Chapter VII. The Nazi Reich unleashes World War II

3 answers

In the 30s, world Jewry pushed Poland to war with Germany

Forcing Germany into War

Technically, it was Hitler. Because he attacked Poland, which caused a chain reaction. This, in principle, can be limited if the details do not interest you. And if you are interested, then it should be noted that more or less all the leading European states are to blame for the beginning of World War II. Great Britain, France and the USSR allowed Germany to swell and gain strength, flirted with Hitler and pretended to want to be friends. We became friends. The short-sighted and stupid policy of British, French and Soviet diplomats led to the Second World War.

War, it's almost like sex, in the sense that it also needs at least two. And in most cases, these two are responsible for the war. If only because they did not find a way to avoid it.

First, the USSR, together with Germany, captured Poland. Second, Hitler was forced to start a war on international Jewry.

In the 1930s, world Jewry played out a scenario in Poland, the same as in today's Ukraine. The result was Poland's attack on Germany and World War II... It's time for us to learn from those mistakes and not repeat the old ones...

Forcing Germany into War

How a local conflict was inflated into a World War

1930: Paul Edward Ridz-Smigly, who imagined himself Napoleon, declared that Poland should show her fangs to her arch-enemy. He became the new Marshal of Poland in 1936. The Polish newspaper "Liga der Grossmacht" implored its readers (3): "War against Germany to move the border to the rivers Oder and Nysa. Prussia should be captured up to the river Spree. In a war with Germany, we will not take prisoners. And there will be no place for human feelings and cultural restrictions. The world will shudder from the Polish-German war. We must instill in our soldiers the spirit of superhuman sacrifice, ruthless revenge and cruelty.”

March 24, 1932: Bernard Lecache, President of the Jewish World Federation: “Germany is our number one enemy in the world. Our goal is to organize a war against her without any regret.

March 24, 1933: The front page of the Daily Express printed a call for a boycott of German goods, which drastically undermined the standard of living in Germany, a commodity-exporting country. "14 million Jews stand together as one man declaring war on Germany."

Spring 1933: A member of the district council (voivode) of Eastern Oberschleisen, Gratsinsky, declared in a propaganda speech at the Polish Foreign Ministry: "Destroy the Germans."

January 25, 1934: Vladimir Zhabotinsky, leader of the Marxists and Zionists writes: "We will unleash a mental and material war of the whole world against Germany."

February 1936: German diplomat Wilhelm Gustlow is assassinated in Switzerland by the Jew David Frankfuter.

1936: After the death of Marshal Piłsudski, Edvard Ridz-Smigli becomes the new Marshal of Poland.

1938: Churchill's open letter to Hitler(1): "If England were to find herself in a national calamity similar to that of Germany in 1918, I would beseech God to send me a man of your spirit and strength."

1938: 2/3 of the German estates were rudely expropriated in Poland, forcing hundreds of thousands of Germans to leave Poland.

1938: 8,000 Germans were killed in the most brutal way, including Catholic and Protestant priests and pastors, women and children. This was followed by harassment, terror and government persecution.

October 24, 1938: Germany submitted proposals to the Polish embassy in Berlin to settle tensions in Poland. The plan proposed to free the purely German state "Freistaat Danzig" from the Polish customs control imposed on April 1, 1922. It was also proposed to hold a referendum in East Prussia. The German-Polish non-aggression pact ("Nichtangriffspakt") with Marshal Pilsudski of 1934 was extended for 25 years. After the death of Marshal Piłsudski, Secretary of State Beck rejected the German proposals. Warsaw rejected Germany's proposals 4 times.

Poland, newly created under the Diktat of Versailles, occupied the German provinces of Westpreussen, Posen and Ost-Oberschlesien ("Polish" Corridor), which had been German for more than 800 years. Moreover, Poland intended to occupy German territories in the direction of Berlin.

November 7, 1938: Assassination attempt on German diplomat Ernst von Rath by a Polish Jew, Grynszpan, who was allowed to flee Europe and never stand trial.

November 9/10, 1938: Kristallnacht shakes Germany. Jewish businesses, homes and about 12% of the 1,420 synagogues were affected. 36 people died. Thousands were arrested. Hitler was beside himself, declaring: "My work is thrown back for 5 years, if not destroyed at all." This proves that the incident did not happen "by command from above." (2)

November 10, 1938: Adolf Hitler immediately orders the protection of Jews and their property.

December 19, 1938: Bernard Lecache, President of the Jewish World Federation: "Our task is to organize a moral and cultural blockade of Germany, dividing her nation into 4 parts."

March 21, 1939: Hitler formally declares Germany's right to retake the Free City of Danzig and open rail and road links across the Corridor to Danzig under guarantees from Poland.

March 23, 1939: Poland provocatively rejected German demands after the announcement of partial mobilization on March 23rd.

March 31, 1939: The Anglo-French "Declaration of Guarantee" is practically given to Poland to destroy Germany's work for a peaceful and just settlement of the crisis. The Poles declared that they would expand their borders to the Elbe River and that Berlin was not a German city, but an old Polish village. Multiple Polish posters proclaimed: "To Berlin!".

April 25, 1939: The American journalist Weigand was summoned to the American embassy in Paris, and Ambassador Bullitt told him, "War in Europe is a done deal... America will go to war after France and Great Britain." (4) This is confirmed by Harry Hopkins White House documents, including the following statement by Churchill of the time: “The war will begin very soon. We will go to war and the US should do the same. You, Baruch, will do what needs to be done, but I will oversee all this. (4)

April 26, 1939: British Ambassador Henderson told his Secretary of State, “Passing through the Corridor is an absolutely fair decision. If we were in Hitler's place, we would demand him, at least.

April 28, 1939: The German government reacts by withdrawing the German-Polish Agreement of 1934 and the German-British Naval Agreement of 1935. Germany takes a wait-and-see attitude.

May 1, 1939: Mrs. Mrozowicka calls out to the Polish people: "The Fuehrer is far away, but the Polish soldier is close and the trees in the forest are full of boughs." Lists were drawn up and thousands of innocent Germans were arrested on false charges. Such a great Power as Germany should not be involved in such a disgusting game for so long. Instead, Germany continues its efforts to find a peaceful solution.

May 3, 1939: (5) During the great parade of Polish troops held during the Polish National Day, the excited people shouted to the troops: "To Gdansk!" and "Forward to Berlin!".

Summer 1939: Marshal Ridz-Smigly: "Poland wants war with Germany, and Germany cannot avoid it even if it wants to."

After that, Hitler first presented to the press the facts of the persecution of the Germans in Poland. Hitler's invitation to negotiations in Berlin was not accepted, but at the same time negotiations were underway between the Western powers and the USSR. Stalin proposed a military agreement for the complete encirclement and isolation of Germany. In case of war, he demanded free passage through Poland and full freedom of action in the Balkans and against Turkey.

In response, Hitler urged England to keep the peace and emphasized Germany's right to Danzig and the Corridor. He predicted the collapse of the British Empire, in the event of its entry into the war.

Lord Vansitarg, a bitter enemy of peaceful relations with Germany and a diplomatic adviser to the State Department in London, said that the mere mention of the possibility of a German-British pact would have a devastating effect on Britain in the US.

August 20, 1939: Graszynski openly calls for murder: "Kill the Germans wherever you find them."

August 23, 1939: Germany concludes the Molotov-Ribbentropp pact with the USSR, breaking the Anglo-French agreements to smithereens.

August 25, 1939: Hitler tells British Ambassador Neville Henderson: “The suggestion that Germany wants to conquer the whole world is ridiculous. The British Empire has 40 million square kilometers, the USSR 19 million, and Germany 600,000 square kilometers. Even from this it is clear who has intentions for conquest ... "

August 25, 1939: Signing of the Anglo-Polish Treaty of Mutual Assistance, which increased the war euphoria in Poland. Crimes against the Germans in Poland are multiplying. A resident of Shlezin recalls: “Due to the repressive measures of Poland, about 80,000 Germans left it in 1938/39. Beginning in May 1939, Germans living in Poland close to the border with Germany were in particular danger. Citizens and farmers are attacked, houses are burned, women and children are beaten…”

August 27, 1939: An excerpt from Hitler's address to French Prime Minister Deladier: “I, Mr. Deladier, fight with my people against the injustice committed against us, and the rest fight for this injustice. You and I have lived through war and are familiar with its devastating brutality. We are aware of the indescribable troubles that befall the masses. We must do everything in our power to prevent a new war ... "

August 27, 1939: Chaim Weizmann (participant in the Balfour Declaration), chairman of the Jewish "Palestinian Agency", told Chamberlain that the Jews were on the side of Britain and were ready to fight on the side of democracy.

August 30, 1939: Once again, Adolf Hitler issues a 16-point document to avoid war and resolve the German-Polish conflict. Poland refused to send an ambassador to receive the document. On the contrary, on the same day Poland announces a general mobilization, which, according to the Geneva Protocols, is tantamount to a declaration of war.

August 30, 1939: German consul August Schillinger is assassinated in Krakow. And still Germany does not respond with war.

August 31, 1939: Dahlerus: (6) “When on August 31 at 11:00, accompanied by the British diplomatic adviser Forbes, I visited the Polish ambassador in Berlin - Lipski, to present 16 points of Hitler, he (Lipski) made a similar statement to what is done in case of war: that Germany is in revolt and that numerous Polish troops will successfully reach Berlin ... "

September 1, 1939: Hitler delivers an impromptu speech to the Reichstag at the Krolloper emphasizing that Germany has no interests in the West. He then states: “Last night there were 21 violations of the border, this night there are already 14, and 3 of them were very serious. For the first time the Polish army invaded Germany. At 4:45 in the morning we returned fire...”.

September 1, 1939: 75 German divisions of 1.1 million men face the Polish army of 1.7 million. In short-term, heavy battles, the Polish army was defeated within 18 days. The German army, which crossed the border of Poland, found fresh graves of the Germans, and on the roads - their torn, bloody clothes and utensils. Inhuman were the bloody scenes in Bromberg and other places where the corpses of the Germans were dismembered, raped, tortured and killed in inhuman ways. German troops entering Pomerania, Schlesin and Slovakia witnessed similar horrors.

September 3, 1939: First Britain declared war on Germany, and then France. The Reich Chancellor was horrified. Lord Helifax expressed his satisfaction: (7) "Now we have forced Hitler into war so that he can no longer take a single step away from the Treaty of Versailles by peaceful means." Following this, Churchill announced on the radio: (8) "This war is the war of England and its goal is the destruction of Germany."

September 17, 1939: Soviet troops occupied 3/5 of the Polish territory, but neither London nor Paris declared war on the Soviets, nor sent troops to defend Poland.

December 27, 1945: US Secretary of Defense Forrestal wrote in his diary the words from a conversation with Joe Kennedy: "...neither France nor Britain had any reason to consider Poland the cause of the war, if not for the constant pressure from Washington ... Chamberlain explained to me that America and world Jewry pushed England into the war ... "

On June 1, 1939, the French ambassador in the Nazi capital, Coulondre, told Foreign Minister Bonnet that Hitler “would risk starting a war if he did not have to fight Russia. If he knows that he will have to fight with Russia, he will retreat so as not to expose the country, the party and himself to death.” Kulondre added that two of Hitler's top military leaders, OKW Chief of Staff Keitel and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Brauchitsch, told the Fuhrer that if Germany had to fight Russia, she would have little chance of winning the war. Initially, the success of the military campaign against Poland planned in the "Weiss" plan was directly linked by the German leader with whether it would be possible to achieve the political isolation of Poland: ""The goal of our policy is to localize the war within Poland.""

In Russian history, a myth is now popular that the USSR was very afraid of a war with Germany and therefore concluded a pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop) in order to better prepare for this war. But this is a blatant lie. Now we can cite data on the Red Army: after the 1939 mobilization of the year. In September 1939, the payroll of the Red Army increased to 5.3 million people; it was armed with 43,000 guns, 18,000 tanks, and 10,000 aircraft. Data for the German Army as of September 1939, after mobilization: the entire army numbered 4,528 thousand people (of which 3.7 million were in the ground forces), there were 3195 tanks, including tankettes without guns and training vehicles (of which: 1145 - T-I, 1223 - T-II, 98 - T-III, 211 - TIV), were also armed with 4,500 aircraft, 27,000 artillery pieces and mortars. I won’t compare tanks and artillery now, but I speak with confidence in the USSR they are better, for example, one fact, the German T-I tank had no gun at all, the T-II tank had such a weak gun that it could not hit the Soviet at all armored vehicles, and only 300 T-III and T-IV tanks (about 10% of the total) were relatively combat-ready. So, at the time of the signing of the pact and the attack on Poland, the USSR had a superiority in people over Germany, in tanks more than four times, in artillery by 63%, in aircraft more than two times. In addition, Poland was between Germany and the USSR with an army of almost a million, and therefore, as of August 1939, the German invasion of the USSR did not threaten.

On August 23, Hitler's plan to partially isolate Poland was a success, the USSR and the Nazis signed a non-aggression pact, along with the non-aggression pact, a secret protocol was also signed according to which, when reorganizing the regions that make up the Polish state, the border of the spheres of interest of Germany and the USSR will approximately run along lines of the rivers Pissa, Nareva, Vistula and San. This marked the beginning of the aggressive war against Poland and the Second World War as a legal fact. But the signing of the non-aggression pact was also important because it removed the threat of war for Germany on two fronts. According to Article 3 of the Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the USSR undertook not to take part in any agreements that, from an aggressive point of view, are clearly hostile to the other side. Undoubtedly, the secret agreements concluded by the USSR and Germany regarding Poland in August-October 1939 were of a nature that clearly contradicted this article.

According to V.M. Molotov, uttered by him during negotiations in Berlin on November 12, 1940, the agreements of August 1939 were primarily "" in the interests of Germany "", which was able to "" get Poland "", and later seize France and start a serious war against Great Britain, having a "strong rear in the East". Later, in 1946, recalling this event at the Nuremberg Trials, Ribbentrop said: “When I arrived in Moscow in 1939 to Marshal Stalin, he discussed with me not the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the German-Polish conflict within the framework of the Briand-Kellogg pact, but made it clear that if he does not get half of Poland and the Baltic countries without Lithuania with the port of Libava, then I can immediately fly back.

Many accuse Britain and France also of supporting Hitler's aggressive plans in 1938, referring to the Munich Agreement of 1938 regarding Czechoslovakia's peaceful transfer of the Sudetenland to Germany. But there are cardinal differences here, firstly, England and France did not commit actions that could be interpreted as military aggression, secondly, they did not participate in hostilities on the side of the Nazis, and thirdly, they did not participate in the dismemberment of another state , with the addition of a part of it. They tried to make concessions to Germany in terms of joining it with ethnically German territories unfairly taken from the German nation, and preventing another world war in Europe. It was England and France that declared war on Germany after the German attack on Poland, but already on September 17 the USSR officially entered the war on the side of Germany, and on September 28 it began to publicly threaten its entry into the war against England and France if they did not stop all operations against the German army in the West. Now the passive war of the allies against Germany in the fall of 1939 is called strange, although if you look, everything is understandable, because they hoped that the military alliance between Germany and the USSR would quickly fall apart, which, in principle, happened.

Starting a war against Poland, Hitler wanted to return only the original German lands occupied by the Poles, according to the Treaty of Versailles. On the remaining territory, he allowed the existence of Poland as an independent state, even taking into account the transfer of Western Ukraine and Belarus to Russia. It would be a buffer between Germany and the USSR. But Stalin insisted on the complete liquidation of Poland. It was thanks to this decision of Stalin that Germany and the USSR received a common border. So, concluding a pact with Germany and a secret protocol on the division of Poland and the Baltic states, Stalin acted not for defense purposes, but solely to seize new territories and unleash a war in Europe and its subsequent Sovietization.

On September 1, the Minsk radio station began to be used as a radio beacon to support Luftwaffe raids. This was a direct violation of the 5th Hague Convention on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in the Event of a Land War of 1907, ratified by Russia. That is, already on the 1st day of the war, the USSR was not neutral, but supported the Nazis in the war against Poland.

September 3rd. Ribbentrop sends telegram No. 253 to the German Ambassador in Moscow:“Please discuss this with Molotov immediately and see if the Soviet Union considers it desirable that the Russian army should move at the right moment against the Polish forces in the Russian sphere of influence and, for its part, occupy this territory. In our opinion, this not only helped would be for us, but also, in accordance with the Moscow agreements, it would be in the Soviet interests.

4 September. All German ships in the North Atlantic were ordered "to proceed to Murmansk, adhering to the most northerly course possible." On September 8, Moscow gave permission for German ships to enter Murmansk and guaranteed the transportation of goods to Leningrad. In total, in the first 17 days of September, 18 German ships took refuge in a Soviet port.

8 September. Telegram from the German ambassador in Moscow, no. Please convey my congratulations and greetings to the government of the German Empire." Moscow gave permission for German ships to enter Murmansk and guaranteed the transportation of goods to Leningrad. In total, in the first 17 days of September, 18 German ships took refuge in a Soviet port.

11 September. Hysterical anti-Polish propaganda was unleashed in the Soviet media.

September 14th. Telegram from the German ambassador in Moscow No. 350, sent to the German Foreign Ministry: “In response to your telegram No. 336 dated September 13, Molotov called me today at 4 pm and stated that the Red Army had reached a state of readiness sooner than expected. Given the political motivation of the Soviet action (the fall of Poland and the defense of the Russian "minorities"), it would be extremely important [for the Soviets] not to start acting before the administrative center of Poland, Warsaw, fell. Molotov therefore asks that he be informed as precisely as possible when he can count on the capture of Warsaw.

September 17th. The Soviet grouping of about 600,000 people, about 4,000 tanks, more than 5,500 artillery pieces and 2,000 aircraft hit the rear of the Polish army fighting the Nazis, which was a direct violation of the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Poland (later Stalin would call it a treacherous violation of non-aggression pacts, actions Germany in June 1941). There were more than 300,000 Polish troops in the offensive zone of the Soviet troops.

September 25th. In telegram No. 442 from the German ambassador, he writes to the German Foreign Ministry, “Stalin and Molotov asked me to come to the Kremlin today at 8 pm. Stalin stated the following. In the final settlement of the Polish question, everything must be avoided that in the future may cause friction between Germany and the Soviet Union. From this point of view, he considers it wrong to leave the remainder of the Polish state independent. He proposes the following: from the territories to the east of the demarcation line, the entire Lublin Voivodeship and that part of the Warsaw Voivodeship that reaches the Bug should be added to our portion. For this, we renounce claims to Lithuania.

September 28, 1939. The Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany was concluded, by which the territory of Poland was divided between the two aggressors in accordance with the previously signed secret protocol of August 23, 1939. At the time of the conclusion of the treaty, Germany was militarily almost completely exhausted, almost all ammunition and fuel were used up in the troops. Germany had no opportunity to wage even a defensive war on the Western Front. To save his ally, Stalin speaks openly in support of Germany and threatens France and England with the support of the Nazis if the war continues. It was the possibility of a war against Germany and the USSR that kept France and England from attacking Germany in the autumn and winter of 1939 (Strange War).

The results of the military aggression of the USSR against Poland.

The combat losses of the Red Army during the Polish campaign of 1939, according to the Russian historian Grigory Krivosheev, amounted to 1173 people killed, 2002 wounded and 302 missing. Losses in the equipment of tank and mechanized brigades of the Red Army (including irretrievable) amounted to 42 armored units - 26 of them on the Belorussian front and 16 on the Ukrainian. Estimating the combat losses of the Polish Army in the battles with the Red Army, the Russian historian Mikhail Meltyukhov gives figures of 3,500 killed, 20,000 missing and 454,700 prisoners. According to the Polish Military Encyclopedia, 250,000 servicemen were captured by the Soviets. Almost all of the captured officers were subsequently shot by the NKVD, including about 14,000 captured officers who were killed by Soviet executioners near Katyn.

In a statement made in October 1939, Molotov gave the following figures for the captured military property: "over 900 guns, over 10 thousand machine guns, over 300 thousand rifles, over 150 million rounds of ammunition, about 1 million shells and up to 300 aircraft." So the Soviet invasion of Poland was an aggressive military operation, not a liberation campaign.

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE SOVIET AND GERMAN GOVERNMENTS OF SEPTEMBER 28, 1939
After the German government and the government of the USSR, by the treaty signed today, finally settled the questions that arose as a result of the collapse of the Polish state, and thus created a solid foundation for a lasting peace in Eastern Europe, they mutually agree that the elimination of a real war between Germany, on the one hand, and by England and France, on the other hand, would meet the interests of all peoples. Therefore, both governments will direct their common efforts, in case of need, in agreement with other friendly powers, in order to achieve this goal as soon as possible. If, however, these efforts of both governments remain unsuccessful, then the fact will be established that Britain and France are responsible for the continuation of the war, and in the event of a continuation of the war, the governments of Germany and the USSR will consult each other on the necessary measures.

If we turn to the notes of the conversation with Ribbentrop and Stalin dated September 28, 1939, then Stalin in his (first after long reasoning by Ribbentrop) statement (according to the German record) stated his point of view as follows: “The point of view of Germany, which rejects military assistance, is worthy of respect . However, a strong Germany is a necessary condition for peace in Europe - therefore, the Soviet Union is interested in the existence of a strong Germany. Therefore, the Soviet Union cannot agree to the Western Powers creating conditions that could weaken Germany and put her in a difficult position. This is the commonality of interests between Germany and the Soviet Union.

September 30, 1939. Ribbentrop's statement was published in the newspaper Pravda: “... Both states want peace to be restored and that England and France stop the absolutely senseless and hopeless struggle against Germany. If, however, warmongers take over in these countries, then Germany and the USSR will know how to respond to this.

The USSR, not only in word, but in deed, helped the Nazis not only in September 1939, hitting the rear of the Polish army, which accelerated the transfer of German units to the West. The “anti-fascist” socialist state did everything to weaken the trade blockade of Nazi Germany and help it as much as possible in the war against England and France, for which on February 11, 1940, an economic agreement between the USSR and Germany was signed in Moscow. It provided that the Soviet Union would supply Germany with the following goods:
1,000,000 tons of feed grains and legumes, worth 120 million Reichsmarks
900,000 tons of oil worth about 115 million Reichsmarks
100,000 tons of cotton worth about 90 million Reichsmarks
500,000 tons of phosphates
100,000 tons of chromite ores
500,000 tons of iron ore
300,000 tons of iron scrap and pig iron
2,400 kg of platinum

"Commodity turnover between Germany and the USSR in the first year of the agreement will reach a volume exceeding the highest levels ever achieved since the World War" [Pravda, 02/13/1940].

In 1940, open pro-Nazi propaganda was also conducted in the USSR. Articles published in the Soviet press, including in the official Soviet newspapers Pravda and Izvestiya, were used by Dr. Goebbels' department for his propaganda purposes. Propaganda speeches were reproduced in the German press, including Hitler's direct speeches. At the same time, a special place was occupied by information messages from the front of the war in the West, mainly about the successes of the Luftwaffe in the "battle for England". According to radio broadcasts in the "Latest News" programs, the losses of British aviation and the destruction of English cities were called a feeling of deep satisfaction. Every day, radio stations played Wagner's music, which was very popular among the NSDAP leadership.

The following facts are also in no way incompatible with the neutral status of the state: the transit through the entire territory of the USSR from the Far East to Germany of a large group of officers from the German cruiser Graf Spee sunk in the Pacific Ocean. No circumstances can justify the consent of the Soviet leadership to serve Nazi warships in Soviet ports in the Barents Sea basin (in October 1939, the Soviet Union agreed to the use by the German Navy of the port of Teriberka east of Murmansk as a repair base and ship supply point and submarines operating in the North Atlantic).

Molotov's note on Stalin's meeting with the British Ambassador Stafford Cripps in July 1940: "Stalin does not see any threat to hegemony from any country in Europe, and he is even less afraid that Europe might be absorbed by Germany. Stalin follows the policy of Germany and is well knows several German figures. He did not detect any desire on their part to swallow the European countries. Stalin does not consider that the military successes of Germany pose a threat to the Soviet Union and its friendly relations with it ... ".

It is no coincidence that already after the Second World War, at the end of November 1945, the list of issues not subject to discussion at the Nuremberg trials, approved by the Soviet delegation at the Nuremberg trials, in order to prevent counter-accusations of defense against the governments of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, the first paragraph provided for a ban on discussing the attitude of the USSR to the Treaty of Versailles , and the ninth point - the question of Soviet-Polish relations.

With the defeat of Poland by German and Soviet troops, only the first act of World War II ended. Almost immediately after the end of hostilities in Poland, the "peaceful" socialist state begins a war against Finland. Military operations, which were a completely failed blitzkrieg attempt with huge losses and ended after 3.5 months of fierce fighting with a Pyrrhic victory (on the Soviet side, up to 960 thousand people participated in them, and the irretrievable losses of the Red Army amounted to over 131 thousand, and according to Russian military historian Krivosheev, the total sanitary losses amounted to 264 908. That is, the losses of a neutral state, which allegedly did not participate in the outbreak of the world war, many times exceeded the irretrievable losses of the Wehrmacht in the first two years of World War II.

Many argue that the USSR did not carry out military aggression against Poland in September 1939, but carried out some kind of liberation campaign with the aim of reuniting Belarusians and Ukrainians or even restoring the historical borders of the Russian Empire. But these arguments are without foundation. Firstly, Belarusians and Ukrainians in the territories that are part of Poland did not ask the USSR for such a liberation campaign, moreover, 400 thousand people were repressed in the first two years after the Soviet occupation. Secondly, according to existing international treaties, the invasion of the territory of a foreign state was aggression.

According to Art. 2 of the Convention on the Definition of Aggression, concluded in London on July 3, 1933 by the USSR with other states, aggression is recognized not only as a declaration of war on another state (this case is provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 2), but also an invasion of armed forces, even without a declaration of war , on the territory of another state (paragraph 2 of article 2), an attack by land, sea or air armed forces, even without a declaration of war, on the territory, sea or aircraft of another state (paragraph 3 of article 2). At the same time, according to Art. 3 of the said convention, no considerations of a political, military, economic or other nature can excuse or justify the attack provided for in article two 3. As an example of such "" considerations "" the signatories of the convention, in paragraph three of the Annex to article 3 of the convention called the internal situation of any state, the imaginary shortcomings of its administration.

In a conversation with the chairman of the Comintern, Dimitrov, Stalin declared: “The destruction of this state [Poland] in the current conditions would mean one less bourgeois fascist state! What would be bad if, as a result of the defeat of Poland, we extended the socialist system to new territories and populations. (Diary of G. Dimitrov, entry 09/07/1939).

The attack on Finland led to the fact that in December 1939 the USSR, as a military aggressor, was expelled from the League of Nations. The immediate reason for the expulsion was the mass protests of the international community over the systematic bombing of civilian targets by Soviet aircraft, including with the use of incendiary bombs.

Between June 15 and June 20, 1940, the “peace-loving” Soviet Union takes decisive steps and forces the Baltic countries to create pro-Soviet governments by threatening military force, violating previously signed agreements. After suppressing the press, arresting political leaders, and outlawing all parties except the Communists, the Russians staged mock elections on July 14 in all three states. After the "elected" parliaments thus voted for the accession of their countries to the Soviet Union, the Supreme Council (parliament) of Russia accepted them into their fatherland: Lithuania - August 3, Latvia - August 5, Estonia - August 6.

But how did it happen that between the two allies - the Nazis and the Communists in June 1941, a military conflict began, which grew into the so-called Great Patriotic War.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces (OKH), Colonel-General F. Halder, analyzing the situation in 1940 after the war, believed that at that time Hitler believed it was possible to avoid a war with Russia if the latter did not show expansionist aspirations in a western direction. To do this, Hitler "considered it necessary to divert Russian expansion to the Balkans and Turkey, which would certainly lead to a conflict between Russia and Great Britain."

In early 1940, Romania agreed to transfer to the use of the Germans its oil fields in Ploiesti (the only explored fields in Europe at that time) in exchange for political and military protection. On May 23, in the midst of the battle for France, the Romanian General Staff sent an SOS signal to the OKW, informing the Germans that Soviet troops were concentrating near the Romanian border. The next day, Jodl summed up the reaction to this message at Hitler's headquarters: "The situation in the East is becoming threatening because of the concentration of Russian forces near the borders of Bessarabia." However, the USSR, threatening with military aggression, forced Romania to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and the latter was not included in the circle of areas of Soviet interests agreed with Germany. Under the influence of these steps, a threat was created for the Romanian region of Ploiesti - the only serious source of oil supplies for Germany, which could paralyze the German economy and army.
German Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop: “On June 23, 1940, a telegram from our ambassador in Moscow arrived in Berlin: the Soviet Union intends to occupy the Romanian province of Bessarabia in the coming days, and they are only going to inform us about it. Adolf Hitler was then amazed by the rapid Russian advance without prior consultation with us. The fact that, at the same time, the predominantly German-populated Northern Bukovina, the ancestral land of the Austrian crown, was subject to occupation, especially stunned Hitler. He took this move by Stalin as a sign of Russian pressure on the West. The large concentration of Soviet troops in Bessarabia aroused serious fears in Adolf Hitler from the point of view of the further conduct of the war against England: under no circumstances could we refuse the Romanian oil that was vital to us. If Russia had advanced further here, we would have found ourselves in the further conduct of the war dependent on the good will of Stalin. During one of our conversations in Munich, he told me that, for his part, he was considering military measures, because he did not want to be taken by surprise by the East.

So let's give another word to the second person in Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, the imperial minister of public education and propaganda:
06/25/40 Stalin informs Schulenburg that he intends to act against Romania. This again contradicts our agreement.
06/29/40 Romania lost to Moscow. Bessarabia and S. Bukovina will go to Russia. For us, this is by no means pleasant. The Russians are taking advantage of the situation.
5/07/40 Slavism is spreading throughout the Balkans. Russia seizes the moment.
07/11/40 There is some unease in the [German] people about Russia.
07/17/40 Russians continue to gather troops [to Romania]. We are no less. King Carol wants a German military occupation. It doesn't matter when and where. Fear of Moscow.
07/19/40 The Russians have become quite cocky."

