One of the main “stones” that the Fifth Column and the West throw at the Soviet Union, trying to denigrate our history, is the accusation of the division of Poland. Allegedly, Stalin and Hitler signed some “secret protocols” to the Non-Aggression Pact between the USSR and Germany” (the originals of which no one ever provided!), and peaceful, defenseless Poland was occupied in the fall of 1939.

There is nothing less true than such statements.

Let's figure it out.

Poland was not at all an anti-Hitler country. On the contrary - on January 26, 1934, it was Poland that was the FIRST among European states to sign a non-aggression pact with Hitler. It is also called the Pilsudski-Hitler Pact.

1. Poland was preparing TOGETHER with Germany for aggression against the USSR. That is why ALL Polish fortifications were built... on the border with the Soviet Union. Nothing was built on the border with Hitler except rear warehouses. Which greatly helped the Germans in the defeat of the Polish armies in the fall of 1939.


2. After the Munich Agreement, Poland, like the Third Reich, received a substantial piece of the territory of Czechoslovakia. Hitler - Sudetenland, Poland - Cieszyn region.


3. Hitler officially terminated the non-aggression pact with Poland on April 28, 2018, due to the so-called “guarantees” that Great Britain gave to Poland. (That is, in essence, these two countries entered into an agreement directed against Berlin, which was regarded as unacceptable).


4. Therefore, Hitler’s destruction of Poland for the USSR looked like this: one Russophobic regime destroyed another Russophobic regime. Stalin had no reason to help the Poles. Moreover, they OFFICIALLY prohibited the USSR from providing any assistance, declaring a ban on the Red Army entering Polish territory (this was during the visit of the Anglo-French delegation to Moscow in August 1939).

All accusations against the USSR and Stalin are based on one postulate: an agreement was signed, which means the USSR helped Germany and was even supposedly its ally. So, following this logic of Svanidze, the Milkies and the Western media, Poland was a 100% ally of Hitler. Was there a non-aggression pact? Was. Moreover, during the Anschluss of Austria, the occupation of part of Czechoslovakia and Lithuania (Memel-Klaipeda), he acted. Poland itself occupied part of Czechoslovakia.

Therefore, liberal historians, either stop talking nonsense about “Stalin is an ally of Hitler,” or be consistent and include Poland as allies of the Third Reich. And write that in September 1939, Hitler defeated his former ally, who six months before that had been a faithful ally of the possessed Fuhrer.

And now some more facts.

First from modern history.

Here is a letter from my reader from Poland.

“Good afternoon, Nikolai Viktorovich! My name is Ruben, I am Armenian and currently live in Warsaw. I would like to share my observations obtained in museums in Warsaw dedicated to the events of World War II. I recently visited the Gestapo Museum in Warsaw and noticed how some historical facts were presented. For example, it was very strange to read that Germany annexed the Sudetenland in 1938, while Poland occupied Zaolzie (the eastern part of Cieszyn Silesia).

Please note that replacing just one word already gives the actions of the Germans a clear aggressiveness, while the Poles

themselves, they simply occupied the territory. As if this was an empty, useless territory, and they just occupied it. Don't let the goodness go to waste.

And I’m also very outraged by the hatred of everything Russian, the USSR and communism. In museums dedicated to the victims of the Germans, there is more hatred towards Russians than towards Germans. We are on par with the Nazis, and sometimes worse. For example, in one room Stalin’s words of regret and condolences are given to the victims of the premature (as Stalin believed) Warsaw Uprising, in another - Stalin is presented as a bloodthirsty executioner who strangles an SS man with one hand, and with the other, holding a sickle, wants to cut off the head of a liberated Pole. And many of them are very offensive

It is surprising that they do not question that if the Russians committed the same atrocities, then why in Poland there are only German concentration camps Auschwitz, Majdanek, etc.? Where are the death camps built by the Russians? Where are the photographs, films? After all, all this is about the Germans. And nothing about us. Only caricatures and selfless hysteria. It’s a shame that people readily believe this and hate Russians more than Germans.”

