The German–Estonian Non-Aggression Pact was signed in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on June 7, 1939, by Estonian and German Foreign Ministers Karl Selter and

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...

. The German–Latvian Non-Aggression Pact was also signed on the same day. Ratifications of the German-Estonian Pact were exchanged in Berlin on July 24, 1939, and it became effective the same day. It was registered in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'' on August 12, 1939.''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 198, pp. 50-53. The pact was intended for a period of ten years. The pacts were intended to prevent the West or the Soviets from gaining influence in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and thus encircling Germany. A non-aggression pact with Lithuania was concluded in March after the

1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania On 20 March 1939, Nazi Germany's foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop presented an oral ultimatum to Juozas Urbšys, foreign minister of Lithuania. Germany demanded that Lithuania give up the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territo ...

regarding the

Klaipėda Region The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administr ...

. The states were to provide a barrier against any Soviet intervention in a planned German–Polish war. Germany offered to sign non-aggression pacts with Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden on April 28, 1939. Sweden, Norway and Finland rejected the proposal. The first drafts were prepared the first week of May, but the signing of the treaties was twice delayed by Latvia's requests for clarification.

References

External links

Text of the treaty
1939 in Estonia 1939 in Germany Treaties of Estonia World War II treaties Treaties concluded in 1939 Treaties entered into force in 1939 Treaties of Nazi Germany Non-aggression pacts {{Germany-poli-stub