I have no incentive of whitewashing the threats and expansionism of other European countries post 1939. I just wish to highlight that Polish actions in 1938 weren't good either. Although they didn't sign the Munich agreement, they participated in the partition of Czechoslovakia after the Sudetenland episode. It was a widely unpopular action back then, and historians agree it was a strategic mistake.
by Longjumping-Mix-9351
12 Comments
It completely alienated France and UK and US as well as they considered Poland complicit in 1938.
Also, USSR wanted to help czechoslovakia by getting troops there through Poland. Poland denied. Had soviets been in czechoslovakia, they’d probably deny giving Hitler sudetenland(they had the army to fight him)
The nazis were going for the whole cake. Poland stole a piece before the nazis took it all.
It’s one of these nuanced cases where there’s at least some dirty doing on both sides.
On one hand – yeah, this was annexation, and a dirty move. While it did happen with people’s approval, it was condemned on multinational arena as illegal theft of land, essentially. On the other, it was a response to what Czechoslovakia did in 1919 – essentially marching its army and blocking plebiscite, despite Entante’s protests.
I’m not here to entirely justify Polish actions, but it’s often presented as the case of ,,invasion” or ,,imperialism”, which it wasn’t. These two countries were conflicted long before the annexation of Zaolzie in 1938, and both had their own ,,dirty move” moments.
Yeah except that’s only half of the story, the czecha seized that land themselves while Poland was busy fighting USSR.
I mean it s not like they did exactly the same during polish soviet war less than two decades before. I mean sure u can say it was a mistake and it personally think it was but central european govermnets jmwere just assholes to eachother instead of uniting against real threats.
It was a terrible action, not only morally, but also strategicaly, one that must be remembered, and never repeated. I hate when Tankies bring it up as justification of the Soviet invasion of Poland, and I hate the fact that it did make it look like Poland was, like Churchill supposedly put it ” a greedy hyena of Europe”. Literally the worst possible action that could have been taken during that period.
Exactly this same happened 20 years before but Czechoslovakia take this same land from Poland when Poland struggle with USRR(soviets)
It was mistake and I’m not going to defend it.
I can’t lie, the Sanacja government was getting a little too close to fascism at that time. Not the proudest moment in our history
OP “forgot” some facts that happened 20 years before. And saying “annexed” instead of “took back” is kind of manipulation to me.
They are very creative in their reasoning as to why their land grabs are legitimate and others’ are not.