What can I say - sowing hatred towards Russia and Russians is generally the center of the West’s political line EVERYWHERE. If you doubt it, look at Ukraine. In fact, after the terrible Second World War, the USSR and Poland found mutual understanding and lived peacefully. Hatred is a thing of the past - it has been revived. But Stalin tried no less for Poland than for his own country. Today's Poland was created within today's borders by Stalin.

As for how Poland, taking advantage of the fact that England and France surrendered Czechoslovakia to Hitler, “plucked off” the Cieszyn region from it, material from one of the resources tells about this perfectly. Let's remember that the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938 was not only German, but also Polish.

The partition and destruction of Czechoslovakia as an independent state with the participation of Germany, Hungary and Poland in 1938-1939 is not included in the official history of World War II. How the “victim” of the “Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact” behaved a year before the “official” start of World War II.

Polish 7TR tanks enter the Czech city of Teszyn (Cieszyn). October 1938

Poles replace the Czech name of the city with the Polish one at the city railway station in Tesin.

Polish troops enter Cieszyn

Polish soldiers pose with the deposed Czechoslovak coat of arms at the telephone and telegraph building they captured during Operation Zaluzhye in the Czech village of Ligotka Kameralna (Polish, Komorní Lhotka-Czech), located near the town of Tesin.

A Polish tank 7TR from the 3rd armored battalion (tank of the 1st platoon) overcomes the Czechoslovak border fortifications in the area of ​​the Polish-Czechoslovak border. The 3rd Armored Battalion had a tactical sign “Silhouette of a bison in a circle”, which was applied to the tank turret. But in August 1939, all tactical signs on the towers were painted over, as if they were unmasking.

The Poles are carrying a Czechoslovak border post torn out of the ground with the destroyed Czechoslovak coat of arms. Teshin.

Handshake between Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigła and German attaché Colonel Bogislaw von Studnitz at the Independence Day parade in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. The photograph is notable because the Polish parade was particularly linked to the capture of Cieszyn Selesia a month earlier.

An armored unit of Polish troops occupies the Czech village of Jorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis. In the foreground is a Polish TK-3 wedge.

Polish troops occupy the Czech village of Jorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spiš.

The future fate of these territories is interesting. After the collapse of Poland, Orava and Spis were transferred to Slovakia. After the end of World War II, the lands were again occupied by the Poles, the government of Czechoslovakia was forced to agree to this. To celebrate, the Poles carried out ethnic cleansing against ethnic Slovaks and Germans. In 1958 the territories were returned to Czechoslovakia. Now they are part of Slovakia.

Polish soldiers at a captured Czech checkpoint near the Czechoslovak-German border, near the pedestrian bridge built in honor of the anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph in the Czech town of Bohumin. The not yet demolished Czechoslovakian border pillar is visible.

Polish troops occupy the Czech town of Karvin during Operation Zaluzhye. The Polish part of the population greets the troops with flowers. October 1938.

The Czechoslovak city of Karvin was the center of heavy industry in Czechoslovakia, coke production, and one of the most important centers of coal mining in the Ostrava-Karvin coal basin. Thanks to Operation Zaluzhye carried out by the Poles, former Czechoslovak enterprises already at the end of 1938 provided Poland with almost 41% of the iron smelted in Poland and almost 47% of the steel.

Bunker of the Czechoslovak fortification line in the Sudeten Mountains (“Beneš Line”).

Sudeten Germans break down a Czechoslovak border post during the German occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in late September and early October 1938.

Units of the Polish 10th Mounted Rifle Regiment of the 10th Mechanized Brigade are preparing for a ceremonial parade in front of the regiment commander to mark the end of Operation Zaluzhye (occupation of Czechoslovak territories).

Handshake between Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigła and German attache Major General Bogislaw von Studnitz at the Independence Day parade in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. The photograph is notable because the Polish parade was particularly linked to the capture of Cieszyn Selesia a month earlier. A column of Cieszyn Poles specially marched at the parade, and in Germany the day before, from November 9 to 10, 1938, the so-called “Crystal Night” took place, the first mass act of direct physical violence against Jews on the territory of the Third Reich.

Fraternization of soldiers of the Hungarian and Polish occupation forces in occupied Czechoslovakia.

