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Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol

On 23 August 1939 Ribbentrop and Molotov signed a non-aggression pact with a secret protocol dividing eastern Europe. In the causal graph this event weakens Humanitarian Access, a driver that strengthens People Internally Displaced by Conflict and Violence (IDMC) — an improving welfare path.

Read the full account

On 23 August 1939 Ribbentrop and Molotov signed a non-aggression pact with a secret protocol dividing eastern Europe. Hitler authorised the German side. Adolf Hitler's documented role is: He authorised Ribbentrop to sign with Molotov. The secret protocol partitioned Poland and the Baltics. Stalin shares the instrument.

Context

Sharing the pact with Stalin/Molotov is required. Poland is the immediate object. The setting of Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol is the public file around 1939-08-23. Driver humanitarian-access is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.

Why it matters

High confidence on the documents. The welfare reading on this path is worsening.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Adolf Hitler

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.6 · verified

    He authorised Ribbentrop to sign with Molotov. The secret protocol partitioned Poland and the Baltics. Stalin shares the instrument.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.USHMM Holocaust Encyclopedia — Nazi PartyUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Avalon Project — Program of the National Socialist German Workers' PartyYale Avalon Project · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Avalon carries pact and protocol texts. USHMM independently describes them. Official carrier: Avalon Project — German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and secret additional protocol, 23 August 1939 (https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ (opens in a new tab); Yale Avalon Project). Independent carrier: USHMM — Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/ (opens in a new tab); United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Established: 23 August 1939 pact and protocol. Not established: that it is the 1941 invasion of the USSR. Established: a sourced public record of Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol under 1939-08-23.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Mixed effects of Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol are separate paths.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Shared responsibility is part of Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol. Naming Adolf Hitler does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1939-08-23 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorAdolf Hitler
  2. contributed toFactGermany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol
  3. weakensDriverHumanitarian Access
  4. strengthensIndicatorPeople Internally Displaced by Conflict and Violence (IDMC)

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Germany and the Soviet Union sign the non-aggression pact with a secret protocol. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/hitler-pact-1939

https://factrail.ai/facts/hitler-pact-1939

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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