DISINFO: The USSR began liberating Poland from the Nazis on 17 September 1939
SUMMARY
On 17 September 1939, the Red Army began its march of liberation through Poland. By reaching the Curzon Line, the Soviet troops prevented the Wehrmacht from entering Minsk.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative distorting the events of the Second World War.
Describing the Soviet incursion into Poland as “liberation” makes it seem that the USSR and the Third Reich had already been sworn enemies in September 1939.
The move to invade Poland was not aimed at thwarting Nazi Germany’s expansionist designs in Eastern Europe. On the contrary, it was coordinated with Berlin under the the provisions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Nazi-Soviet pact, which entitled the Third Reich and the USSR to clearly defined spheres of influence across Central and Eastern parts of Europe, defined in a series of secret protocols.
The pact was in effect from August 1939 to June 1941. During that time, Nazi and Soviet officials held regular joint conferences in occupied Poland, exchanging tips on how to deal with potential resistance posed by the Polish intelligentsia and military brass. By June 1941, the Soviet Union had managed to deport over 250,000 Poles to Siberia and Central Asia, murder 22,000 Polish Army officers, and imprison half a million citizens.
See here our account of the herostratic date 17 September 1939.