German officers at the Czechoslovak-German border observe the capture of the town of Bohumin by Polish troops. Germans stand on a pedestrian bridge built in honor of the anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph.

World War II. 1939–1945. History of the Great War Nikolai Alexandrovich Shefov

Munich Treaty Occupation of Czechoslovakia

Munich Treaty

Occupation of Czechoslovakia

The acquiescence with which the Western powers agreed to the Anschluss of Austria further emboldened Hitler. He did not put things off for a long time. Literally two months after the entry of German troops into Austria, the vector of its expansion takes a new direction - Czechoslovakia.

The reason for the intervention was the activity of the Germans living in Czechoslovakia (in the Sudetenland bordering Germany), who, with the direct support of the German leadership, advocated unification with their historical homeland. They made up about a quarter of the population of Czechoslovakia and were constantly vocal about discriminatory measures against them. These claims were partly justified - almost half of the 1 million unemployed in the country were Sudeten Germans.

One of the most prosperous countries in Central Europe, Czechoslovakia was a very tasty morsel for Germany. Many important industrial plants were located on Czechoslovak territory, including the Skoda steel mills and military factories.

The Czechoslovak crisis began with events in the border town of Cheb on May 21, 1938, when two Sudeten Germans died in a clash with Czech police. This event gave rise to an open anti-Czech campaign in Germany. Hitler advanced German troops to the border with Czechoslovakia. But when the Soviet Union and France warned Germany that they would fulfill their obligations towards Czechoslovakia, Hitler was forced to withdraw troops from the border. He puts aside the military option for the time being and makes an attempt to come to an agreement on the fate of Czechoslovakia with the leading Western powers. At the same time, the German leadership is strengthening the separatist movement of the Sudeten Germans within the country.

All summer, the Czechoslovak crisis was brewing through the efforts of diplomats. At this time, the position of Great Britain is emerging quite clearly, which on the issue of Czechoslovakia was increasingly moving away from its ally in the First World War and was following the lead of Nazi Germany. In London, the opinion was growing that it was time to move away from the weakening France, engulfed in socialist ferment, and join forces with Germany to create a united front against the growing power of the Soviet Union. In this regard, British leaders were more impressed by pro-German Czechoslovakia - an excellent shield against the USSR.

Another significant reason for condoning German aggression was the unpreparedness of the Western powers for a serious war. Thus, in an extensive memo from the Imperial Chiefs of Staff, submitted to Prime Minister Chamberlain in September 1938, recommendations were made not to enter into war with Germany under any circumstances, since this could lead to only one thing - complete defeat. The Imperial Chiefs of Staff allowed for an offensive war in the future, but only with the completion of the rearmament program. In the meantime, according to the British Minister of War Hore-Belish, fighting against Germany “is like going out to hunt a tiger with an unloaded gun.”

The then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain thought it was normal for Germany to dominate Central Europe: “We must let her do this, otherwise we will have a war every 15 to 20 years.” With such thoughts and sentiments, the British leadership actually paved the direct road for Hitler to his diplomatic triumph in 1938.

While planning the seizure of Czechoslovakia, German diplomacy also carried out active foreign policy preparations among its neighbors. Hitler actually managed to put together a coalition against Czechoslovakia from Poland and Hungary, which had territorial claims to their neighbor. Poland sought to obtain the Cieszyn district from Czechoslovakia, and Hungary - the southern regions of Slovakia and Transcarpathian Rus.

Having tested the position of the Western powers in the summer, who actually did not intend to fight to save Czechoslovakia, Hitler accelerated the resolution of the issue. On his instructions, intensive activities are being launched to undermine the internal stability of Czechoslovakia. On September 12, a separatist rebellion he provoked broke out in the Sudetenland. Suppressed by government troops, this rebellion only led to aggravation of the situation.

On September 15, 1938, a meeting between Chamberlain and Hitler took place in Berchtesgaden. At it, the British Prime Minister actually agreed with the Fuhrer’s demand to transfer the Czechoslovak border territories to Germany. France, also fearing war, followed England in this matter. On September 18, an Anglo-French ultimatum followed on the transfer of part of Czechoslovak territory to Germany. This document stated that “it is necessary to cede to Germany areas inhabited predominantly by Sudeten Germans in order to avoid a pan-European war.”

