Ribbentrop

Created, ordered and led by Hitler, the state apparatus of Nazi Germany rigorously controlled all aspects of life in the Third Reich from cradle to grave. To maintain his iron grip on the German people through the ministries of his dictatorial government, Hitler surrounded himself with a small clique of fanatical, devoted acolytes. Men such as Heinrich Himmler, the much-feared chief of the Waffen-SS and organiser of the Holocaust, and Hermann Goering, the bombastic head of the Luftwaffe, wielded enormous power and held the fate of millions in their corrupt hands.

Il 21 agosto 1939, qualche minuto prima di mezzanotte (ora tedesca), la radio di Berlino interruppe un programma musicale per diffondere il seguente comunicato del Deutsches Nachrichtenbro: "Il governo del Reich e il governo sovietico hanno stretto un accordo per stringere un patto di non aggressione. Il ministro degli Esteri arriver mercoled 23 agosto a Mosca per la conclusione dei negoziati".