ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Knowledgia Why didn’t the Allies declare war on the USSR when they invaded Poland?
The invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, marked the start of World War II. This happened just a week after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression agreement. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. By October 6, Germany and the Soviet Union had divided Poland between them, as agreed in their secret treaty.
When Germany invaded Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany because they had promised to protect Poland from foreign attacks. However, when the Soviet Union invaded Poland two weeks later, neither Britain nor France declared war on the Soviets. This left many Polish people feeling betrayed by their Western allies.
The main question is why Britain and France didn’t declare war on the Soviet Union. To understand this, we need to look at the political agreements of the time. France and Poland had a defensive alliance dating back to 1921, which was mainly diplomatic. In 1939, a new military agreement was signed, but it wasn’t legally binding without political approval. This agreement focused on Germany as the aggressor, not the Soviet Union.
Britain had a defense pact with Poland, promising help if Poland was attacked by a European country. However, a secret part of this agreement limited Britain’s obligations to aggression from Germany only. When the Soviet Union attacked, the British government decided not to declare war, partly because they were not prepared for another conflict and partly because they wanted to avoid escalating tensions.
At the time, both Britain and France were not ready for a large-scale war. They were powerful nations but were trying to avoid further conflict. Germany and the Soviet Union, despite being rivals, had managed to create economic treaties and a non-aggression pact. The Allies were more focused on Germany’s expansionist actions and less on the Soviet Union.
Poland’s geographical position made it vulnerable, situated between two powerful regimes with expansionist ambitions. By the time the war began, it was likely too late for the Allies to save Poland from disaster. The fear of another Great War was a significant factor in the Allies’ cautious approach.
In conclusion, the complex political landscape, secret agreements, and lack of preparedness for war contributed to the Allies’ decision not to declare war on the Soviet Union when they invaded Poland. The focus remained on Germany, and the Allies hoped to avoid further escalation.
Engage in a role-playing debate where you and your classmates are divided into groups representing different countries involved in the events of 1939. Each group should research their country’s perspective and argue why they did or did not declare war on the USSR. This will help you understand the complex political motivations and alliances of the time.
Create a detailed timeline of events leading up to and following the invasion of Poland in 1939. Include key dates, treaties, and decisions made by the Allies. This activity will help you visualize the sequence of events and understand the geopolitical context.
Analyze a map of Europe from 1939 to identify the strategic positions of the countries involved. Discuss how geography influenced the decisions of the Allies and the outcomes of the invasions. This will enhance your understanding of the geographical challenges faced by Poland.
Research the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and other secret agreements of the time. Present your findings to the class, focusing on how these agreements impacted the decisions of the Allies. This will deepen your understanding of the hidden diplomatic maneuvers during the period.
Write a short story or diary entry from the perspective of a Polish citizen during the invasions. Reflect on their feelings of betrayal and the impact of the Allies’ decisions on their lives. This activity will help you empathize with the people affected by these historical events.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
[Music] The invasion of Poland started on the 1st of September 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began one week after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviets invaded Poland from the east on the 17th of September. The campaign ended on the 6th of October, with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German-Soviet frontier treaty.
At the beginning of World War II, although they were slow to actually attack Germany, Great Britain and France declared war against it after Germany marched its troops into Polish territory. This was due to a treaty that guaranteed Poland against foreign invasion. However, the USSR also invaded eastern Poland two weeks later, but neither France nor the United Kingdom declared war on the Soviets. The lack of a declaration of war against the Soviet Union or any direct help for Poland led many Polish people to believe they had been betrayed by their Western allies.
The question of today’s video is: why did Britain and France not declare war on the Soviet Union when the Red Army invaded Poland? If you’re a fan of our channel, we encourage you to check out our favorite streaming service for educational content, Curiosity Stream. Here, you can find thousands of educational movies, including well-made documentaries about history. For example, I recommend the series “Apocalypse: World War II.” This documentary caught my attention, and I found it to be very informative. You can watch it for free as our subscriber, gaining access to thousands of documentaries on Curiosity Stream. Click on the link in the description and use the code when you register to get 30 days of free access to the entire library.
A political alliance was signed between France and Poland in February 1921, following the negotiations that ended the Polish-Soviet War by the Treaty of Riga. France aimed to protect the new countries that emerged after World War I. This protection was primarily diplomatic, with the agreement assuming a common foreign policy, bilateral economic contacts, and assistance in case one became a victim of an unprovoked attack. Thus, it was a defensive alliance.