Meanwhile, 36 German divisions were prepared for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. Hitler planned to start it on October 1, 1938.

On September 22, Polish and Hungarian troops also approached the borders of Czechoslovakia, aimed at capturing the territories they required.

Only the USSR, for which Hitler’s seizure of Czechoslovakia meant the creation of an immediate threat to the western borders, continued to actively oppose German demands. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Litvinov officially announced on September 21 that his country remains faithful to the treaty with Czechoslovakia and is ready to come to the aid of its ally in the event of German aggression. True, the assistance of the USSR was conditioned by the simultaneous support of Czechoslovakia from France. But the USSR made it clear to the Czech leadership that it was ready to come to the rescue even if France refused to act against Germany.

In September, more than 40 Soviet divisions (rifle and cavalry) were put on alert to help Czechoslovakia. In total, the USSR could field up to 90 divisions. With 45 mobilized Czechoslovak divisions, it was an impressive force capable of repelling German aggression. If France entered the conflict, the chances of success for Germany and its allies were extremely low.

However, the call of the USSR remained a voice crying in the wilderness. France and England openly ignored Soviet initiatives. The Czechoslovak government, which trusted the Western powers more than the USSR, did not cooperate with Soviet offers of help.

At this point, the Italian leader Mussolini advised Hitler to convene a quadripartite meeting in order to resolve all the problems that had arisen. Having agreed to this proposal, Hitler delivered a speech on September 26 at a mass rally at the Sports Palace in Berlin. He assured Chamberlain and the whole world that if the problem of the Sudeten Germans was solved, he would not make further territorial claims in Europe: “We are now approaching the last problem that requires its solution. This is the last territorial demand that I put forward to Europe.” This peaceful gesture was quickly appreciated by the English side. On September 28, the British government made an offer to Mussolini to become a mediator in the Sudeten issue. Hitler willingly agreed to hold a conference, the results of which were actually already agreed upon by him with France and England.

On September 29, a conference of four powers - Germany and Italy - opened in Munich. England and France. The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia were not allowed to negotiate. Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Daladier accepted Hitler's terms. The Czechoslovak government was only informed that if the Munich Agreement was rejected, Czechoslovakia would be left alone with Germany.

The Munich Agreement of the four powers provided for the transfer to Germany from October 1 to October 10, 1938 of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia (with all structures and fortifications, factories, plants, reserves of raw materials, communications routes, etc.). The agreement also took into account the territorial claims of its neighbors Poland and Hungary to Czechoslovakia. These claims were to be satisfied within three months. The parties to the agreement guaranteed new borders for Czechoslovakia. On September 30, the Czechoslovak government, abandoned by the Western powers conspiring with Hitler and not wanting to fall into the arms of the USSR, accepted the Munich diktat.

The next day, Chamberlain asked Hitler to sign the British-German Declaration, in which the parties declared their intention to never fight each other and to solve all problems through consultation. Hitler willingly signed the statement, which, as it turned out, meant nothing to him. Chamberlain was delighted and declared that "this is the world for a generation." However, not everyone in England shared such optimism. According to W. Churchill, who was in opposition to Chamberlain’s policies, “there is no reason to hope that this will all end. This is only the first sip from the bitter cup that will be offered to us any day now.”

On the night of October 1, 1938, German troops entered the Sudetenland. Only after its occupation did the full extent of Hitler's adventurism and the short-sightedness of his Western patrons become clear. After inspecting the Czech fortifications in the Sudetenland, the Fuhrer admitted: “What we learned about the military power of Czechoslovakia after Munich was terrifying. We exposed ourselves to great danger. The Czech generals prepared a serious plan. Only then did I understand why my generals were holding me back.” Field Marshal Manstein later testified at the Nuremberg trials: “There is no doubt that if Czechoslovakia had decided to defend itself, its fortifications would have stood, since we did not have the means to break through them.”

