1	Origins and Outbreak of World War II 16E:178 Return to class schedule
2	Overview Nazi-Soviet Pact? Origins? Purpose? costs Home Front Religion Literature Music Impact of the war Political demographic
3	What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact? Official title: Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the USSR Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed Aug. 23, 1939 Secret Protocol Division of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence
4	Historical interpretation of the Pact Freed Hitler from a 2 front war. Made war “inevitable” Early sign of USSR’s expansionist desires Ideological hypocrisy of USSR Meaning: pins the blame of WW2 in large part on the USSR
5	Origins of the Pact Close relations with Germany to 1933 Soviet opposition to and fear of Nazism USSR’s pursuit of collective security Soviet attempts to build alliances with Western European states Western capitulation to Hitler: Czechoslovakia, 1938 Pursuing a Triple Alliance with Britain and France
6	Why did the Soviet government do it? Stalin fear Britain and France not serious buy time for USSR moral argument?
7	World War II (in brief) June 1941: German invasion of USSR Battle of Stalingrad Western front
8	Soviet losses 20-25,000,000 dead 70,000 villages, towns, cities destroyed 6 million houses 98,000 farms 32,000 factories 82,000 schools 43,000 libraries 30% of the national infrastructure
9	Home Front Central question: would the people support the regime after so many years of coercion? “we will never rouse the people with Marxism-Leninism alone” social contract: concessions in exchange for support
10	Concessions Religion churches reopen, antireligious propaganda abandoned, no reprisals for faithful
11
12	Impact of the War Political demographic economic social
13	Political Impact No return to normalcy Cold War social mobilization for reconstruction
14	Demographic Impact Definition 25,000,000 losses long range problems census data: 1939, 1959, 1970 workforce, male/female ration
15
16
17	Conclusion Nazi-Soviet pact: Not a betrayal of the West Misguided alliance paid for in blood State forced to make concessions Impact of war persisted long after fighting ended Return to class schedule