23 August marks the anniversary of signing the pact of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact from 1939. Officialy, it was the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The public part ot the agreement included a guarantee of non-belligerence by either party towards the other and a commitment that neither party would ally itself to or aid an enemy of the other party. However, the treaty included a secret protocol that divided territories of Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland into German and Soviet "spheres of influence". Just one week after the signing of the pact, the Second World War broke out with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. On 17 September, Poland was invaded by the Soviets.
To mark the anniversary, the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes is being observed.
Read more about the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes