appearances, had no intention of a Soviet alliance and were secretly negotiating with Berlin. Falsifiers casts the Munich agreement, not just as Anglo–French short-sightedness or cowardice, but as a "secret" agreement that was "a highly important phase in their policy aimed at goading the Hitlerite aggressors against the Soviet Union." Falsifiers also included the claim that during the Pact's operation Stalin rejected Hitler's offer to divide the world, without mentioning the Soviet counteroffer to Germany's offer to the Soviets to join the Axis. The parties never reached agreement on Axis entry. Stalin's account in Falsifiers was repeated in Soviet historical texts until the Soviet Union's dissolution. Regarding Soviet–German relations after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Falsifiers main theme frames Soviet actions as a legitimate attempt to build up an "Eastern front" to defend against inevitable Nazi aggression. Falisifiers characterization of Western policy as anti-Communist, anti-Soviet, and pro-Nazi had been a prominent theme of Soviet propaganda before the Second World War, and such rhetoric more vigorously reemerged during the Cold War. Importance Soviet publications before the revelation of documents in Nazi–Soviet Relations had avoided discussing the Soviet–German pact. Accordingly, Falsifiers is novel because it is a first frank Soviet discussion of the German–Soviet pact in a publication. In addition, because Falsifiers was personally and extensively edited by Stalin, at the very least, it provides unique insight into the view of events that he was keen to publicize. The book provides insight into Stalin's thinking and calculations in the autumn of 1940. In analyzing the text of Falsifiers surrounding Soviet–German talks regarding the potential entry as the Soviet Union as an Axis Power, historian Geoffrey Roberts argues that there is no reason that Stalin would not have signed a four-power pact if Germany accepted his November offer. Contents Chapters and sections The arrangement of chapters and section titles is as follows: Introduction Documents Captured in Germany A Distorted Picture of Events Chapter 1: How Preparation for German Aggression Was Commenced Dawes Reparation Plan A Share In The Profits The Golden Rain Of American Dollars Factors Which Helped To Unleash Hitler Aggression A Soviet Union Alone Pursued A Policy of Peace The Soviet Principle of Collective Security Western Powers Rejection Of Collective Security Pact Chapter 2: Not a Struggle Against German Aggression, But A Policy Of Isolating the U.S.S.R. Hitler-Halifax Conversation Hitler's Annexationist Actions Were Encouraged The Soviet Union's Warning The Munich Deal The True