After being the target of Hitler's political machinations, and becoming Poland's friend while weakening the country's independence and ties with France, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany paved the way for territorial demands and, soon, war. Due largely to limited economic resources, Poland was unable to keep pace with the intense armament efforts of its neighbors. The Second Polish Republic (Pol: Druga Rzeczpospolita) was perhaps the sixth most powerful country in Europe in 1936, but was caught between two rising superpowers - Germany under the fanatical Nazis, and the Soviet Union, the epicenter of Communism.
