en.wikipedia.org
The trade pact helped Germany to surmount the British blockade.
- 1,500,000 metric tons (1,700,000 short tons; 1,500,000 long tons) of grains
- 820,000 metric tons (900,000 short tons; 810,000 long tons) of oil
- 180,000 metric tons (200,000 short tons; 180,000 long tons) of cotton
- 130,000 metric tons (140,000 short tons; 130,000 long tons) of manganese
- 180,000 metric tons (200,000 short tons; 180,000 long tons) of phosphates
- 18,000 metric tons (20,000 short tons; 18,000 long tons) of chrome ore
- 16,000 metric tons (18,000 short tons; 16,000 long tons) of rubber
- 91,000 metric tons (100,000 short tons; 90,000 long tons) of soybeans
- 450,000 metric tons (500,000 short tons; 440,000 long tons) of iron ores
- 270,000 metric tons (300,000 short tons; 270,000 long tons) of scrap metal and pig iron
- 200,000 kilograms (440,000 lb) of platinum
Could Hitler have invaded France without this support? Nope. Could they have contested UK in the air without the Soviets? nope. Could they have invaded the USSR? Nope. Would they have collapsed really early on the war without Soviet aid literally crossing the border June 21 1941?
Well, all the West had to do was sign a pact of mutual security with the Soviets like the informal alliance they had in WW-1. After all they were partners in that war. By spurning the Soviets, they essentially told the former to go it their own way.
That Hitler didn't go by the script the West & the Soviets expected him to , double crossing both is what brought both of them together. Let's face it . There weren't any heroes then or now, just everyone trying to protect their own backsides at the cost of someone else.
That list probably looks pretty close to some of the stuff Russia is exporting to China today
Facts are stubborn things.
Same mistake the West made vis a vis the Soviets in WW-2 which'd come back to haunt them & since we're in the same goddamned boat as you are, thanks to the Chinese, it'd haunt us too for no fault of ours.
Also, on the realpoltik analysis of WW2, I would say the Molotov pack was a shrewd bet to have Germany attack France and both sides get exhausted with Soviets on cleanup. The failure was from France dying quickly from the Nazi attack, not a years long attrition battle.
You win some, you lose some . Just as the West which would've been expecting Germany to launch their invasion of the SU anytime in the first half of 1939 would've been stunned by the coup Stalin & Molotov pulled off, France may have equally disappointed the SU & the world by capitulating so quickly.
If the Nazis were really his fear, he could have just not signed the aggression pact and Germany would have struggled hard, and never had the resources to attack France.
You're speaking with the benefit of hindsight. Back then if the situation was do clear, events would've unfolded differently.
Fun fact, the German invasion of Poland was well executed, but what broke the camel's back was the Soviets also invading later.
Poland was supposed to have been partitioned between the two. That was the agreement.
No need for war just keep your troops in defensive posture and Germany is screwed.
Hard to believe mortal enemies.
For perspective see how the Nazis battled communist gangs in the Weimar Republic immediately after WW-1 when the former was desperately trying to establish it's fledgling political presence.
The communists were of course funded motivated & ideologically mentored by the Soviet funded & founded Comintern.
Check out Rosa Luxembourg & her story for how far the Communists travelled in the immediate aftermath of WW-1.