{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"","title":"Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – Part 5: History weighs the bargain that changed the world","description":"Decades later, the shadow of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact still falls across Europe. Was it a masterstroke of strategy or a betrayal of principle? Did it delay disaster—or make it inevitable? The verdict of history is as contested as the treaty itself.\r\n\r\nThe pact achieved its initial aims. Germany invaded Poland without fear of Soviet resistance. The Soviet Union expanded west, occupying the Baltics and eastern Poland. For a brief moment, two bitter rivals had found common cause. But the alliance was always fragile. When Hitler turned on Stalin in June nineteen forty-one, the pact collapsed in violence and betrayal.\r\n\r\nLearn more at: https://thetreatyarchive.com/treaty/molotov-ribbentrop-pact","author_name":"The Archive Network"}