And, finally, the Fuhrer of the German people himself, Adolf Hitler (in a conversation with Mussolini on 01/19/41): "Previously, Russia would not have posed any danger to us at all, because it was unable to threaten us. Now, in a century aviation, the Romanian oilfields can be turned into smoking ruins as a result of an air attack from Russia or the Mediterranean region, and yet the very existence of the Axis powers depends on these oilfields "(B. Liddell-Gart." World War II "M. AST 2002).

German Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop: “...Molotov's visit to Berlin (November 12-13, 1940 - Comp.) did not stand under a lucky star, as I wished. From these conversations with Molotov, Hitler finally got the impression of a serious Russian desire for the West. The next day, Jodl summed up the reaction to this message at Hitler's headquarters: "The situation in the East is becoming threatening because of the concentration of Russian forces near the borders of Bessarabia."

From a speech by Stalin to graduates of military academies in May 1941 “... Our policy of peace and security is at the same time a policy of preparing for war. There is no defense without attack. We must educate the army in the spirit of the offensive. We must prepare for war." (Diary of G. Dimitrov, entry 05/05/1941).

Politburo member Andrei Zhdanov at a meeting of the Main Military Council of the Red Army on June 4, 1941, said: “We have become stronger, we can set more active tasks. The wars with Poland and Finland were not defensive wars. We have already embarked on the path of an offensive policy... There is only one step between peace and war. That is why our propaganda cannot be peaceful... We had an offensive policy before. This policy was determined by Lenin. Now we are only changing the slogan. We have begun to implement Lenin's thesis."

Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N. G. Kuznetsov (in 1941 - Admiral. People's Commissar of the Navy of the USSR, member of the Central Committee, member of the Headquarters of the High Command from the moment it was created): "For me, one thing is indisputable: J. V. Stalin not only did not rule out the possibility of war with Hitler's Germany, on the contrary, he considered such a war ... inevitable ... J. V. Stalin was preparing for the war - broad and versatile preparations - based on the deadlines he had outlined ... Hitler violated his calculations "(On the eve pp. 321).

A small touch to the big picture. 13-14/05/40. Moscow. Meeting on military ideology. Chief of the General Staff Meretskov speaks: "We can say that our army is preparing for an attack, and we need this attack for defense. Based on political conditions, we must attack, and the Government will tell us what we need to do."

So, after all, Hitler was the "icebreaker" of the world socialist revolution for the communists, who had been arming Germany since the 20s. It was the fighting of the Nazis that gave grounds for the subsequent entry into Western Europe of the red liberators. And you can't get away from it. But he dealt a preemptive blow to Bolshevism, this blow, despite the defeat of Germany and the temporary victory of the Communists, turned out to be fatal for communism in Europe.

See also.

But even if you don’t want to, if you “bury your head in the sand”, you will still see that as a result of these “ large-scale reforms" Ukraine is divided, a civil war is going on in it, the people are rapidly impoverishing, its per capita GDP is already more than three times lower than that of Cuba.

And Tusk highly appreciates it. Wow!

Of course, this statement could be treated as ordinary anti-Russian propaganda rhetoric, if Tusk was not a Pole. If they weren't!

But since Tusk is a Pole, he can quite seriously talk about the ruin of Ukraine as a feat. Let me emphasize that the Pole Tusk can really think that ruining his country is a feat.

Look at the history of Poland - the Polish elite, solely due to their meanness and stupidity, ruined Poland itself several times a century, but at the same time, to this day, they are incredibly proud of their "exploits".

Let's look at the "large-scale" activities of the Polish elite on the eve of World War II, which, as it is believed today, began not with the annexation of Austria and the liquidation of Czechoslovakia (as the Nuremberg Tribunal believed), but with the attack on Poland on September 1, 1939. Not only that, today it is also believed that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, concluded the day before, on August 23, 1939, led to the war.

However, pay attention to the subtle meanness that arose during perestroika - at the time when the falsified protocol to this "pact" was published. After all, this agreement is actually called the "Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union."

The literal translation from German (Deutsch-sowjetischer Nichtangriffspakt) has the same meaning - "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact". Then why is this treaty called the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact"? Nicht fershtein? And think for yourself - how can one blame the countries that have concluded a non-aggression pact (pact) for the start of the war? No way.

War is preceded by military alliances, and you can’t pass off this treaty as a military alliance – in a non-aggression pact, by definition, there can be no joint actions against anyone – only disagreements between the signatories of the treaty are settled. Here anti-Russian scoundrels and changed this contract title to pass off a non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany as a military alliance against innocent Poland.

Well, but the war nevertheless began and the question arises, was there a military alliance concluded in Europe on the eve of the war, which predetermined the war, and by whom? Yes, it was! But first, a few words about the situation in Europe.

Let's start with the fact that before the war, the Poles with the Nazis (not with the Germans in general, but only with the Nazis) almost kissed on the gums, the Nazis (the same Goebbels) were in admiration for the head of Poland, Jozef Pilsudski, so much so that they planned a joint campaign with Poland against the USSR not under the general command of a German general, but while Pilsudski was alive, under his command.

Until the spring of 1939 (the beginning of the deterioration of relations with Poland), the German General Staff had no plans for a war with Poland at all. The only thing is that in those days the Poles behaved with the Germans with pride, and they believed that they had reason for this - the Polish army was considered one of the strongest in Europe, at least stronger than the Red Army in the USSR.

For example, the USSR achieved an economic opportunity and set itself the goal of bringing the Red Army to a strength of 1 million people only in 1935, and Poland, on the eve of World War II (according to the data of its future head in exile, Tomasz Artsishevsky), mobilized 3.5 million Human. That is, by September 1, 1939, she had both weapons and ammunition for an army of this size.

In addition, the conflict that arose between Germany and Poland in the spring of 1939 and officially led to war was petty, and concerned this.

