Officials condemn 1939 Soviet-German pact that aimed to carve up Poland, Europe

Officials and historians have condemned a secret agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that more than eight decades ago opened the door to those countries invading Poland in 1939 and paved the way to the horrors of World War II.

Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov signs the infamous non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR in Moscow on Aug. 23, 1939. Standing (L-R): German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop; Soviet leader Josef Stalin; his interpreter Vladimir Pavlov; and the chief assistant to Ribbentrop, Friedrich Gauss.

Photo: Reproduction by Nikolai Akimov/TASS via PAP/ITAR-TASS

Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) noted on Tuesday that the day marked exactly 83 years since the communist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a Treaty of Non-Aggression, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, that sought to divide Europe between the two totalitarian regimes.

🟥 83 lata temu #Niemcy i #ZSRS podpisały układ, który otworzył drogę do #IIWŚ i wszystkich jej konsekwencji: obozów koncentracyjnych, krematoriów i gułagów. 🗓 23 VIII – w rocznicę podpisania #PaktRibbentropMołotow – przypada Europejski Dzień Pamięci Ofiar Reżimów Totalitarnych. pic.twitter.com/2ya6xQZetA

— Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (@ipngovpl) August 23, 2022

In marking the anniversary, the head of the Polish history institute, Karol Nawrocki, said, that "the interwar period saw the birth of two states built on the same foundation of hatred for some social classes or ethnic groups, and on a constant drive for expansion."

He added: "The USSR and German Reich were the realms of disdain, propaganda, lies and death."

The Institute head said,
"The interwar period saw the birth of 2 states built on the same foundation of hatred for some social classes or ethnic groups, and on constant drive for expansion . . . The USSR and German Reich were the realms of disdain, propaganda, lies and death." pic.twitter.com/geDUIM6wu1

— Institute of National Remembrance (@ipngovpl_eng) August 22, 2022

In Hoover Square in Warsaw, President Karol Nawrocki just opened the "Pact of Criminals," the IPN exhibit on the 1939 Soviet-German agreement which laid the ground for WWII.
This overview of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact will be available until 12 September. pic.twitter.com/mCzsxV5re1

— Institute of National Remembrance (@ipngovpl_eng) August 22, 2022

The Polish Prime Minister's Office noted that August 23 is commemorated across the continent as European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes.

On the #BlackRibbonDay we pay tribute to the victims of totalitarian & authoritarian regimes. #OTD 1939, the Soviet Union & Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact containing a protocol that enabled those two powers to divide 🇵🇱🇷🇴🇱🇹🇱🇻🇪🇪🇫🇮 into their spheres of influence. pic.twitter.com/zwU72aRtJ9

— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) August 23, 2022

The Polish foreign ministry in a tweet paid tribute to all "those who perished under Soviet and Nazi terror."

August 23 marks the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, established on the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact anniversary.

On #BlackRibbonDay, we honor those who perished under the Soviet and Nazi terror. It’s our obligation so the memory of them preserves. pic.twitter.com/Q3RAQIIY7a

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) August 23, 2022

The European Parliament in 2019 passed a resolution that recounted how World War II broke out more than eight decades ago and stressed that Poland was attacked by not only Nazi Germany, but also the USSR at the time, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

The resolution said that on August 23, 1939, “the communist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a Treaty of Non-Aggression, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and its secret protocols, dividing Europe and the territories of independent states between the two totalitarian regimes and grouping them into spheres of interest, which paved the way for the outbreak of the Second World War.”

Condemning the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the resolution said that in its aftermath “Poland was invaded first by Hitler and two weeks later by Stalin – which stripped the country of its independence and was an unprecedented tragedy for the Polish people.”

The resolution adopted by MEPs in September 2019 also called on the European Commission to decisively counteract “efforts by the current Russian leadership to distort historical facts and whitewash crimes committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime.”

It added that such attempts were “a dangerous component of the information war waged against democratic Europe that aims to divide Europe.”

The resolution was drawn up as the international community commemorated the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP