Why Didn't the Allies Declare War on the Soviet Union in 1939?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- The Allies, specifically Britain and France, did not declare war on the Soviet Union in 1939 despite the USSR invading Poland from the east shortly after Germany's invasion from the west. Britain and France saw Germany as the primary aggressor and the main threat to European stability. Hitler's invasion of Poland triggered the war, and their strategy was to focus on Germany first rather than opening another front against the Soviet Union. At the time, the Allies were not fully prepared for war, even against Germany. Declaring war on both Germany and the Soviet Union would have stretched their military resources even thinner and would likely have been disastrous. The Soviet Union and Germany had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression treaty that included a secret protocol to divide Eastern Europe. Declaring war on the USSR would have solidified the alliance between Germany and the Soviets, further complicating the conflict for the Allies. Some British and French officials believed that the USSR could eventually become a valuable ally against Germany. They hoped that as the situation evolved, Stalin might break away from his pact with Hitler. While Britain and France were bound by treaty to defend Poland, their commitments were largely focused on German aggression, not a Soviet invasion. They provided Poland with little direct military support and were in no position to open a second front in the east.
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SOURCES
- Russia's War (Richard Overy).
- Bloodlands Europe. Between Hitler And Stalin (Timothy Snyder).
- British Reactions to the Soviet Occupation of Eastern Poland in September 1939. The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 69, No. 1 (Jan., 1991), (Keith Sword).
- First to Fight. The Polish War 1939 (Roger Moorhouse).
- The Second World War (Antony Beevor).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org.
VIDEO
Video material from:
• Ufa Sound Week No. 470...
Ufa Sound Week No. 470- 7 Sep. 1939 [Full HD] (Invasion of Poland, Fighting in Danzig, Mobilization)
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MUSIC
"Lost Frontier"
"Constancy Part One"
"Crossing the Chasm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Freesound.org.
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Russian Perspective on the Outbreak of WW2:
th-cam.com/video/WMLy4Uge76M/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUgcnVzc2lhbiBwZXJzcGVjdGl2ZSBvdXRicmVhayB3dzI%3D
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." "War makes strange bedfellows."
Indeed.
More like "the enemy of my fake friend is my friend"
More like "Bedfellows make strange wars".
If that attitude was encountered by a school psychiatrist, we might find the 3 of them subjected to a year of psychiatric counseling.
Isaac Deutscher and Herbert Aptheker both write in their books that the only reason why Stalin had to invade Poland was to safe 2.000.000 Jews, he brought them behind the Urals so they can deal on the black market and do their usual illegal stuff. That’s what 2 Hardcore Communist Jews wrote and that’s what everyone in Europe already knew from the beginning. In Poland the Communists rounded up 30.000 officers, intellectuals, teachers and civilians and in Nuremberg the Communists represented by the Jew Leonid Raikhman blamed it on Germany. They butchered them because they did not protect gods chosen people, that was their crime.
most underrated youtube history channel.
Thanks Eric.
so true
So much for "friendship" between Poland and France or Poland and the UK. It would seem that the Allies were will to sacrifice Poland twice (1939 and 1944) in order to keep the Soviets rolling toward the West. That is why a lot of talk about friendship or mutual interest is often simple hypocrisy.
It's risk reward.
@@mrhumble2937 Sorry, but I do not get what you mean. Would you be so kind as to elaborate? Thanks.
@@stephanottawa7890What could the UK and France have done in 39 and 44? France only began it's mobilisation on the 2nd September to not be seen as an aggressor so invading Germany before Poland was a lost cause was impossible. In 44 the western allies did all they could to aid the futile Warsaw uprising but nothing could stop the USSR from occupying eastern European short of a third world war.
@@billyosullivan3192Yes, it is a bad thing to be outwitted by the Germans and then to be outmanoeuvred by the Russians. Poor Poland. They might have been just as well aligned with Peru.
@@billyosullivan3192 damn an actually sane comment in response to a soypole, interesting
Britain and France certainly could not beat the German Reich and the Soviet Union at the same time.
Indeed.
@@HistoryHustle Germany was infiltrated by our Naval Intelligence so when reports got back to Washington about anti gravity projects and others they felt it was best to take out Germany first and then worry about the Soviets later.
Excellent presentation Prof. Stefan. A topic not discussed too often. Very informative and insightful.
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Fun fact: The Allies planned to bomb the Soviet Baku oilfields in 1940 and send an expeditionary force to help Finland repel the Soviet invasion, but those went nowhere.
Interesting.
Years ago read that Churchill wanted to bomb Baku oil fields to keep Soviets from supplying Germany petroleum products. Similar to attacking French navy to prevent Germans capturing the ships
Сам придумал?
Yes. The Winter War was the time of the greatest crisis in Soviet-Western (US) relations. That's why Stalin backed down really, becuase Finland was only couple of weeks from collapsing (ammunition and other supplies stockpiles were critically low). Stalin was a very calculating politician and he knew that war with USA can't be won, contrary to German and Japanese leaders who believed the contrary.
There is a fact that is also relevant here. The Soviet Union was desperately seeking forge an alliance with France and the UK, ahead of the war, until Stalin was rebuffed, for he was adamant that for joining any alliance against the Germans, Poland should be 'awarded' to him, and that was something the two western allies were not willing to allow. The same thing followed all the way during and after the war, when he kept on insisting that the Sikorski government not be allowed any role in the post-war Poland, which Churchill always resisted, to his credit. He did everything to thwart the London Poles towards the end of the war, and after the death of Sikorski in 1943, to prevent them and the Armia Krajowa from gaining any foothold as the Germans withdrew in late 1944. Despite not signing an alliance with Stalin, in the months leading to the start of the war, France & England were open to an alliance, and after Barbarossa, they decided to put the Polish contention in cold storage.
If any single person has poisoned the Polish-Russian relations beyond any hope of healing, it was Stalin!
USSR rejected an alliance with the west in 1939 they already began making talks with Hitler
Thanks S5ef. The Western allies knew they were going to have to fight two ideologies, Nazism and Communism but could only fight one at a time. The allies did give support to Finland when the Soviets invaded 5here
True.
Thx i have often wondered this.
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To say Poland was stuck between a rock and a hard place doesn’t describe how terribly vulnerable they were trapped between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Prussia and Russia also divided Poland up previously with the three partitions (and Austria). Over 200 years pass and they finally become country again at the end of WWI only to be invaded again in 1939. The Poles have been on the receiving end of horrible luck for a very long time, I wish peace and prosperity for their people.
Possibly, the biggest losers in Europe are Germans.
Historically, they have never won anything and have always been kicked out from every place they invaded.
How many Germans dropped D. for their self serving leaders ? And the living Ostsiedlung running for their lives. Back home to mutter. They seem to love, Karma.
If you are trapped between hammer and anvil it is not a good idea to provoke both simultaneously. Instead of humiliating germany, backed up by french bayonets, the poles should have looked for better relations to germany before Hitler came to power. After Hitler threw of his mask with the annexion of czcheslovakia(March 1939) the UK and France should have sent Forces to Poland to deter Hitler. With a person like Hitler(similar to Putin) all previous agreements are written on toilet paper.
@@hansulrichboning8551 Poland did propose such an alliance, including Czechoslovakia, to oppose German expansionism and Warmongering.
This was rejected. Yet, at the same time nothing was done to prevent Germany creating a new army.
As if there were no spies all around reporting !
The eternal parasites who love shekels wanted war and vast profits.
Excellent video as always Stefan. Cheers from Tennessee
Many thanks for your comment.
Fantastic video!! Could you make a video on why Nazi Germany declared war on the USA? would be cool to see a break down on that topic from a historian
Perhaps one day yes 👍
Easily Hitler’s biggest mistake. He made quite a few, but this one was disastrous.
Great research Stefan 🙏 thank you for sharing Amigo!
Let me guess, allies were busy not fighting Germany :D
Lol
Intro had "I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick-box ass, I'm all out of bubblegum" vibe
From "They Live" right?
it's frustrating to see people don't have memory. Many parallels the Ukraine conflict, much could have been done before it happened.
Please explain.
Stephen you are a awesome professor, and mini video lecture are simply one the best. Please continue creating great content.
A very interesting question, and a very well-explained answer.
Thanks for watching!
Very good. Thanks. BZ
To the Allies shame Poland was thrown under the bus
Indeed. Thanks for watching.
Seeing how Europe is today and hindsight being 20/20 I wonder if many of the decisions would have been different had they known.
I've studied history for 50+ years and so many of the initial thoughts I've had have changed quite a bit upon reflection.
Love your videos!
Please share with us your assessment of exactly how Europe is today?
@@gibraltersteamboatco888
I tried to explain it and my comment was instantly censored.
