Nazi foreign relations with the Soviet Union can be characterized at the beginning of World War II as being relatively friendly. Even though Nazi Germany hated Communism and thus the Soviet Union and vice versa, both countries were able to form a tenuous non-aggression pact. On August 23, 1939, the Nazi and Communist regimes signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact that publicly stated that the two countries would not go to war. However, behind closed doors, the two countries had agreed to a secret plan, one that was not publicly stated. In this hidden agenda, the Nazi’s and the Soviet Union carved Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, and Bessarabia into spheres of influence. For the Soviet Union, it would receive the eastern portion of Poland and the countries Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Bessarabia. For the Nazis, it would obtain the Western portion of Poland and the country of Lithuania.