peace pacts

“If, against all expectation, Germany finds itself in a difficult situation then she can be sure that the Soviet people will come to Germany's aid and will not allow Germany to be strangled. The Soviet Union wants to see a strong Germany and we will not allow Germany to be thrown to the ground.”

- Joseph Stalin, 1939

Signature page of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact,
August 1939
And the rest is history...