1940 Negotiations between Molotov and Hitler

75 years ago, on November 13, 1940, Vyacheslav Molotov, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, met with Adolf Hitler for the last time in Berlin. As Gustav Hilger, who participated in the negotiations as an interpreter, recalled, “Hitler, welcoming Molotov at the first meeting, was stunningly kind. It was clearly important for him to win over Molotov both in business and in human terms. the talks was revealed so clearly that it was hardly possible to talk about the possibility of agreements.

In response to the proposal to the Soviet Union to join the Tripartite Pact, Molotov, following Stalin's instructions, demanded as conditions for such accession the withdrawal of German troops from Finland, the granting of Moscow control over the Black Sea straits and the transfer of Romania and Bulgaria into the Soviet sphere of influence. Hitler considered that such concessions were unacceptable, and after the completion of Molotov's visit, he ordered to prepare an attack on the USSR in May 1941.