ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Timeline of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

Okay kiddo, let me explain the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact timeline to you like you're 5 years old.

Once upon a time, there were two countries called Germany and the Soviet Union. They didn't like each other very much because they had different ideas about how to run their countries.

One day in August 1939, the leaders of Germany and the Soviet Union, Hitler and Stalin, got together and made a secret agreement called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This pact said that the two countries would not fight each other if there was a war.

But there was something else in the pact that made other countries worried. The pact also said that Germany and the Soviet Union would split up the countries in between them if there was a war. This meant that they would take over parts of other countries and rule them together.

Soon after the pact was signed, Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was split up and ruled by both Germany and the Soviet Union.

The pact didn't last very long though. In June 1941, Germany broke the pact and invaded the Soviet Union. The two countries were now enemies and fighting against each other in World War II.

So, in summary, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a secret agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. They promised not to fight each other and split up other countries if there was a war. It helped them both in the short-term but eventually led to war between the two countries.