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Posted 3 Months, 1 Week ago
adoree
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graphgraph
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I must admit I am confused as to what what Hitler's intentions were in the summer in 1939. According to what I have read, Ribbentrop convinced him that Britain would not go to war for Poland. On the other hand, Hitler opposed any idea of a 'second Munich' which would have the British and French force the Poles to hand over Danzig and a corridor linking East Prussia with the rest of Germany. Mussolini did try to propose a conference like this after the German invasion of Poland, but the British would not hear of it unless Hitler pulled back out of Polish territory. Thus, it seems that Hitler DID want a war with Poland, but not with Britain and France. What was it he really wanted? What would a war of conquest in Poland give him regards Britain, France and the USSR? A demonstration of military might would frighten them into giving him more concessions? Didn't he realize that war with Britain and France would be inevitable if he kept up his endless demands? As I understand it, delaying a general war would not help him because the German economy was approaching a crisis because it they didn't have the resources to continue to finance the rearmament that started years earlier. Hitler also knew that Britain and France were rearming (and that the US would probably also follow suit) and that time wasn't working to his advantage. I would appreciate your opinions.
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Posted 3 Months, 1 Week ago
juanorez
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to attack the USSR, you either need to ally with or conquer Poland (the latter probably was the more realistic and less complicated alternative to him at the time).

a common border with the USSR as much to the east as possible.

no, probably not as 'inevitable'. He had gambled and won before, so why not this time again? Looking back in history it is hard to say which historical decisions and events were really inevitable or not.

Hitler's goal was clearly to conquer the Soviet Union (or at least a good part of it). We surely would have preferred if France and the UK would have kept quiet as they had done before or at least if the UK government later on had accepted some peace deal (at his terms). History went differently as we know.
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Posted 3 Months, 1 Week ago
teraklingeru
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Since you solicited opinions, here's mine. I think that Hitler truly believed that the French and English people were so against another war; that there was no way that the governments of either country could do so without a general uprising. This is coupled with his belief in things of the occult and that it was his destiny to make Germany into the ruler of the world. Chamberlain's 'peace in our time' speech reinforced this belief. America, at this point, was obviously in no position nor did it have a desire to interfere with European politics. A war with Poland was necessary as his first step toward Liebenstraum to the East. I feel he concocted the polish attack on the frontier outposts as a way for France and England to avoid declaring war while seeming to keep their pledges to Poland. When they went ahead and declared war, even though he gave them an obvious excuse to avoid doing that, Hitler was shocked, but could not back down and still maintain his position of power. I have no definitive resources to base this opinion on, just an observation ot the politics of the time.
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