Editing Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (section)

==== Lie 2: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact divided up Eastern Europe! ====
No, the Pact does not reference any 'invasion' or 'occupation' in the areas designated in the Secret Protocol. This is supported by primary-source evidence.

On September 7th, Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Franz Halder, wrote in his 'War Diary':<ref name=":0">http://www.history.org.ua/LiberUA/5-17-015903-X/5-17-015903-X.pdf</ref><blockquote>"3 Possibilites [the situation may develop]:

*Poland comes to negotiations. He [Hitler] is ready for negotiations.
* Separation from Britain and France
* 'Residual' Poland is recognized.
* Narev [river] to Warsaw - to Poland
* Industrial zone - to us
* Krakow - to Poland
* The Northern Edge of the Beskidow Mountains - to us
* '''Ukraine is independent"'''
</blockquote>So, Hitler considered independence for the Polish part of Ukraine. But, this area was in the SOVIET sphere of influence. Why would Hitler consider this if the Pact's Secret Protocols really referenced invading the specified territories?

On the 9th, Halder noted:<blockquote>"OB Note: b) the independence of Western Ukraine"<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>On the 10th, he noted:<blockquote>"Warlimont: a) A call to the Western Ukraine is imminent"<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>The annotated text of Halder's diaries on the 11th reads:<blockquote>"...namely for the establishment of an independent state from the Polish Ukraine"<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>On the 12th, he noted that the Russians believed that a negotiated settlement would leave a 'residual' Poland in existence.<ref name=":0" />

So, up until at least the 12th, Hitler still considered independence for Polish Ukraine. It also shows that the Soviet Union expected that a treaty would be established between Germany and Poland, that would leave a 'residual' Poland in existence. Furthermore, it is also evidence that the Secret Protocols do not reference the 'invasion' or the 'annexation' of anybody.

Once brought up, many Polish nationalists claim that Hitler broke the alliance anyway 2 years later, so this is evidence that he had the intention to break it when he considered independence for Ukraine. Why would Hitler break the pact just weeks after signing, although the goal of the Pact for Hitler was to avoid a two-front war?

===== What do Spheres of Influence actually mean? =====
Simple. The 'spheres of influence' are just about protecting frontiers from invasions. Article II of the Secret Protocol reads:<blockquote>"In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded  approximately by the line of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San. The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable  the maintenance of an independent Polish States and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments. In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means  of a friendly agreement."<ref name=":2">https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1939pact.asp</ref></blockquote>So, as long as an 'independent Polish State' continued to exist, it would be east of the Narev-Vistula-San line and Germany could not send troops over this frontier. This would establish a 'residual' Poland mentioned earlier in Halder's diaries. In this case, if the Polish army were beaten, it could travel beyond the Narev-Vistula-San river line and sue for peace with Germany. That way, Poland would be way more likely to sign a treaty with the Soviet Union (a treaty they were rejecting just weeks before the war).