this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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Even though USSR has some blame for WW2 starting (Molotov-Ribbentrop and its follow-up), I'm sure Germany did the most for it.
That pact short-circuited the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan and is the first thing every WW2 nerd cites in trying to figure out how Hitler could've won the war. It was also a tactic to placate Britain and France that either resulted in, or proved unnecessary by, the Phoney War. Fall Weiss was already finalized to commence before September 1. Molotov-Ribbentrop was done in August.
Taking that pact out of the context in which it was made just seems odd.
Or maybe not because I know the Hearts of Irons games portray it (or did) with an 'unholy alliance' option. The games tend to give Nazi Germany massive penalties for not doing it, so the vidya brained think it is what enabled Germany to invade the USSR and/or start WW2. They're fun games when you know how they play with historical events, and brain breaking if you try to learn history from them.
"Molotov-Ribbentrop was meant to placate Britain and France"
Fucking what.
Poland had seized land in Czechoslovakia with Germany, and tye USSR had been rebuffed from alliance with most western powers already (despite going as far as preventing the Spanish Republic from collectivizing land in an effort to make them happy).
If the USSR holds blame for the start, so does the UK and France.