The German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Demarcation (also German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty) was a treaty signed by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 and the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 on September 28, 1939 after jointly invading Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

. It was signed by Joachim von Ribbentrop

Joachim von Ribbentrop

Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...

 and Vyacheslav Molotov

Vyacheslav Molotov

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...

, the foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

s for Germany and the Soviet Union respectively. It was a follow up to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, dated August 23. Only a small portion of the treaty was publicly announced.

Secret articles

Several secret articles were attached. These articles allowed the exchange of Russian and German nationals from the other sides partition of Poland, redrew parts of the central European spheres of interest dictated by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and included an agreement to suppress any "Polish agitation".
When Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

advanced against Poland, Germans took control of the Lublin Voivodeship

Lublin Voivodeship (1919-1939)

Lublin Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic, in the years 1919–1939. Its capital and biggest city was Lublin.-Location and area:...

 and eastern Warsaw Voivodeship

Warsaw Voivodeship (1919-1939)

Warsaw Voivodeship was a voivodeship of Poland in the years 1919–1939. Its capital and biggest city was Warsaw.-Location and area:In the years 1919–1939, Warsaw Voivodeship covered north-central part of Poland, bordering East Prussia to the north, Pomorze Voivodeship and Łódź Voivodeship to the...

, territories which according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact were in the Soviet sphere of influence. To compensate the Soviet Union for this loss, the treaty's secret attachment transferred Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, except for a small territory in the Suwałki Region sometimes known as the Suwałki Triangle, to the Soviet sphere of influence. After this transfer, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania

1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania

The Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania before midnight of June 14, 1940. The Soviets, using a formal pretext, demanded to allow an unspecified number of Soviet soldiers to enter the Lithuanian territory and to form a new pro-Soviet government...

, occupied it on June 15, 1940 and established the Lithuanian SSR

Lithuanian SSR

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...

.

External links

• Text of the treaty (English translation) from ElectronicMusem online, Polish-Canadian wesite commemorating Katyn massacre
  Katyn massacre
  The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...