Officials and historians have strongly criticized a covert agreement that took place over 80 years ago between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. This agreement, known as

the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, paved the way for the invasion of Poland in 1939 and played a significant role in the unfolding of World War II.

Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) highlighted the significance of the day, marking exactly 84 years since the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The secret treaty aimed to split Europe between the two totalitarian regimes of the communist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

The Polish Prime Minister's Office acknowledged August 23 as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, paying tribute to all those who suffered under these brutal regimes.

In 2019, the European Parliament passed a resolution that recounted the outbreak of World War II and emphasized that not only Nazi Germany but also the USSR attacked Poland. The resolution pointed out that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed on August 23, 1939, along with its secret protocols, divided Europe and independent states into spheres of interest for the totalitarian regimes, setting the stage for the war.

The resolution condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact's consequences, stating that Poland faced invasion first by Hitler and then by Stalin, resulting in the loss of its independence and a tragic fate for its people.

Furthermore, the resolution called on the European Commission to actively counteract Russia's attempts to distort historical facts and downplay the crimes committed by the Soviet regime. It emphasized that these efforts were part of an information war aimed at dividing democratic Europe.

This resolution was enacted during the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the outbreak of World War II and aimed to shed light on the historical truths surrounding the events of that time. Photo by Wikimedia commons.