Which 1939 agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union, signed August 23, 1939, included secret protocols to divide Eastern Europe?

• A. Morgenthau Plan
• B. Marshall Plan
• C. MAD
• D. Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is recognizing a pact that tied Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union together in a non-aggression agreement that also secretly planned how Eastern Europe would be divided between them. The agreement signed on August 23, 1939 between Germany and the Soviet Union is the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It was a non-aggression treaty, but it also contained secret protocols that laid out spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, effectively planning how borders and influence would be carved up, including the fate of Poland and the Baltic states.

This pact allowed both powers to avoid fighting on two fronts and opened the way for Germany’s invasion of Poland, which in turn triggered World War II. It also led to subsequent Soviet moves in the region, such as the occupation of the Baltic states and other territorial changes.

The other options don’t fit the time or purpose. The Morgenthau Plan was a postwar idea about deindustrializing Germany; the Marshall Plan was an American postwar aid package to rebuild Western Europe; and the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a Cold War idea about nuclear deterrence, not a 1939 agreement.