Hitler's attempts to make alliance with Poland

Hitler's attempts to make alliance with Poland before WW2.

I start this thread on the request of Alani who wanted to discuss those matters. I will be posting messages and materials when will have opportunity (being at work right now).

Before Hitler came to power Germany and Poland were in the state which can be called a cold war. Polish minority and its organisations in Germany suffered from heavy persecuations. But when Hitler came to power the course of German policy toward Poland has changed. Polish minority and organisations in Germany recived so much freedom that special delegate of Polish goverment in Germany was even called back to Poland because he had nothing to do anymore in Germany while Hitler didnt even allow for anti-Polish articles in German press.

All those acts of good will from the German side were also well recived in Poland.

Piłsudski, that time a dictator of Poland did present to Polish goverment such analysis of situation in Germany after Hitler took power:

1. German Nazi party is definatelly a revolutionary movement.
2. All the reformers and revolutionaries have tendency to destroy everything what was before and to start everything from begining. Therefore there is a chance to start new discussion with Germany about old problems.
3. Every revolutionary movement needs some time period of peace and safety from its neighbour countries.
4. Hitler is an Austrian, not Prussian. Between his closest cooperators there is no single Prussian. Most of anti-Polish propaganda in Germany was generated by Prussians.

Such situation in Germany in the opinion of Pilsudski was allowing for the start of new relations with Germany. For 5 years German propaganda became very pro-Polish, stressing that Poland might even become the ally of Germany against the French.

This is example of German propaganda showing warm German-Polish relations which are angering France.




However all Poland wanted was to stay neutral between Germany and Soviet Union while Hitler tried to drag Poland into axis, invited it together with Japan and Italy to sign the pact, which Poland refused. Many Nazi officials were coming to Poland with more or less official visitis, such like Goering's visits for hounting, trying to convince Poland to ally with Germany and promissing the whole territory of Ukraine as a reward after joined victory over Soviet Union. They were even promissing Odessa in exchange for Danzig/Gdansk.

Here on the picture Ignacy Moscicki president of Poland hounting together with Hermann Goering in winter 1938. And Goering was even more than other Nazists friendly to Poland.






Those attempts and tempting was conducted until april 1939 when finally Poland signed defence treaty with Great Britain. That treaty made Hitler mad and caused his histeric outburst, angry Hitler was shouting that Poles will pay him for their treachery.

Originally posted by TheAlaniDragonRising The outburst may well have been for show, Mosquito, for in 1935 the Nazis brought out a law prohibiting the hunting of wolves, that is on top of there banning of non-German and non-Aryans from hunting. Not significant you might think. However wolves were already extinct in Germany but not in Poland, and it has been suggested plans to invade Poland were already being written up.

Well, here is another German sign of German-Polish friendship. Red wolf, German black eagle and Polish white eagle. In the description is written" "wolfhunt" - we are hunting for wolves, eagles are under protection"

Originally posted by Mosquito Hitler asked Poland to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, an anti-Soviet alliance comprising Germany, Japan and Italy. I would say that he had no intention of attacking Poland as well as he had no intention to attack Japan or Italy. Thats the main sifference between Poland and for example Czechoslovakia. Hitler never asked Czechoslovakia to join the Anti-Comintern Pact. That shows the clear difference in his attitudes toward the two countries; Poland was a potential ally while Czechoslovakia was an enemy to be eliminated. Hitler's change of attitude toward Poland in 1939 was similar to his change of attitude toward Italy in 1943. In both cases he was feeling that he was betrayed by a nation he considered as his ally. Poland was in very good and warm relations with both Japan and Italy. Japan was even pressing on German goverment to include Poland into Anti-Comintern Pact. After German invasion on Poland, Japan still cooperated with Poland and even gave diplomatic passports to Polish agents of secret services in Germany. Italians were even emotionaly more on Polish than German side. With both Italy and Japan during 30ties Poland had much better relations than with France or England. And with Hungary even warmer.