The Munich Agreement was the culmination of the policy of “appeasement” of the aggressor, with the help of which the Western powers tried to establish a new international order with the participation of Nazi Germany. The results of this policy were summed up by Winston Churchill: “Let us look back and see what we have consistently put up with or what we have refused: the disarmament of Germany on the basis of a solemnly concluded treaty; the rearmament of Germany in violation of the solemnly concluded treaty; eliminating superiority or even equality of forces in the air; the forced occupation of the Rhineland and the construction or start of construction of the Siegfried Line; creation of the Berlin-Rome axis; Austria torn to pieces and absorbed by the Reich; Czechoslovakia, abandoned and ruined by the Munich agreement; the transfer of its line of fortresses into the hands of Germany; its powerful arsenal "Skoda" henceforth produces weapons for the German armies; on the one hand, the rejected attempt by President Roosevelt to stabilize the situation in Europe through US intervention, and on the other hand, the ignoring of the undoubted desire of Soviet Russia to join the Western powers and take any measures to save Czechoslovakia; refusal to help 35 Czechoslovak divisions against the still immature German army, when Great Britain itself could send only two divisions to strengthen the front in France.”

For the Soviet Union, which was not allowed to participate in the negotiations, the Munich Agreement was a sobering slap in the face. It meant the collapse of illusions about pursuing a policy of collective security and the virtual isolation of the USSR, excluded from making fundamental decisions in international politics. On the other hand, this was a major foreign policy success for Hitler, who made full use of the “Soviet card” in the game with England and France. Thus, Soviet leader I. Stalin assessed the Munich Treaty and the surrender of regions of Czechoslovakia to the Germans “as the price for the obligation to start a war with the Soviet Union.”

Unlike Deladier and Chamberlain, who expressed wishful thinking, in Moscow the Munich Agreement was assessed as a disaster for the whole world. According to the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov, who forecast post-Munich scenarios, “either England and France will continue to fulfill all of Hitler’s demands, and he will eventually achieve dominance in Europe and over the colonies, and then calm down for a while to digest what he swallowed, or England and France will see the danger and begin to look for ways to counter Hitler’s dynamism. In this case, they will inevitably turn to us, but they will be spoken to differently.”

In Munich, the most highly developed industrial part of Czechoslovakia was given to Hitler. It accounted for 40 percent of arms exports. Leading military industry enterprises were located there. As a result, Nazi Germany received a powerful impetus for the growth of arms production and exceeded the military-economic potential of Great Britain and France. Due to the inclusion of new territories into the Reich, its mobilization potential also increased. Germany received the most important strategic territory in the center of Europe, from where it could threaten a number of countries.

The document signed in Munich had dire foreign policy consequences. With the conclusion of the Munich Agreement, the Soviet-Czechoslovak-French agreement virtually collapsed, and with it the entire system of collective security in Europe. Soon after Munich (October - November 1938), with the active support of Germany, Poland and Hungary satisfied their territorial claims to Czechoslovakia. The first received the industrially developed Cieszyn district, the second - the southern regions of Slovakia and Transcarpathian Rus'.

Counting on pacifying Berlin at the cost of territorial concessions to Czechoslovakia, England and France grossly miscalculated. In their eyes, Munich marked the beginning of a new peaceful stage in the history of Europe. For Hitler, this was only a skillful delay of the coming war on the part of Germany, which was not yet sufficiently prepared for it. Munich became an intermediate stage in a step-by-step plan for the collapse and capture of the entire Czechoslovak state.

In addition to the obvious economic and psychological benefits, this gave Germany an obvious geopolitical advantage in Eastern Europe, allowing it to strike Poland from the south and the Balkans from the north. In this regard, Hitler became a direct successor of the geopolitics of Bismarck, who at one time noted: “Whoever rules the Czech Republic rules over Europe.”

Slovak separatists took advantage of the weakening of the unified Czechoslovak state. On October 6, 1938, they put forward a demand for autonomy for Slovakia. On November 19, the Czechoslovak Chamber of Deputies approved the law on the autonomy of Slovakia. Thus, a split of the country, beneficial to Germany, was being prepared.

