The new interactive project of the Presidential Library illustrates the beginning of World War II

The Presidential Library's portal launched a virtual tour of the historical and documentary exhibition "1939. The beginning of World War II". The exposition in the building on Senate square, 3, was opened on December 20, 2019. It was arranged by the specialists of the Federal Archival Agency of Russia (Rosarkhiv) and the Presidential Library. That day, the first visitors to the exhibition were the participants of the informal meeting of the heads of the CIS states invited by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Archival documents, newsreels, photographs presented at the exposition illustrate events that led to large-scale world conflict. They allow comprehending the reasons for the failure to create an extended anti-Hitler coalition with the participation of the USSR, as well as the logic of the actions of the Soviet leadership in the current international situation.

The virtual exhibition covers the period from the meeting in Munich on September 29-30, 1938. As a result, the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy signed the agreement for the liquidation of Czechoslovakia as a sovereign state. It also led to the growth of German influence in Central and Southeastern Europe. The exposition ends with the establishment of the global political crisis in the summer of 1939, and the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939.

The general topic of the exhibition is Hitler’s "pacification" policy, which led to a radical change in the balance of power on the European continent in favour of Nazi Germany, provoked the final collapse of the Versailles system of international relations and, at the final end, launched World War II.

Much attention is paid to the Anglo-Franco-Soviet political and military negotiations held in Moscow in June - August 1939, which largely predetermined the alignment of forces in Europe by the beginning of World War II. It also features the tortuous policy of the United Kingdom and France regarding concluding an equal military-political alliance with the USSR, as well as Poland’s ultimate rejection of Soviet proposals to counteract German expansion.

Unique archival documents demonstrate the interests of every participant in the future global conflict. The selection presents the text of the Munich Agreement of 1938, the Anglo-German Agreement and the Franco-German Declaration of 1938, the report of V. Bortnovsky, the Commander of the Separate Silesia Operational Group, about the preparation of the offensive operation and the capture of Zaolzie in October 1938, personal note of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M. Litvinov to German Ambassador to the USSR F. von der Schulenburg about the impossibility of recognition by the Soviet government of the inclusion of the Czech Republic in the Third Reich, a cypher telegram of the Soviet Ambassador to the United Kingdom I. Maisky on the results of the Anglo-Polish negotiations in London, documents on the Anglo-French "policy of guarantees" and the main approaches to ensuring collective security in Europe.

The exhibits of great interest are documents of French origin: note by the French Military Attache to the USSR A. Palasse on the strategic situation in Eastern Europe with assessments of the German threat; the report by French Military Attache to Poland F. Musset to Minister of National Defence and the Secretary of War of France E. Daladier about the influence of Poland on the development and results of the Anglo-French-Soviet military negotiations.

The principal role in understanding the situation of the last pre-war days is played by the recordings of the meetings of the military missions of the United Kingdom, France and the USSR during the negotiations in Moscow, the recording of the conversation between the USSR People's Commissar of Defence K. Voroshilov and the Head of the French Military Mission J. Doumenc.

A special place in the exposition is occupied by documents on German preparation to attack Poland, the directive of the Wehrmacht High Supreme Command on the extensive preparation of the German armed forces for war, the minutes of Hitler's meeting with the Wehrmacht leadership devoted to tasks of a future war, Soviet intelligence materials on plans of aggression against Poland, information about the concentration and movement of German troops.

The Soviet-German Non-Aggression Treaty and the Secret Additional Protocol on delimiting the spheres of interests of Germany and the USSR of August 23, 1939, are also presented at the exhibition.

The exposition features documents stored in the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA), the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GA RF), the Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD), as well as the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation (AVP RF), the Archive of the President of the Russian Federation, the Gosfilmofond.