Originally posted by Mosquito Posters comes from the book of P. Zychowicz. He did find them and published in his book. I just type in the google the title of his book and find them. They dont come from one site. Here is another. Third Reich (boy in German traditional cloths) adoring Poland (girl in Polish traditional cloths).

Germany and Poland, dog and cat, live together in harmony what makes France (cock) very angry.

Another one from the same event:

Originally posted by TheAlaniDragonRising Also, the Nazis had already decided on their Lebensraum or living space for the Aryan people being Poland, Ukraine, Russia...etc...They are also known to believe the Slavs to be inferior, so I guess easily tricked...etc...The Nazis are famous for staging propaganda stunts. They were pretty good at it

Not in this case. Hitler's policy towards Poland didnt change until Poland signed pact with Britain in april 1939.
Hitler himself said many times that if only Pilsudski didnt die in 1935, there wouldnt be any war against Poland but the anti-Soviet alliance.

Do you know that even in the occupied Poland Goering ordered (most likely on Hitler's request) to keep German honour guards at Pilsudski's tomb at Royal Castle in Kraków?

Also German propaganda did change that time from pro-Polish to very anti-Polish:

Ghost of Pilsudski put jester hat on the head of Józef Beck, Polish minister of foreign affairs after he signed pact with Britain.







Edited by Mosquito - 12-Apr-2016 at 13:23

I know well what general plan ost was.

But it wouldnt include Poland if it wanst already the enemy of Germany. And didnt include those slavic nations which were already allied with Germany eg Slovakia and Bulgaria.

You should note that Hitler didnt make any harm to his allies until they started betraying him.

Thats why Poland should have allied with Germany and "backstab" it when the right time would come.

Edited by Mosquito - 12-Apr-2016 at 19:51

Soviet Union and Poland are completelly different things. As I said, Hitler didnt have anything against Poland as long as it would become his ally. He completely didnt feel classic "prussian" hate toward Poland. It is clear that for long time Poland was in his plans his partner, thats why invited it to sign anti-comintern pact together with Japan and Italy.
The proposals and invitations were many and all were refused.
Soviet Union was from the begining his enemy. In fact he wanted to ally with Poland against Soviet Union inspite the fact that his advisros of Prussian origin advised him otherwise. There are many evidences of it.
At the time of the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact, invitations were sent out for Britain, China, Italy and Poland to adhere; of the invited states only the Italians were to sign the pact, in November 1937.

For example:

"In May 1933, Hitler met with Herbert von Dirksen, the German Ambassador in Moscow. Dirksen advised the Führer that he was allowing relations with the Soviet Union to deteriorate to a unacceptable extent, and advised to take immediate steps to repair relations with the Soviets.Much to Dirksen's intense disappointment, Hitler informed that he wished for an anti-Soviet understanding with Poland...."


"In August 1935, Hitler told Goebbels his foreign policy vision as: "With England eternal alliance. Good relationship with Poland . . . Expansion to the East. The Baltic belongs to us . . . Conflicts Italy-Abyssinia-England, then Japan-Russia imminent.""

As for the central Europe, Germany under Hitler wanted to do the same thing as nowadays Germany under Merkel, to create "Mitteleuropa", the political and economic bloc consisting of all Central and Eastern European states headed by Germany.

The historical record shows that Hitler, unlike Stalin, was very loyal to those who were loyal to him.

If however a friend or ally turned against him, he was utterly ruthless in taking revenge.

However, Poland wanted to have good relations with Germany but didnt want to go for war together with Germany against Soviet Union. The alliance with UK and France was the last attempt of Polish diplomacy to not engage into war on any side. Hitler understood it as the betrayal after so many years of negotiations.

You are also forgetting that Hitler was an Austrian. It was one of the reasons why till Polish-British pact he didnt feel any hate towards Poland, unlike towards Czechoslovakia and the Czechs.


Edited by Mosquito - 12-Apr-2016 at 20:41