The German leadership actively encouraged Slovak separatism in order to accelerate the collapse of Czechoslovakia. After separatist leader Tiso visited Hitler in Berlin on March 12, 1939, Slovakia declared its independence. This act was supported by neighboring Poland, linked to Germany through the division of Czechoslovakia.

The split of Czechoslovakia actually annulled the Munich guarantees to this state, which ceased to exist. After this, the Czech Republic that remained from the split fell into the clutches of Hitler like a ripe fruit. Such a turn of events relieved the Munich guarantors (Great Britain and France) of the obligation to defend a no longer existing state. Hitler immediately took advantage of this. Under the threat of military intervention, the Fuhrer forced Czech President Hach, who arrived in Berlin, to agree to a German protectorate over Bohemia.

On March 15, 1939, German troops occupied the Czech lands. Hitler declared that Bohemia and Moravia had been part of German living space for thousands of years and would henceforth belong to the Reich. On March 16, Slovakia, which had declared its independence the day before, recognized the German protectorate. The former guarantors of the integrity of Czechoslovakia did not even lift a finger. The only power that actively condemned the takeover of Czechoslovakia was the Soviet Union.

As a result of the capture of Czechoslovakia, Nazi Germany received 1,582 aircraft, 501 anti-aircraft guns, 2,175 guns, 469 tanks, over 1 million rifles, 1 billion cartridges, 3 million shells. Without a fight, more than a million Czechoslovak army was also withdrawn from the ranks of opponents of Nazi Germany. By seizing military enterprises and equipment from Czechoslovakia, Nazi Germany exceeded the level of arms production achieved by England and France by March 1939. Thus, the capture of Czechoslovakia changed the strategic balance in Europe.

Inspired by the example of Germany, fascist Italy captured Albania on April 7, 1939, and five days later incorporated this state into its composition. In connection with this aggression, England issued a statement of readiness to defend its interests in the Mediterranean. But the matter was limited only to bringing the English squadron into combat readiness in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hitler was not going to stop there. On March 22, an ultimatum was presented to Lithuania, and it resignedly surrendered Memel and the surrounding territories to Germany. On March 23, Hitler solemnly arrived in the “liberated” city.

This was a very unpleasant “call” for Poland. After all, almost simultaneously, German Foreign Minister J. von Ribbentrop, in a conversation with the Polish ambassador, presented Germany's claims to Danzig. Its capture would connect the main part of Germany with East Prussia. Ribbentrop also demanded German rights to build an extraterritorial railway and highway that would link Germany and East Prussia. In response, Germany promised Poland a guarantee of its borders and invited its partner in the division of Czechoslovakia to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the USSR. In fact, the Poles were given a hint that if the Danzig problem was resolved, they could expect large territorial gains in the east.

So, it turned out that the Sudetenland is far from the last point in Germany’s territorial aspirations. Munich did not moderate, but only teased the Fuhrer’s appetites. The policy of “appeasement” turned out to be ineffective.

The illusions of the West have finally dissipated. At the end of March 1939, Chamberlain dramatically changed his foreign policy course. The former appeaser declares in the House of Commons that England and France "will give the Polish government all possible assistance that they are able to provide if Poland is attacked." Unlike Czechoslovakia, Poland, which received similar assurances, did not want to give up an inch of its territory and took an irreconcilable position towards Germany.

The guarantees given to Poland indicated the end of the policy of “appeasement.” A new foreign policy course of the Western powers is beginning, called the “policy of guarantees.” It meant the provision of security guarantees by the leading powers to European countries that had become objects of Hitler's pressure.

But the genie was already out of the bottle. Unlike the First World War, which was predetermined by universal armament, the chances of avoiding the Second World War were much higher. However, years of impunity and connivance allowed the growth of a huge military monster in the center of Europe, which by 1939 had escaped control and was no longer paying attention to anyone.

Hitler's diplomatic game with the Western democracies was largely over. His flirtation with London was losing all meaning by that time. In response to the British guarantees to Poland, German generals on April 3, 1939, by order of the Fuhrer, began working out a plan for an attack on Poland (Plan Weiss) by September 1 of the same year. Lucifer's recent ally now found herself in front of his open mouth.