WWII opened with the German and Soviet invasion of Poland which sparked outrage in that the Germans broke the promises signed in the Treaty of Versailles. At first, the Soviets were fine sharing Poland but then the Germans started to advance in to Soviet territory and make an advance on the motherland.
After Poland was overrun, the Allied forces contributed to Poland's forces by setting up a same intelligent service base outside of Poland. This helped to recreate Poland's army and because of this, Poland was able to help in the fight. The Poland army was well known for their Air Force and also contributed to the groups force through troops and whatever weapons and tactical gear they had. Though their forces were small, their effort and resources were much appreciated by the Allied forces.
Though most of Poland was under Nazi Control, it was evident that Poles would risk their lives and go out of their way to save Jews who were being slaughtered during the holocaust. They would hide them in their houses, and bunkers even though they would be risking their lives.
Later on, after the Polish army and the Soviets became allies (when Soviets joined the Allies), they assisted the Red Army in the final advance through Poland and into Germany (Berlin was the target) to end the war. So basically, even though the Poles were a part of the opening of the war, they were also a part of the closing of the war as well. Furthermore, discussion of Polish territory will be a great discussion at the conference in Yalta which we are talking about and discussing in class.
Great post that highlights the precarious position of Poland. The graphic you posted makes it way easier for me to comprehend the situation Poland was in at the time. I think the point you brought up about the Yalta Conference is great, and how Russia wanted a "friendly" state on its borders, and how Stalin did not uphold his promise to bring democracy to Poland. Do you think that even though Russia was an Ally, the Poles were glad about their presence in the war?
ReplyDeleteFor more information on Poland's History:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland
This is an interesting post describing one of the more forgotten belligerent countries in World War II. Everyone knows about Russia, Germany, UK, etc., but not many people acknowledge the role Poland played. Admittedly, for the most part the Poles spent lots of the war being fought over by Russia and Germany, and there was the horrible holocaust debacle, but nevertheless Poland deserves it recognition in World War II.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really great summary of the Polish during World War 2 and how they played a role, because we do not often hear about them as being a force for the Allies side of the war. It's unfortunate that even though they helped, the Conference at Yalta did not include them and basically gave away their land to the Soviets, who would later even try to influence their "free" elections. Upon further research, I discovered that the Polish had governments set up in Moscow and London, which disagreed greatly because the government in Moscow were more pro-communists and the London government were more anti-communists. This sparked major issues within their resistance as they could not exactly agree on what ideals to pursue.
ReplyDeleteHere's more about the Polish Resistance Forces.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/resistance-movements/the-polish-resistance/