachim von Ribbentrop and
Vyacheslav Molotov signed a nonaggression pact.
The published terms included pledges to maintain
neutrality if either country was at war. This
marked a major change in policy: the USSR, let
down by the Munich Agreement, was now willing
to precipitate war between “the two imperialist
camps”; and Germany wanted to avoid possible
Soviet interference in its invasion of Poland.
4
Victims of the Pact
THE EFFECTS OF THE PACT 1939–1940
Secret clauses in the pact were to affect the fate
of neighboring countries. Germany gained a free
hand in western Poland and Lithuania, while the
influence of the USSR was to prevail over eastern
Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and the Romanian
province of Bessarabia. A later secret agreement
on September 28, 1939, extended German control
further into eastern Poland while giving the USSR
a free hand in Lithuania. All the secret clauses
were implemented by summer 1940.
5
Mar 1938
Anschluss: Hitler
annexes Austria.
Mar 22, 1939
Germany annexes the
Baltic port of Memel
from Lithuania.
Apr 7, 1939
Italian forces
invade Albania.
1939 Denmark
signs a ten-year
nonaggression pact
with Germany.
Aug 1939 Hitler issues
ultimatum claiming sovereignty
over Free City of Danzig.
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