On this day: The German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact

Just a year after Adolf Hitler was chosen as chancellor of Germany, Poland became the first state to form such an alliance with the Nazi administration. Anxious over rising tension between the Nazis and the Soviets, fearful of becoming too reliant on other European powers such as France, Poland’s leaders took a gamble on Germany.

The pact, planned to last ten years, was said at the time to be the moment of “a new era in Polish-German political relations." It involved direct discussion on anything concerning “mutual relations” and called for disputes to be resolved “on the basis of mutual agreement”.

Ostensibly about maintaining and guaranteeing peace between the two countries, the deal was framed as though the pact represented “an essential pre-condition for the general peace of Europe”.

According to the agreement: “The guarantee of peace created by these principles will facilitate the great task of both Governments of finding a solution for problems of political, economic and social kinds, based on a just and fair adjustment of the interests of both parties.