they did not have to prove a stumbling block with Germany either. […] There existed for Russia no reason why she should not live with Germany on a normal footing. And from normal, relations might become better and better.’ 172 And relations did, indeed, become better and better in the following months. The pro-Western Foreign Minister, Litvinov, was sacked by Stalin, a move that was positively received in Berlin and which strengthened the two countries’ increasing collaboration. 173 In the following months improvements in Russo-German relations continued apace, with initial negotiations held over economic and political factors, but moving quickly on to broader strategic concerns by June. 174 Finally on 24 August 1939, after months of negotiations on a wide range of issues, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop concluded a non- aggression pact with the Soviet Union, which included secret provisions for the division of Eastern Europe into separate spheres of influence. 175 Days before the conclusion of the pact Hitler had boasted to his generals that Ribbentrop would soon wrap up negotiations, and that Poland was now in the position that he wanted her, stating that Germany ‘… need not be afraid of a blockade. The East will supply us with grain, cattle, coal, lead and zinc. It [war with Poland] is a mighty aim, which demands great efforts. I am only afraid that at the last moment some swine or other will yet submit to me a plan for mediation.’ 176
172 Rossi, p. 15. 173 Rossi, p. 15. 174 Tooze, p. 320. 175 Ibid. 176 Speech by the Führer to the Commanders in Chief on August 22, 1939, German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) ,
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