The Polish Crisis and the outbreak of war Flashcards
What was the Nazi Soviet Pact in 1939?
Hitler wanted the restoration of Danzig to Germany and also the return of the Polish Corridor. Britain and France had realised by now that it was not possible to appease Hitler and made a commitment to defend Poland.
In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. This was a promise not to fight each other. Von Ribbentrop, the German Foreign minister, went to Moscow with full authority to negotiate an agreement. The agreement publicly stated that there would be non-aggression for ten years and made economic agreements.
There were however secret elements to the agreement. Both countries agree to help each other if was is a war against Poland. Crucially this gave Hitler the freedom to invade Poland without having to worry about the Soviet Union.
The Pact was an amazing U-turn. Hitler had always stressed that the Soviet Union was his main enemy, ruled by “Jewish Communists” and “subhuman Slavs”. It was the main focus of Lebensraum.
The Pact was a masterstroke for Hitler because:
it left Poland isolated
it destroyed attempts by the West to bring the Soviet Union into an alliance against Germany
Germany avoided being dragged into a war on two fronts
Germany gained vital raw materials from the Soviet Union that helped rearmament
Hitler never intended for the USSR to keep the territories that they were promised in the Pact. The Pact paved the way for Hitler to attack Poland as the USSR would now not stand in his way.
Why did Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939?
- Stalin had been very wary of German expansion and aggression through the 1930s. He had signed a treaty with France in 1935 but Stalin was not confident that he could trust the French
- The Munich Agreement increased Stalin’s concerns: he had not been consulted and France and Britain seemed powerless to stop Hitler.
- Stalin met with Britain and France in March 1939 but Chamberlain distrusted Stalin and Stalin saw the Polish Guarantee by Britain and - France as giving support to an enemy of USSR (Poland). Negotiations continued through Spring and Summer 1939.
- Stalin also met the German foreign minister Von Ribbentrop, discussing the Nazi Soviet Pact
- Finally on 23rd August 1939 Stalin decided to sign the pact with Germany.
- Advantages for Stalin of the Pact:
He would receive half of Poland (shared with Germany), so he regained territory that had previously been part of Russia
Even more importantly (as Stalin did not trust Hitler), it gave Stalin time to build up his armed forces to protect the USSR from a German attack.
What was the Polish Guarantee?
- The guarantee represented the end of appeasement
- Some called it ‘Blank cheque’ diplomacy ie, Britain, in theory, offering full protection to Poland
CONTEXT: Hitler breached the Munich Agreement by invading Prague + rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 (Munich = only Sudentanland had been given)
WHY Poland?: It was clear to Britain and France that Poland would be the next target due to Lebensraum + Nazi foreign policy aims, so Britain and France offer Poland protection
IMPACT: Hitler was angered by the guarantee but didn’t believe Britain and France would take action (this was true) - Nazi-Soviet Pact is later August 1939
Timeline of the Polish Guarantee
17th March 1939: false rumours of German ultimatum to Romania
20th March 1939: Chamberlain proposed a joint Brit/Fr/Pol/Russ declaration that they would consult with each other if threat to independence of any European nation BUT plan did not work: Poland would not work with Russia, Stalin would not commit
21st March 1939: Hitler demanded return of former German town of Memel from Lithuania and Lithuania gave in.
Poland was the next target:
Danzig a Free City (Germans controlled internal affairs but Poland -foreign)
the Polish Corridor split Germany and there were 800,000 Germans in Poland,
Germany had initially tried to draw Poland in as a satellite, asking for a German controlled railway across the corridor in Jan 39. Poles not willing to accept.
Poland was a right wing military dictatorship whose only friends were the Germans, until 1939 and they were very suspicious of the Russians
31st March 1939:
Britain issued a unilateral guarantee of Poland’s independence.
Now they had no leverage over the Poles- the only country that could actually help Germany was the USSR;
The guarantee angered Hitler but he did not believe Britain would fight and ordered the preparation of plans to invade
The invasion of Poland
The Nazi-Soviet Pact meant that Hitler was now free to invade
Poland without fear of Russia.
On the 1st September 1939, German troops invaded Poland.
Hitler gambled that, as with Czechoslovakia, Britain and
France would not go to war to defend Poland.
However, he was wrong – Britain and France demanded that Germany withdraw.
When Hitler refused, they declared war on Germany.
