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August 1939

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is signed. It is primarily a peace treaty with provisions for trade. There are also secret articles dealing with the division of the world into spheres of influence and the enslavement of populations.

October 1939

War breaks out in Europe. Britain and France and their colonies defend Poland from the Nazis by initiating Sitzkrieg against the Germans. The League of Nations also drafts a condemnation of the Germans. As the Nazis overwhelm Polish positions, the Soviets invade Poland.


Foreign Secretary Halifax and Chamberlain defend the Soviet invasion of Poland to Parliament, insisting that it was necessary to defend against future Nazi aggression, and that there is a historical basis for the new Soviet borders.

There are plans by the British to expand barter-based trade with Soviet Russia.

In other news, Secretary of State Hull has demanded the release of the Freighter City of Flint by the Russians, and requested that the Russians clarify their position of neutrality. The City of Flint was seized by the Germans while enroute to Britain and was operated by a prize crew. For some days now, the ship has been docked at Murmansk.


In the following weeks the Soviets ejected the City of Flint, and some time later the freighter was recaptured by the Royal Navy and finally returns to New York, to later be entirely forgotten.
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