BDV wrote: ↑20 Jan 2020 15:23
gebhk wrote: And in any event, whether the Germans would have occupied the whole of Poland without Soviet acquiescence is unknowable.
Using LJADW's go-to argument to argue against him.
Stalin had 3 choices
a Declare war on Germany and help Poland : something for which he had no obligation ,and which was impossible,as Poland refused a possible advance of the Red Army to the border with Germany ,
b Declare war on Poland and help Germany, which he did not
c Remain neutral ,but prevent Germany from taking the whole of Poland ,something which was logical,as it war very dangerous for the SU if Hitler could occupy eastern Poland with its numerous Ukrainians : there were a lot of UKrainian emigrés living in Germany .
And of course, Germany would have occupied the whole of Poland,if Stalin did nothing .Hitler would not let subsist a Polish state .
It was a total illusion, spread by the usual ignorant Western journalists to assume that Stalin would fight to save a country that was his arch enemy .
If the West would fight against Germany, they would not need the SU to win. If they were not willing to fight for Poland, why should Stalin fight for Poland and the statu quo in Eastern Europe ? Russia had lost a lot of territories at the end of WWI .You can't expect that its successor (the SU ) would fight to preserve this situation .
And, for Stalin ,the war between Poland, France and Britain (who had invaded the SU after WWI ) and Hitler,was a capitalist civil war ,and the longer he lasted, the better for him .
What Stalin did see was that USA did not help Poland, thus, why should he help Poland ?