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Germany and the Soviet Union both regarded the Polish state as a creation of the post-WW1 system, and both had claims on Polish territory. In the summer of 1939, Adolf Hitler decided to invade Poland in a fait acompli against the Allies. In a secret agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union they agreed on dividing up the Polish state and Eastern Europe.
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» SOURCES
Böhler, Jochen: Der Überfall. Deutschlands Krieg gegen Polen. Eichborn Verlag, 2009.
Browning, Christopher R. The Origins Of The Final Solution. The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942. University of Nebraska Press; Yad Yashem, 2004.
Ferris, John; Mawdsley: The Cambridge History of The Second World War. (Vol. 1) Fighting the War. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Havers, Robin: The Second World War (2). Europe 1939 – 1943. Osprey Publishing, 2002.
Murray, Williamson: The German Response to Victory in Poland. A case study in professionalism. Armed Force & Society, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1981.
Piekalkiewicz, Janusz. Polenfeldzug. Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik. Bechtermünz Verlag, 1998.
Pöhlmann, Markus. “Der Panzer und die Mechanisierung des Krieges: Eine deutsche Geschichte 1890 bis 1945” Ferdinand Schöningh. 2016
Wettstein, Adrian E. „Die Wehrmacht im Stadtkampf 1939 – 1942“ Ferdinand Schöningh. 2014
Gross, Jan Tomasz. Revolution from abroad : the Soviet Conquest of Poland’s Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia (Princeton University Press, 2002)
Kochanski, Halik. The Eagle Unbowed : Poland and the Poles in the Second World War (Harvard University Press, 2012)
Moorhouse, Roger. The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941 (Basic Books, 2014)
Лебедева, Н.С., Гловацкий, Альбин. Польша между СССР и Германией. 1939-1941 // Белые пятна — черные пятна: Сложные вопросы в российско-польских отношениях: Научное издание (Москва: Аспект Пресс, 2017. С. 202-279)
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Hitler only mentions lebensraum once in Main Kampf.
so I don't understand why you're so well-read.
I always find a lack of mention of the Triple alliance negotiations of 1939 interesting when covering the topic. At the very least, it would provide context most aren't aware of. Especially disappointed given how high the quality of coverage on this channel usually is
russia partners with germany. then germany attacks russia, and the russians come running to the west. Please help us Allied Friends. then afterward imposes their communist rule on other nations. builds a wall to keep people from escaping. only to have it all come apart in 50 years.
Poland used to be the tiniest country, what you see today is just a result of few territory gifts from america.
Given the speed of the German advance and the clear military disparity, do historians still debate if Poland's 'all-round defense' strategy had any real chance, even with a prompt French offensive? It sounds like they were doomed either way.
In my history lesson at school, they never told us Germany invaded because ethnic Germans were being killed in the newly draw borders of Poland, and they wanted land that belonged to them just 20 years prior, back. Sounds reasonable. They told us that Great Britain and France declared war on Germany because Britain 'guaranteed' their sovereignty. However, this guarantee didn't extend to the USSR, which invaded from the East just two weeks later. One invader Britain declared war against, the other invaded were Britain's and America's Allies.
make it make sense…
The British owes Poland bigtime.
This is Poland, we won World War II, we were in Moscow, we stopped Islam, we can fight for 100 years, we are dangerous there. 40:1 no problem Only ashes behind us
Poland is great country
Poland is called the hyena of Europe. It got what it deserved. Germany and Poland attacked Czechoslovakia, but the Soviet Union offered to help Czechoslovakia by requesting permission to send troops through Poland, which Poland refused. England and France chose to remain silent, a decision they have not forgotten.