michael mills wrote:
The result was the German-Polish Declaration on Non-Aggression of 28 January 1934, and subsequent tentative moves toward an alliance based on common hostility toward the Soviet Union.
Michael Mills doesn't know that Poland had Non-Aggression treaty with Soviet Union as well. Polish position was equal balance with both Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. In hindsight of course we know it would be better to ally with Soviets since they didn't envision extermination of Polish citizens in gas chambers and by other means.
Every reputable history of German-Polish relations in the inter-war period affirms that when Hitler came to power in 1933, he reversed the policy of his predecessors,
This is incorrect. Like all his predecessors he was hostile to Poland and wanted to annex Polish territories. Several mainstream historians confirm that in private Hitler never abandoned the idea. There are known speeches and statements regarding this. Not to mention Mein Kampf itself in which he praises conquering of non-German territories in Poland.
Hitler in fact favoured a strong Poland that would form a bulwark against Soviet expansion, and eventually become Germany's ally in a crusade to overthrow Bolshevism.
Hitler had 5 years of absolute control over Poland. Not once did he try to create any Polish state to aid him. For Hitler was more interested in German interests than in anti-communism, and more in racist genocide than in fighting communists-otherwise Jewish infants wouldn't be mass murdered, would they?
There is no reason to doubt that Hitler was entirely genuine in his opposition to Bolshevism, and in his desire to form alliances with states that were equally opposed to the Soviet Union, such as Poland, Hungary and Romania.
If that would be true, he wouldn't invade Poland nor would he mass murder Jews and Poles. He had several years to enlist Jewish and Polish populations in struggle against Soviets. Instead Polish children were murdered in racist medical experiments and Jews in gas chambers. Obviously he didn't really care about fighting communists, but exterminating those considered "untermenschen"
michael mills wrote:A paranoid concept.
Incorrect, if we look at history of WW2 Polish fears are completely justified as they were subjected to ruthless genocide.
The main danger to Poland was the Soviet Union, which had actually invaded the country with the aim of imposing a Communist Government on it that would be totally subservient to Moscow. [/quote]
A communist government is preferable to biological extermination. As history shows Soviet Union allowed Polish state and institutions exists-even when under control. Something that Nazi Germany didn't.
To that end, it offered to abandon all claims to former German territory, except for Danzig
Incorrect. German government had numerous claims towards Poland itself and it did not abandon them.
What you are ignoring here is that Hitler's attitude toward Poland was entirely determined by Poland's attitude toward Germany.
So Hitler according to you was so mentally unstable that based on what he considered personal affronts decided to exterminate whole nations? And the same mentally challenged person would be a trustworthy ally in a situation which Germany would have even more power over Poland than in 1939.Right.
I
Hitler was even supportive of Polish eastward expansion, proposing the division of Ukraine between Poland and Germany, with Poland taking the territory west of the Dnepr.
We all know how good Hitler was at keeping his promises. In any case you forgot the part when he wanted to annex most developed Polish territories and offering barren swamps in return. Which btw weren't even German to start with(hmm offering territories of others, nice)
On the other hand, if Poland turned against Germany and joined its enemies in an encirclement
Poland wasn't an enemy of Germany-it was Germany which invaded Poland.
Furthermore, Hitler took the Polish rejection of his overtures of friendship as a personal affront, and turned his previously positive attitude toward the Polish people into a negative one.After a meeting with Hitler in August 1939, the High Commissioner for Danzig, Carl Burckhardt, commented on Hitler's "feminine" personality; well, Hell hath no fury like a Hitler scorned.
Ah yes, the mentally challenged German leader who according to you would be perfectly loyal ally, never changing his attitude.
Sorry, your theory has more holes than swiss cheese.
Again as is clearly shown by the documentation, it was Stalin who, in the negotiations leading to the Soviet-German Borders and Friendship Treaty of 28 September 1939, vetoed the continued existence of any form of Polish political entity, on the grounds that any such entity would inevitably become a source of contention between German and the Soviet Union. Stalin demanded a common German-Soviet border, with no Polish buffer state separating them.
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And as history clearly shows, it was Hitler not Stalin who decided to exterminate Polish people considering them racially inferior, and it was Stalin who restored Polish state.