@@browngreen933yeah that happens a lot unfortunately
"We fought the wrong enemy"- George S Patton
@@jokodihaynes419 Patton made many nonsensical statements. Even bordering on antisemitism. A general despised by many and who contributed to Allied war crimes. Furthermore he was a general and not a politician, so he had no authority on this. And even if he was a politician, just one person stating this bizarre thing is not a valid argument. Revisionists often use his quote for their own agenda.
Please watch this video:
th-cam.com/video/vB2zZWk9TfU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/dWL0Nz4g5yk/w-d-xo.html
@@HistoryHustlenah he was based
President Truman thought the same.
A great general, yet a crazy person.
@@HistoryHustlewhat Patton said turned out to be very prophetic in this case though🤷🏾♂️
i wonder what would happen if they did declare war on the soviets
I explore that in the video shortly..
The enemy of your enemy is your friend...then becomes the enemy.
Indeed.
The allies new the Soviets were no good from the start but there was a bigger immediate threat
Hi, great video. I just watched your Slovak army video and you had a photo there. Slovak soldiers with swastikas on arms. It was not because their uniforms looked similar to the poles. It was because the soldiers on photos were Volksdeustche(ethnic germans).
50, 000 Slovaks attacked Polish People, start of WW ii. They were not all Volksdeutsche.
@@metanoian965 No, he showed photo of little group of soldiers wearing swastikas. But ofcourse not all were volksdeustche. But there were slovak germans fighting in there.
@@TimoHudec Slovakia was a puppet of the III Reich Germans.
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Slovak invasion of Poland - Wikipedia
Outstanding
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Thanks!
Many thanks Frank!
Great explanation of the actions of the UK and France on a level of cold, almost cynical rationalism. (I can understand it on that level)
However, this is not what we in Poland understand as an alliance, and even less as friendship (or something like that).
Fascinating, really.
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What? The British pact with Poland didn't specifically name Germany? Wow!
It may have been like Germany attacking USSR and then attacking USA? This actually happened.
I find it strange why Hitler decided to declare war and the USA, why did he think that was necessary? Many people say it was because of Hitler's delusions of German grandeur but I think this is hard to believe.
im sure at the end. in one moment of thought hitler was like fuck i shouldnt of broke that pact. lmao
Was it at this time that an agreement was made as to what to do with the ethnic Germans in the Baltic countries or was that earlier or later? Would not the exodus of so many Germans from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (not sure if there were all that many in Lithuania) been a signal to the locals that something bad was about to happen? I would appreciate any accurate information on this subject. Thank you.
It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage episode about reasons embodied silent attitude of both British and French toward Soviet invasion of East Poland 🇵🇱 in meantime they condemned Nazi invasion of western and heart of Poland 🇵🇱.the episode labeled two main reasons 1- Political Pragmatic reason 2- theirs. Future Hope ... Thank you for an excellent ( History Hustle) channel. This magnificent work introduced by Sir Stefan 🙏
Thank you
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May be, because it was Russian Land. Occupied by Poland in 1921, taking avantage of Russia was in a blondy civil War, Russia never recognize thiose lands as Polish, nor did the soviet union later
Does anyone know where i can find primary sources on this topic? I am really curious about this decision.
good channel for so many years .i have enjoyed your channel immensely for long time. many thanks. history of v o c at length over 5 videos would be so good . your videos from suriname were very good . a video of Pieter Nicolaas Menten (26 May 1899 - 14 November 1987)
Belgium and Poland were pretty much in a similar situation, except Poland was flanked by two enemy states...
Post war the Poles must very dissapointed on how the borders were drawn (later Iron Curtain). Friend of my father is of Polish roots, his parents were Polish.
If we don't clean up history and find the real truth the sins of the past always falls on the future generation the war in Ukraine is an example of that
There is no truth in Ukraine lmao, its a hypercomplex dumb proxy war
Please explain.
@@HistoryHustle like sins of the father and if they not around it fall on the next person which is the next generation
it did not matter who you were, declaring war on Soviet Union = Bad Idea
The Air attack and bombing of Wielun happened before the Schleswig Holstein had fired on Westerplatte. And was the first attack on Poland by Germany.
Why westerners SIMPLE skip AND ignore Munich conference from 1938?
Because from events that precedes and Munich conference itself, you can understand why Soviets act like they did.
