VIDEO: 81 years ago, German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk

Eighty-one years ago, on 22 September 1939, a joint military parade of German and Soviet armies was held in the occupied city of Brest-Litovsk, following the occupation and dismemberment of Poland. This was a direct outcome of the Hitler-Stalin pact, which contained a secret protocol that foresaw the division of Poland.

On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Hitler-Stalin Pact, which accompanied a secret protocol by which they divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. The pact enabled those two powers to attack and partition Poland between them.

Under the pact, Nazi Germany occupied half of Poland on 1 September 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II. On 17 September, Poland was invaded by Hitler's ally, the Soviet Union, according to the influence zones determined in the pact.

After the invasion, a joint German-Soviet military parade took place in the occupied Polish city of Brest-Litovsk on 22 September to celebrate the conquest.

As a further consequence of the Pact, the Soviet Union illegally occupied parts of eastern Finland and Romania and the three Baltic states in 1940.