Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

Agreement signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (q.v.) on August 23, 1939, immediately preceding the German invasion of Poland, which began World War II. A secret protocol divided Poland between the two powers and gave Bessarabia (q.v.), Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the eastern part of Poland to the Soviet Union. Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Source: Library of Congress