When the borders of Poland were determined after the First World War, the territory of defeated Germany was divided into two parts that did not touch each other - Germany proper and East Prussia (now the Kaliningrad region). They divided Germany with a wide strip of land from the borders of Poland proper to the Baltic Sea, so that Poland would have access to the sea along this strip. It turned out that free communication between these parts of Germany was possible only by water, or through Polish border guards and customs officers.

So Germany in 1939 asked Poland for permission to build an extraterritorial railway from Germany to East Prussia through this strip, so that the Germans could move from one part of Germany to another without stops, but also without customs and passport control. Naturally, the Germans promised to generously pay both for the land under this road and for its operation.

In addition, there was no port on the coast of this corridor allocated to Poland to the sea, and therefore, from Germany defeated in World War I (from East Prussia), the winners cut off another piece - the Vistula delta with the port and city of Danzig.

But it was not handed over to Poland!

It was the territory of a free city with its own currency (guilder), its own self-government, and out of 400 thousand inhabitants of Danzig, 95% were Germans. Poland had a customs union with Danzig, and Danzig conducted foreign affairs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. (The USSR had had diplomatic relations with Danzig since 1924) Danzig was under the protection of the League of Nations (then UN) and had a League of Nations High Commissioner to resolve disputes between Danzig and Poland.

While Poland did not use the port of Gdynia on its coast, the Germans of Danzig were satisfied with this situation, since they transshipped all the sea exports and imports of Poland (2/3 of the total volume of foreign trade). But since 1928, Poland began to send its exports through Gdynia, the economic situation in Danzig deteriorated sharply, however, the League of Nations still forced Poland to allocate a quota in cargo turnover to Danzig, but the very fact that Poland could strangle Danzig economically at any moment raised the question about the return of Danzig to Germany.

Indeed, if Poland already had its own port in the Baltic, then why keep the German Danzig in the state of a “free city”, moreover, a hungry “free city”?

These were the requests of Germany to Poland, and judge for yourself how unfulfillable they were.
Poland refused the Germans, and already in the spring of 1939 began mobilization.

But, nevertheless, I don’t want to think of the Poles as complete idiots, therefore I believe that they would still have signed an agreement on the railway and Danzig with the Germans, and Europe would have avoided war in 1939 if Poland had failed to conclude MILITARY UNION with the UK.

That is, the very fact that Poland was so strengthened due to the alliance with England gave the Poles exceptional impudence. Now they are knee-deep in the sea, and the military alliance against the Germans with the USSR is unnecessary, and their commander-in-chief Rydz-Smigly promised to beat the Germans in a week ( and even began to pose for the artist as he enters Berlin on a white horse ).

Looking ahead, let's say that it lasted a long time. whole three days The Poles fought the Germans until you run.

All at once. Generals are ahead. But ok, I'm getting ahead of myself.

But here's what kind of history we have: in contrast to the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", about the content of this Anglo-Polish treaty, which directly provoked the war by pushing idiots to adventure, like Maydauns to Maidan, historians are silent.

So. On August 25, in London, the British Foreign Secretary, the Honorable Viscount (viscount is the youngest son of the count, to whom the title is not transferred) Halifax, on the one hand, and the Polish ambassador to Great Britain, Count Rachinsky, on the other hand, signed an agreement. And the viscount and earl began with the following:

« Article 1If one of the Contracting Parties becomes involved in hostilities with a European power as a result of the latter's aggression against this Contracting Party, then the other Contracting Party will immediately provide the Contracting Party involved in hostilities with all the support and assistance that is in its power..

Already from the first article it is clear that this is a military alliance, but against whom? About the aggression of which European power do the counts bother? Indeed, in continental Europe there were only three states that could be defined as "powers": France, Germany and the USSR.

France is an ally, therefore, it disappears. Who - the USSR or Germany - should or should attack the Contracting Parties in order for the Anglo-Polish military alliance to come into effect? Or any of the two? But then why in article 1 "European power" is it in the singular?

As you can see, what the counts wrote down in the Agreement is not for everyone to understand. Counts, however, too. Therefore, Halifax and Rachinsky signed a secret protocol to the agreement, in which they explained to themselves what they wrote down in the text of their military alliance accessible to the public.

“The Polish government and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland agreed on the following understanding of the mutual assistance agreement signed today as the only correct and binding one:

a) Under the expression "European Power" used in the agreement, understood Germany.
b) In the event that action within the meaning of Articles 1 and 2 takes place on the part of a European Power other than Germany, the Contracting Parties shall discuss together the measures to be taken jointly.”.

So, " European power" - this is still Germany, but why not write about it directly? After all, the war was already at the borders. On the day of the signing of this military alliance in Poland, classes in schools were already stopped, all cars were requisitioned in favor of the army, and the evacuation of the British and French from Poland began. Why dark?

I don’t know what thoughts you may have on this matter, but I see no other answer: with this military alliance, Great Britain and Poland wanted to put pressure on Hitler (with whom England was negotiating behind the scenes at that time). Press to force him to abandon plans to attack Poland, but at the same time, invite Hitler to attack the USSR. After all, the military alliance between Great Britain and Poland could easily be transformed from anti-German to anti-Soviet, by interpreting in his text the "European power" as the USSR.

Moreover, it follows from the further text that this treaty is not defensive, but offensive. Since Article 1 to the public was followed by Article 2 to the public:

“Article 2.1. The provisions of Article 1 shall also apply in the event of any action by a European Power which clearly endangers, directly or indirectly, the independence of one of the Contracting Parties and is of such a nature that the Party concerned considers it vital to resist with its armed forces.

2.2. If one of the Contracting Parties becomes involved in hostilities with a European Power as a result of an action by that Power which endangers the independence or neutrality of another European State in such a way that it poses a clear threat to the security of that Contracting Party, the provisions of Article 1 shall apply. without prejudice, however, to the rights of the other European state to which it concerns".

As you can see, it is also impossible to understand what is written in Article 2 without a secret protocol. But note that, according to Article 2, Poland and Great Britain do not attack a "European power" after it has itself committed aggression against them, and first - at your own discretion.

When either the UK or Poland "deem it vital" or consider that "this poses a clear threat to the security of this Contracting Party". This, mind you, is not some kind of division of spheres of interest, as in the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany, according to which propaganda cannot be carried out outside one's own sphere. This is a direct agreement to attack Poland and Great Britain on their own initiative.(moreover, from the open text of the treaty it is not known who they will attack - the USSR or Germany), not only that, with a direct encroachment on third countries.

