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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
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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)
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt
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Many of her enemies have built friendships with Germany out of the ruins of her past. But remarkable as this is for most of her neighbours, in Poland's case this is truely a testament to their strength and kindness in equal measure.
Thank you, Poland, for standing with us – despite everything.
And thank you Real Time History, for reminding us why.
Imagine your country being conquered in 2 weeks by people you thought were militarily inferior..
Good plan poor execution
World War II was both brutal and fierce.
I don't see a reason why this history would not repeat itself. You mentiond in this video what the Germans and the Russians realy thought of us during the war and why they wanted to exterminates us in the first place. I have a strong impression as a Pole that it did not changed that much since…
I’m not bashing just making a slight correction.
Hitler and Stalin were on the same political spectrum.
Just different views on how it should be done!
Fascism (National SOCIALIST) and Communism are both far left evil ideologies!
👍
The cowardly traitors, the English and French, Poland's so-called "allies," failed to come to its military aid in 1939, even though they were
obligated to do so by the alliance agreement! This betrayal by England (UK) and France cost the Polish nation the lives of 6.5 million women
and children murdered by criminal German cattle, who were worse than the Huns and Mongols.
These criminal German cattle also robbed Poland of $1,500 billion, including several hundred tons of gold stolen from people gassed by
the Germans in German concentration camps.With this gold, among other things, the "hardworking" Germans built their so-called "economic
miracle" and prosperity after the war!
The cowardly traitors, the English and the French, had already agreed in secret talks in March 1939 that they would not provide military
support to Poland, because it would be better if Hitler (informed through secret channels) to attack Poland rather than France!
Cowardly and with a weak army (see the shameful British defeat at Dunkirk), England did everything possible to ensure that Hitler
would attack Russia over the corpse of defeated Poland. Therefore, it became Hitler's tacit ally and sought Poland's rapid collapse.
Hence the perfidious British threats to Poland on August 26, 1939, that they would break off the alliance if Poland's mobilization angered
Hitler! That's why Poland mobilized only 80% of its army! On the other hand, the cowardly French refused to die for Paris, and that's why,
in 1940, they surrendered and became Hitler's ally, handing over all their gigantic armaments to Germany, including the 40,000 guns
that Germany used against the United States on D-Day!
It was the cowardice and stupidity of England and France that left both countries debt-ridden vassals of the United States after the war!
And England (Great Britain) stopped being a superpower, becoming almost a third world country !
Polish bravery, determiation, sacrifice is known trouthout history, and now we see polish renesanse, after such bloody past
You are supposed to be presenting history, but it comes as a great surprise how the narrative is so biased that the whole documentary has lost its credibility. Try to be more objective in your perspective and wording of the text next time. Unless you are just aiming to accommodate more "likes", which will translate into earning more money, as is the habit of the internet "historians" these days.
September 1939 — when Poland became the spark that ignited World War II. Two powers divided a nation, and the world plunged into chaos.