France and England, together with Poles simple BETRAY Czechs and Slovaks! soviets wanted to enter the war with Nazis in 1938 but Poland prevented them! After Munich conference in 1938. Poles took part of Czechoslovakia, just like Hungary did. And Germany got boost in weapons, mines and factories from Czech…
Btw France before 1938 had same military agreement with Czechoslovakia, same as Russians, but they decide to let go Czechoslovakia!
“O nas, bez nas!” Slovaks and Czech was saying about west and Munich conference…
To believe the ussr was genuinely prepared for war in 38 just 1 year after the purge is delusional.
Where is your first claim based on? I mention it, in this video and in many others. Its been written about in many books of historians like Beevor, Overy, etc.
If both invade Poland - both - or NONE of them need to be waged war against. Germany was back in action in 1948, when was Poland free from the Warzaw-pact?
Because that wasn't in the plan courtesy of the war planners of a certain belief.
And fight on 2 fronts simultaneously? Neither Britain nor France had the military capability to do this. Great Britain, which had signed a bilateral defense treaty with Poland earlier that year, declared war against Germany as required by a secret protocol to the treaty. However, the protocol, as we now know, applied only to defense against Germany, not against any other country. The Polish ambassador in London, Edward Bernard Raczyński, contacted the British Foreign Office to point out that clause 1(b) of the agreement, which concerned an "aggression by a European power" on Poland, should apply to the Soviet invasion. Lord Halifax responded that the obligation of British government towards Poland that arose out of the Anglo-Polish Agreement was restricted to Germany, according to the first clause of the secret protocol.
Similarly, France, which also had signed a bilateral defense treaty with Poland that expressly applied only to Germany, declared war against Germany hours after Britain did. But neither the British nor the French government declared war against the Soviet Union. In Britain, where the public did not know about the secret provision to the British-Polish defense accord, the failure to declare war on the USSR was controversial at the time, seeming to give carte blanche to the Soviet Union for its conquests. Taking on Germany by Britain was unrealistic. Taking on the Soviet Union as well as Germany was out of the question.
The practical answer is realpolitik, Poland realistically was too far away to be saved (I do Polish reenacting so I understand the emotional side of this issue) and risking war the USSR was a bad idea since they might be needed to fight the Germans later. Convenience over conviction in a nutshell.
Actually UK and France made a diplomatic approach toward USSR in the summer of 1939 inviting Stalin to the coalition against Germany. Stalin was not interested. He made a shady deal with Hitler instead. What he really miscalculated was a rapid downfall of France in 1940. He expected a much longer war of attrition. France was much weaker than Germany in 1939 as well as the UK. Succesful invasion Germany alone in 1939 was impossible really. USSR was completely out of reach for them. They did a lot declaring war on Germany.
USSR had a certain role in post- war order, that Roosevelt envisioned. He admired Stalin and his government. The relations were cordial since the 30's as there was an intense commerce between the two countries. The whole industrialization which allowed USSR to confront Germany was in most part made possible with an import of american technologies. By the way, this was financed with the blood of millions of peasants from all over the county, but who cares really when great leaders materialize their visions.
These cordial relations between USA and USSR precluded any real confrontation. They started to deteriorate rapidly after 1945, when it became clear for US leaders that Stalin will not participate in the new world order they envisioned and in fact he is only another primitive despot who wants to expand his own empire rather than pursue a great cause of masonic dream of world unity.
8:39 the scenario indeed play out, but France was already defeated by that time. This wasn't part of the Allied plan.
Double standards thats why
See video.
@@HistoryHustleSaw it, sorry not impressed. You telling me a country that chosed Ethiopia (( a slave running country )) over an alliance with Italy can play 4d chess and see that Germany would betray the USSR? Give me a break, Churchil sold the Empire for pennies on the dollar and made them depedent on the US forever.
@@royale7620 It played out quite well in the end so the gamble paid off haha
@@Ludwig_Cox to who? Eastern Europe, bolshevized, collectivized, turned towards Red insanity by force? Stay in ur lane kid, u dont know anything
@@royale7620Churchill had no influence on British foreign policy and was not a cabinet member until September 1939. Tell me what did Italy and Germany offer the uk in an alliance other than blackmail?
This is the WW11 Narrative Load Bearing Myth of the last 80 years--Darryl Cooper. Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Esinhower were the bad guys--not Hitler. Churchill even gave Stalin Poland when it was all over !!
I was would be pissed i if fought the right enemy which was communism only to be thank with a jail sentence and in the end i was right and they were wrong
?
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And this is why Poland is beefing up to have the biggest modern military in all of europe can you blame them
I understand them.
