The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Second World War: Russo-German Relations and the Road to War, 19331941 (The Making of the Twentieth Century, 25)

Historians have heatedly debated the Soviet role in the origins of the Second World War for more than 50 years. At the centre of these controversies stands the question of Soviet relations with Nazi Germany and the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939. Drawing on a wealth of new material from the Soviet Archives, this detailed and original study analyses Moscow's response to the rise of Hitler, explains the origins of the Nazi-Soviet pact, and charts the road to Operation Barbarossa and the disaster of the surprise German attack on the USSR in June 1941. Drawing on a wealth of new material from the Soviet archives, this detailed and original study analyses Moscow's response to the rise of Hitler, explains the origins of the Nazi-Soviet pact and charts the road to Operation Barbarossa and the disaster of the surprise German attack on the USSR in June 1942. New light is thrown on Soviet foreign policy before the war - especially its role in the Czechoslovakian crisis of 1938 and the way Stalin gradually moved towards a deal with Hitler. The emphasis is firmly on Soviet foreign policy, but the attitudes and policies of the other great powers towards the USSR are not neglected. Geoffrey Roberts' focus on the Nazi-Soviet pact leads him to question the inevitability of the Second World War and to suggest possible alternative scenarios and outcomes. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Conflicting Views on the USSR and the Origins of the Second World War....Pages 1-8 From Co-operation to Confrontation: The End of Rapallo and the Turn to Collective Security, 1933–1935....Pages 9-20 Confrontation versus Compromise: Dilemmas of Coexistence with Nazi Germany, 1935–1937....Pages 21-48 To the Brink of War: The Czechoslovakian Crisis of 1938....Pages 49-61 From Confrontation to Conciliation: Origins of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1938–1939....Pages 62-91 The Nazi-Soviet Pact and the Partition of Poland....Pages 92-103 Expansion and Coexistence, 1939–1940....Pages 103-121 Crisis and Conflict, 1940–1941....Pages 122-134 Stalin and the Road to War, April–June 1941....Pages 135-146 Conclusion....Pages 147-150 Back Matter....Pages 151-192 This study analyzes Moscow's response to the rise of Hitler, explains the origins of the Nazi-Soviet pact, and charts the road to Operation Barbarossa and the disaster of the surprise German attack on the USSR in June 1941 Geoffrey Roberts. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 178-185) And Index.