And these third countries are listed in the secret protocol to the Halifax-Rachinsky pact:

"(a) The two Governments will from time to time determine by mutual agreement hypothetical cases of German action falling within the scope of Article 2 of the agreement.

b) Until the two governments decide to revise the following provisions of this paragraph, they will consider: that the case referred to in paragraph 1 of article 2 of the agreement applies to the Free City of Danzig; that the cases referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 2 apply to Belgium, Holland, Lithuania.

c) Latvia and Estonia shall be considered by the two Governments as being included in the list of countries provided for in Article 2, paragraph 2, from the moment when the agreement on mutual assistance between the United Kingdom and a third State, which extends to the two named States, comes into force.

d) With regard to Romania, the Government of the United Kingdom refers to the guarantee it has given to that country; and the Polish government refers to the mutual obligations of the Romanian-Polish alliance, which Poland has never considered as incompatible with its traditional friendship with Hungary..

I think that if the countries named here had known at that time that they figured in this treaty, they would all have risen in indignation - after all, the military alliance between Great Britain and Poland directly trampled on their independence.

Let's start in order.

The Poles had no arguments in defense of Danzig's belonging to Poland, as mentioned above, and it is no wonder that Halifax and Rachinsky hid Danzig in a secret protocol.

How would the world take the news that Poland and Great Britain unleashed a world war because of what did not belong to them - because of Danzig - because of what Poland actually appropriated for itself, ignoring the decision of the League of Nations? Let's go further.

Let's leave Holland and Belgium to Great Britain and consider Lithuania, which got into the protocol. Lithuania, of course, had nothing to love Germany for, but Lithuania simply hated the Poles. Let me remind you that Poles in 1920 brazenly, contrary to the demand of the Entente, took away from Lithuania its capital - Vilnius(then Vilna).

And now Poland, in accordance with Article 2 of the agreement with Great Britain, secretly from Lithuania undertook to “defend the independence” of Lithuania without its consent to this, and not even the independence that Lithuania wants, but the one that what Poland wants.

After all, according to the articles of the military alliance between Great Britain and Poland, Poland could calmly watch how Germany seized Lithuania in order to reach the borders of the USSR, since Poland could consider that this did not threaten its security, Poland.

But then, when Germany became exhausted in the war with the USSR, Poland could demand Lithuania from Germany for itself, threatening war with itself and England. Demand, and thereby "restore the independence" of Lithuania in such a way that it "does not threaten Poland." How else can you interpret Article 2 § 2 of the military alliance between Great Britain and Poland?

As for the desire of Great Britain to allegedly soon conclude a military alliance with Latvia and Estonia, noted in the secret protocol to the military alliance between Great Britain and Poland, this is an undisguised provocation in order to give Germany a reason to occupy or subjugate these states.

After all, four months before that, on April 17, 1939, the USSR officially proposed to Great Britain to create a military alliance, according to which:

"one. England, France, the USSR conclude an agreement between themselves for a period of 5—10 years of mutual obligation to provide each other immediately with all assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states.

2. England, France, the USSR undertake to provide all kinds of assistance, including military assistance, to the Eastern European states located between the Baltic and Black Seas and bordering on the USSR, in case of aggression against these states..

And it was the UK that refused this union. At the suggestion of the USSR, it was really possible to help Latvia and Estonia, since the USSR would have done this in alliance with England and France.

But how was Halifax going to provide military assistance to the Balts without the Soviet Union?

And the Poles committed an extreme meanness towards the Romanians. After all, they were military allies of Poland, albeit against the USSR, but allies. But the fact is that the Germans did not have borders with Romania, and in order to capture or subjugate Romania as a springboard for an attack on the USSR, they had to act together with their ally under the Anti-Comintern Pact (with which the Germans had already divided Czechoslovakia) Hungary.

And declaring that "mutual obligations under the Romanian-Polish union" Poland fuck in the name "traditional friendship with Hungary", Poland agreed with Great Britain that she would not lift a finger when the Germans raped Romania.

So. Germany originally planned to attack Poland on 26 August 1939. On the territory of Poland, the Germans threw sabotage groups to capture bridges, tunnels, passes. The order to postpone the deadlines did not reach everyone, the group of Lieutenant Gertsner captured the Yablunkovsky pass on the morning of August 26 and held it for several hours with fighting. That is, the war between Germany and Poland was already underway. At such a crucial moment, Poland and England would have to discuss how long Poland needs to hold out without help, exactly when England will start bombing Germany, when it will mobilize, and so on. etc.

And these Polish-British cretins, signing a military alliance between Great Britain and Poland, dreamed about how they would play Germany against the USSR and profit from it. With the Poles, everything is clear, but the British are what idiots - they dreamed of defending Belgium and Holland with the help of Poland! It would be better to rely on the Martians!

And notice that today there is no criticism of the actions of the Polish elite, the model of 1939, and there is no trace- for the Poles, this military alliance between Britain and Poland was a commendable "wide-ranging reform".

In 1927, at a congress of legionnaires in Kalisz, a Lithuanian by nationality and a Polish nationalist in spirit, Marshal Pilsudski could not stand it and said: “I invented many beautiful words and definitions that will live on even after my death. and who bring the Polish people into the category of idiots» .

When the then Prime Minister of Great Britain Chamberlain back in the spring of 1939 granted Poland not yet a military alliance, but only English "guarantees against aggression", this already struck not only Churchill, but also a lot of people who knew the Poles firsthand.

The English historian D. Fuller wrote in his work on the Second World War:

“I was in Berlin shortly after the guarantees were given and asked a well-known American journalist what he thought of them. Here is his response: "I believe that your prime minister has made the worst mistake since the passing of the Stamp Act." (Referring to the law passed by the English Parliament in 1765.)

Well, and the military alliance with Poland that followed in August 1939 - for people who know the Poles, it was “in fact”!

History teaches that, in general, these Poles are nice guys. The main thing is not to enter into any close relations with them - do we really need crazy people in a gunpowder factory?

And we are not responsible for NATO.