Hi, im from dutch east indies
Good question 😅
Yeah, why didnt the true nazis declare war on USSR?? "They didnt need to" is quite lame....
Ok.
You could have mentioned that, give or take a km or so, the Soviets advanced up to the Kurzon Line, established some 20 years earlier.
Like it or not, the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was fundamental to give USSR more ground to fight for during tge Barbarossa offensive. If it weren't for those extra km, the Germans may as well have entered Moscow, with all the consequences one may imagine.
Interesting to read.
I'm sure fueling the Nazi war machine so it could go on to kill 20 million+ Soviets was a master class. Nevermind that the ussr expected the Nazis to be defeated by France and that the Nazis delayed their invasion of Poland because they wouldn't have attacked without the USSR alliance.
Much is made about the Ukrainian involvement with the SS; would be a good topic.
Not absolving anyone, but when the choices are the Nazis, or the Soviets, and your people are dying either way....
Stalin was afraid of a joint invasion by Germany, Poland and Japan. Japan had invaded Russia in 1918, 1938 and 1939. Poland had invaded Russia in 1920, and occupied "Eastern Poland" which was really western Russia. Polish rule was harsh, especially in what is now western Ukraine.
Winston Churchill called Poland "the hyenas of Europe." In 1939, USSR took back western Russia more or less to the Curzon Line, which was a fair dividing line between Poland and Russia.
Correction: "Britain and France saw Germany as the primary competitor and the main threat to British and French world dominance." They didn´t care about Danzig.
Interesting how Poland is derided for being a "Dictatorship". Which is very, very bad from all angles !
Yet, German III Reich. Soviet Bolsheviks, Spanish things, Italian what nots and all the other Euro places are not as bad.
In obfuscating descriptions not bad at all in comparison.
What is lacking in West finger diddling, self pleasuring, same old narrative is an in depth perspective from the East European side of the rift.
Thanks for providing much info, ''from the other side''.
Poland was. They attacked the Soviets and Czechs in the Inbetween Wars
@@novak7970 Interbellum Poland:
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History of Poland [1918 - 1939] - Wikipedia
realpolitik... 🤷♂
I could tell you why but then you losers would report my comment so instead just watch crappy video instead
Намекни хотя бы 😮
They should have- Stalin was the most evil dictator of that era
Or Mao. But he came around later.
Many "historians" practice cherry picking. For instance it is seldom told,that Poland attacked Tchekoslovakia aside the nazis. This after Poland made a lot of effort to prevent an alliance in order to defend thecoslovakia and defeat Hilter in 1939.
Ok
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@@HistoryHustle ok
@@Nigsple. ok
I aborted when the question in the title was not addressed after half the video. So far only stuff any one interested in WW2 knew already.
Can't help thinking the difference was due to sympathy for the USSR in France and Britain. Burgess, Maclean, Philby etc didn't come out of nowhere
The Inbetween Wars deserved a mention as Poland had attacked the Soviets without cause and had defeated them. Taking lands from the Soviets something that was a cause for their 1939 recapture of lost territory. Poland in the 1930s were also a very much nationalistic country. History has forgotten this.
It's simple really. Both Britain and France had a treaty obligation to defend Poland from a GERMAN attack. The treaty didn't say anything about a SOVIET attack.
The reason the Allies didn't declare war on the USSR was because they weren't treaty bound to defend Poland from a Soviet attack but from a German attack.
As always there is more to it. History is about the details. Please watch the video.
@@HistoryHustlei had forgotten to mention that another reason why the Allies didn't declare war on the Soviets is that France and Britain feared Germany more than the Soviet Union, and if they were forced to go to war with Germany, they wanted to hedge their bets that the German-Soviets Alliance wouldn't last and they would turn on each other.
The defense treaty with Poland was just a excuse not to fight both Germany and the USSR.
But the Soviets invaded to assist Germany therefore, France, England should have declared war on Russia for siding with Germany. Don't make the Russians innocent.
@@stevelauda5435 I'm not. The Germans and Soviets were allies at the start of WW2. I only said the reason the British and French didn't declare war on the Soviets was because of a treaty obligation to defend Poland from a German attack specifically. To the British and France, Germany was closer and was a bigger threat to them than the Soviets. They also hoped that the alliance between Hitler and Stalin would not last and they would fight each other.
The Soviets are no innocent victims.
Think you forgot to watch the video.
Thanks!
Thanks for your support!
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