Why did Hitler think that England and France would not aid Poland?

Discussion in 'History' started by Swaynisha, Apr 7, 2005.

  1. Swaynisha Registered Member

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    I have stumbled across this while reading, why did Hilter believe England and France would not help Poland? I am confused. Did they infact aid Poland?
     
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  3. Hapsburg Hellenistic polytheist Valued Senior Member

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    Because poland was ruled by a military dictatorship and czecholovakia was democratic. they didnt stop hitler from taking the democratic nation, why would they stop him from taking a corrupt military dictatorship.

    and yes, but declaring war on germany, they did aid poland. by fufilling their alliance agreement.
     
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  5. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    Well, for one thing, and a pretty important one for Hitler, was that he didn't think that England and France were strong enough to do anything about it. And he was right! ...for the short term, of course.

    But ultimately, of course, they declared war on Germany and whopped his butt.

    One of the most difficult things in history is "why?" ...and unless there's specific written documentation, there's usually many, many different answers and those answers will be argued about until hell freezes over.

    Baron Max
     
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  7. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    They were not ready. Germany was too strong for France. They needed the Soviet Union's help but Germany bought off the Soviets with the partition.

    Since all governments are organized crime syndicates first and patriotic racist zenophobic religious cults sencond, why should they help Poland except to help themselves?
     
  8. certified psycho Beware of the Shockie Monkey Registered Senior Member

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    I think it could be becuase England and France wanted Hitler to invade Poland becuase of the appesement.
     
  9. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    Do you have any substantiating evidence or facts or is that just what you "think"???

    I think Mars is made of red cheese, but that don't make it true or believable.

    Baron Max
     
  10. certified psycho Beware of the Shockie Monkey Registered Senior Member

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    Fine I was wrong. jeez
     
  11. candy Valued Senior Member

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    Hitler made his plans for Poland well.
    First he reached an agreement with Stalin for the partion of Poland then he used his blitzkrieg strategy to occupy his part before the English and French could mobilize.
    All the French and English could was remain behind the Maginot defenses.
     
  12. invert_nexus Ze do caixao Valued Senior Member

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    Hitler gambled with Poland. It's true that France and England could do little to defend Poland directly, that was dependant upon the Soviet Union and with the nonagression pact, that screwed the careful balance of europe all to hell. But, the truth is that to attack Poland as he did, Hitler had to assign practically his entire army to the task. This means there was nothing more than a token force guarding the western borders. If France had any balls they could have marched straight through to Berlin with practically no resistance. Hitler would have been finished.

    Hitler gambled. As he had gambled before with the Rhineland, and with Austria, and with Czechoslovakia. He put his money on the nonwillingness of the west to enter into a state of war. He thought they'd bend over backwards to avoid war. They'd done so before. They gave him Czechoslovakia hands down. He thought Poland would be no different.

    He was wrong. Although he was almost right. Chamberlain was trying to come to some accord with Hitler right up until the end. By come to accord I mean find a way to hand Poland over to Hitler with few strings attached. There was even some small sentiment in England that would have supported him although it was becoming more and more clear to everyone that appeasement was not going to work and that war was inevitable.

    It was France who stood by her treaty with Poland. And forced England to stand by her treaty with France. If they'd only had some courage they could have finished it then, but such was not to be. Hitler's early successes in WWII hang on such a thin thread that I find myself in awe of his gambler's spirit. But, one needs only to look to the end of the war to learn the truth about gamblers. The house always wins. The only way for a gambler to win is to know when to quit. Hitler kept pushing his luck. Finally to his defeat.


    So. To answer the the original question, Hitler thought that England and France wouldn't come to Poland's aid because of his knowledge of their states of mind. The world was weary of war. WWI was the war to end all wars. He used this war weariness as his credit at the tables, but used it once too often.


    Another thing to realize about Hitler and his strategy is that the old way of fighting war was something time-honored. A sort of old boys club. Field Marshals who all knew each other and played by the same rules. Hitler was an upstart. Hindenberg referred to him as 'that Austrian corporal'. He didn't play by the rules. And, in fact, was not in any position to start a war at the beginning of his reign in Germany. He started small. The Generals would give him just enough rope to hang himself and he would win. Each unorthodox victory that he brought by his reckless gambling lessened the powers of the generals and made his power greater. By the time of Poland he had the army firmly in grasp. And all of this was made possible by the weakness of the League of Nations. By the war weariness of the west.
     
  13. River Ape Valued Senior Member

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    Hey, folks, you are missing something! England and France did NOT aid Poland!

    What they did was to respond to the German invasion of Poland by declaring war on Germany -- but there was little they could do (in the short term) to assist Poland.

    The declaration of war was followed by the "phony war". A state of WAR existed, but there were only isolated incidents of WARFARE. Such as it was, it was chiefly fought between the British and German navies. The first major incident was on 14 October 1939: the sinking of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow by U47. In December, the Graf Spee was scuttled by its German captain after the Battle of the River Plate. Meantime, German Uboats were taking a toll on British merchant shipping.

    In April 1940, Britain and France made a bungled effort to prevent German occupation of Norway. The outcome was clear by the end of the month, although the evacuation of their forces would not be complete until early June. On the grand scale of things, this was a sideshow.

    Britain and France had DECLARED WAR on Germany. But it was Germany that elected to MAKE WAR when it launched its blitzkreig attack on France through the Ardennes on 10 May 1940. That attack brought a swift victory.

    Few nowadays contest that Hitler now wanted to make peace with Britain. We are still learning about the (largely secret) battle that was fought between the Peace Party and the War Party in Britain. A victorious Churchill plunged his country into war. But it had little to do with Poland.

    (I liked your comments, invert_nexus. I'd go along with a lot of them.)
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2005

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