A new alliance was formed in 1939, with a military convention signed on May 19th in France. This agreement linked the armies but was not legally enforced, as it depended on political approval. As tensions rose in Europe, the agreement required both armies to assist each other in case of war with Germany. The French even promised a bold relief offensive within three weeks of a German attack. The treaty was ratified by France on September 4th, 1939, during the German offensive on Poland. However, the French army did not attack Germany and provided only limited assistance during the war.
Technically, France had no obligation to defend Poland against the Soviet Union, while Great Britain did. In 1939, both nations negotiated a defense pact with Poland. The agreement between Poland and France specifically named Germany as a potential aggressor, whereas the British agreement referred to hostilities with a European power. On August 25th, two days after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the mutual assistance agreement between the United Kingdom and Poland was signed. This agreement promised mutual military assistance if either was attacked by a European country.
Due to German expansionism, Great Britain sought to discourage aggression. The British government wanted to show solidarity with Poland. In a secret protocol of the pact, the UK offered assistance specifically in the case of an attack on Poland by Germany. However, in the case of an attack by other countries, the parties were only required to consult on measures to be taken together. According to the Polish-British agreement, Britain was legally obliged to respond immediately to a Soviet attack.
When the Soviet Union attacked, the Polish ambassador in London requested help. Lord Halifax stated that the UK was free to decide whether to declare war on the USSR. The reason the UK did not declare war on the Soviet Union is complex. The secret protocol to the 1939 Anglo-Polish treaty limited British obligations to aggression from Germany. The British government considered revealing this secret part of the agreement but ultimately decided against it, fearing it would provoke curiosity about similar protocols in other treaties.
An answer given in the House of Commons in October 1939 revealed that the Poles understood the agreement to cover only aggression by Germany. The Soviet aggression was treated differently. The British had already shown they could not defend Poland against Germany, and their focus was on avoiding further conflict. When the situation worsened, they declared war alongside France, but that was the extent of their involvement.
The Soviet Union, like Germany, was a totalitarian state looking to expand westward, claiming protection for certain ethnicities. The British ambassador to Moscow wrote in a secret telegram that he did not see any advantage in war with the Soviet Union and believed reasonable settlements could be achieved. Neither the UK nor France were prepared for war; both were strong powers but were not seeking conflict.
Germany believed that neither France nor Britain would escalate their actions and would back down after declaring war. This could have been an opportunity for the Allies to end the war with Germany sooner by invading from the West, considering Germany had a small army for protection. However, nothing significant occurred, except for a small incursion into German territory by the French army. Indeed, the Germans were correct; neither France nor Britain came to Poland’s aid.
The Allies were not prepared for conflict, and given their response to Germany during the early days of the invasion of Poland, it was clear they would not follow up with another declaration of war against the Soviet Union. Additionally, Germany and the USSR were rivals in ideology and history, yet they managed to create economic treaties and a surprising pact in the 1930s. The focus was primarily on Germany and its expansionist ideas, with less attention on the Soviet Union.
The fear of another Great War loomed, and the pact between Germany and the Soviet Union exacerbated the situation. It was known that this was a non-aggression pact, not a military alliance. By declaring war, the Allies could have pressured both Germany and the Soviet Union into a military alliance or a stronger bond.
Another factor was Poland’s geography. Poland was situated on a vast plain with minimal natural defenses between two undemocratic regimes seeking expansion. The Allies recognized this, and by the time the war broke out, it was likely too late to save Poland and its people from disaster.
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Allies – Countries or groups that join together for a common purpose, often to support each other in times of war. – During World War II, the Allies worked together to defeat the Axis powers.
Poland – A country in Central Europe that was invaded by Germany in 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. – The invasion of Poland by Germany led to Britain and France declaring war on Germany.
Germany – A country in Central Europe that played a central role in both World War I and World War II. – Germany’s aggressive expansionist policies under Hitler led to the outbreak of World War II.
Soviet – Relating to the former Soviet Union, a socialist state that existed from 1922 to 1991. – The Soviet Union was one of the major Allied powers during World War II.
Union – A political unit formed by a number of states or regions that agree to work together for common purposes. – The Soviet Union was a union of multiple republics under a single government.
War – A state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country. – The devastation of World War I led to significant political changes in Europe.
Invasion – An instance of invading a country or region with an armed force. – The invasion of Normandy was a turning point in World War II.
Treaty – A formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries. – The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I and imposed heavy reparations on Germany.
Expansionist – Relating to a policy of territorial or economic expansion. – Hitler’s expansionist ambitions led to the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland.
Geopolitics – The study of the effects of geography on international politics and relations. – Geopolitics played a crucial role in the Cold War, as the United States and the Soviet Union vied for global influence.
