Ținutul Herța
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 starting World War II, Stalin waited until September 17 before launching his own invasion of Poland. Part of the Karelia and Salla regions of Finland were annexed by the Soviet Union after the Winter War. This was followed by Soviet annexations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Romania (Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and the Hertza region). It was known at the Nuremberg trials the existence of the secret protocol of the German–Soviet pact regarding the planned divisions of these territories. The invasion of Bukovina violated the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, as it went beyond the Soviet sphere of influence agreed with Germany.