
The Secret Protocol
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Falsification of History
Antonella Salomoni(Author)
University of Wisconsin Press
Will be published approx. on 6. January 2026
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-299-35490-9 (ISBN)
Description
In 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany agreed to a nonaggression treaty known by the names of its signatories, foreign ministers Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop. Kept hidden from the public was an addendum to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a 'secret protocol' whose existence was officially denied by the Soviet Union until 1992. It defined new borders for German and Soviet spheres of influence, effectively preparing for the partition of Poland, the Baltic states, and Bessarabia. Shortly afterward, both the USSR and Nazi Germany invaded Poland. In this volume, Antonella Salomoni scrutinizes this consequential document and its many afterlives, focusing less on its well-studied history and more on the discourse that surrounded it.
From the moment of the secret protocol's inception - and the near-instantaneous rumors of its existence - it generated friction and competing narratives. The document became public during the Nuremberg trials, but the USSR declared it a fabrication evidencing the West's willingness to falsify history during the Cold War. It continues to be relevant to the reconfiguration of history being organized by Vladimir Putin. By centering the rumors, accusations, and propaganda that the pact precipitated, Salomoni illuminates how political actors can use and abuse history, how they create and disseminate truths and falsehoods, and how they can blur the boundary between truths and falsehoods even in the glaring face of black-and-white documentation.
From the moment of the secret protocol's inception - and the near-instantaneous rumors of its existence - it generated friction and competing narratives. The document became public during the Nuremberg trials, but the USSR declared it a fabrication evidencing the West's willingness to falsify history during the Cold War. It continues to be relevant to the reconfiguration of history being organized by Vladimir Putin. By centering the rumors, accusations, and propaganda that the pact precipitated, Salomoni illuminates how political actors can use and abuse history, how they create and disseminate truths and falsehoods, and how they can blur the boundary between truths and falsehoods even in the glaring face of black-and-white documentation.
Reviews / Votes
"Salomoni recounts how the text of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 so imperiled the myth of Soviet righteousness in World War II that Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev, and Yeltsin sought to keep it buried. She reminds us that historical truth matters its suppression can warp the present and the future." - Jeffrey Brooks, author of The Firebird and the Fox: Russian Culture Under Tsars and BolsheviksMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Wisconsin
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
448 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-299-35490-9 (9780299354909)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Antonella Salomoni is a professor of contemporary history in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Calabria, where she teaches the history of human rights and social services, as well as cultures of peace. She also teaches the history of the Shoah and genocides in the Department of History, Cultures, and Civilization at the University of Bologna.
Content
Chapter 1: The Pact
Chapter 2: State Secrecy
Chapter 3: The Paradigm of 'Falsification'
Chapter 4: Democracy, Transparency, Truth
Chapter 5: Unraveling
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Chapter 2: State Secrecy
Chapter 3: The Paradigm of 'Falsification'
Chapter 4: Democracy, Transparency, Truth
Chapter 5: Unraveling
Conclusion
Notes
Index