The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact & Road to World War II The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed on August 23, 1939, was a non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, named after the foreign ministers of both countries, Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop. This agreement shocked the world as it allowed both nations to secretly divide Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. The pact provided Germany with the assurance that it could invade Poland without fear of Soviet inter