The plan of Germany for the invasion of Poland

The invasion of Poland was an invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union that marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. The invasion of Poland was the first of the military aggression that Hitler’s Germany would undertake. The Polish army was easily defeated, unable to cope with the superior German troops who were using their famous technique called Blitzkrieg (lightning war), based on the rapid movement of armor and high firepower brutally applied. However, the fall of Poland would be accelerated by the subsequent invasion by the Soviet Union and the lack of help from its allies Britain and France.

The Soviet Union and Germany wanted to invade Poland but they were afraid of a war in two fronts (between them and against Poland). That strong fear that both countries felt made them sign the Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact (1939) or a Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was signed by the foreign ministers of each country, Ribbentrop from Germany and Molotov from the Soviet Union. They put aside their ideological differences for their interests. The Pact, in secret, was a strategy developed by both countries to achieve the partition of Poland between them.

They both were interested on invading Poland. In case of the Soviet Union because Poland was filled with Jewish people that agreed with communism and also they needed Poland territory to be near Germany for future possible attack.

In the Case of Germany they needed to recover the city of Danzig taken by the League of Nation after World War I because Danzig was important for naval war because it was located strategically. They wanted to have free access to the port of Danzig through the Polish Corridor but the Polish refused so Germany decided to attack Poland. Also Poland was filled with Jewish people, so it was time to start the final solution (Nazi anti-Semitism).  The fall of Poland would mean the sharp fall in living standards of its citizens, especially the Polish Jews, killing 20% of the Polish population that existed before the invasion during the occupation. The same as the Soviet Union, Poland had always been a frontier between the Soviet Union and Germany so they needed to be closer for a future attack.

 

By: Giovanna Trisoglio