Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed?

• > In August, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. This was a promise not to fight each other. The agreement publicly stated that there would be non-aggression for ten

  years and made economic agreements.
• > The Pact was an amazing U-turn. Hitler had always stressed that the Soviet Union was his main enemy, ruled by Jewish Communists and sub-human Slavs. It was the main focus of Lebensraum.
• Russia:

  > USSR loses faith with Britain and France: Stalin did not trust Britain and France anymore, because of how they had acted previously with the LoN, not stopping Hitler and not consulting Stalin during Appeasement.
• Russia:

  > Benefits for Russia: Stalin would get half of Poland. Stalin didn’t trust Hitler. By teaming up with him now, Stalin would buy himself time to get ready for a war that would almost certainly come soon
• Germany:

  > Territory: It allowed Hitler to take back lands lost to Poland after WW1 and the ToV.
• Germany:

  > Military: Meant that Germany only had to fight on one front. During WW1 the German forces had to fight on two fronts, as they fought the French and British on the Western Front, and the Russians on the Eastern Front. This meant that Germany now only had to fight on one front if a

  war occurred.