2023 sources
Source A is highly valuable to an historian studying the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Source A was written
by the Polish foreign minister, which is valuable as he had deep insight into negotiations
between different powers including the Nazi-Soviet Pact and provides the Polish perspective on
the signing of the pact. Jozef Beck had actively spent most of the 1930s trying to make alliances
with the rest of Europe, including Brittain, France and the Soviet Union; he was well informed on
the state of international relations at the time. However, it is limited in value as a Polish point of
view would be rather Anti-German and biased. The source was made on 23 August 1939, the
day the Nazi-Soviet pact was signed, which is valuable as it provides an immediate unfiltered
reaction to the pact. The source was sent to members of the Polish Government, with the
purpose of expressing anger towards the Nazi-Soviet pact, explaining and justifying future steps
which should be taken by Poland. This is valuable as it demonstrates how the Nazi-Soviet pact
had directly led to change in Poland’s foreign policy. The overall tone of the source was one of
anger towards the Nazi-Soviet pact, highlighting how it threatened Poland, emphasizing
Poland’s vulnerable position which necessitated defense. This is valuable to a large extent as
Poland was at immediate threat from German expansion, with it being a long-term goal of
Germany's foreign policy. It was now in even more danger as the Soviets sided with Germany,
exposing Polish territory to potential invasion. However, Poland was not entirely innocent in the
unfolding of circumstances which led to the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
The content of Source A is valuable to a small extent. The source states that “the Soviet
government had been playing a double game for a long time”. This statement is limited in value
as the Soviet Government never had any long-term intentions to ally with Germany, it was never
even a consideration before Germany had proposed it. Germany and the Soviet Union had
numerous conflicts in the 1930s as each power’s actions seemed to threaten the other’s
spheres of influence or security such as Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia; The
Nazi-Soviet pact was opportunistic in nature. The source states that the Soviet government was
seeking to break Poland’s negotiations with Britain and France and that Poland was in no way at
fault for what was happening. This is valuable to some extent, as the Nazi-Soviet pact could be
seen as stopping an Anglo-Polish pact as the Soviet Union abandoned further attempts at
negotiations with Britain and France, who were supporting Poland. However, Poland did have a
part to play in the failure at negotiations. Poland refused to allow Russian troops into the
country, which resulted in failed negotiations between France, Britain and Russia which
ultimately prevented their union in a military alliance, limiting the value of the source. The source
states that closer cooperation with Britain and France was necessary, highlighting the vulnerable
position of Poland. This is valuable as the Nazi-Soviet pact immediately weakened Britain and
France's guarantee to Poland by ensuring Poland had aggressors on its western and eastern
borders, making further Allied protection of Poland necessary. The source suggests that the
Nazi-Soviet pact would lead to a collapse of Hitler’s ideology. This is partially valuable as the
Pact was seen as challenging the Nazi ideology which was known and openly anti-communist
from the start. However, Hitler used the pact strategically for his own military reasons, always
intending to eventually continue with his long-term goals of invading the Soviet Union. The
source states that Jozef Beck wanted to publish negotiations made with Britain and France to
Moscow. This is seen as an attempt to intimidate Stalin and show the allies’ strength even with
the Nazi-Soviet alliance.
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