DK - World War II Map by Map

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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