This update includes relevant dates from the book “Roosevelt and Stalin: The Failed Courtship,” by Robert Nisbet, as well as other minor additions. The new items are in red. Items in parenthesis refer to (book:page).
1) 1795
a. Three partitions of Poland, the division of land between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. (1:424)
i. 1772: Pomerelia and Ermland to Prussia; Galicia to Austria (1:427)
ii. 1793, 1795: heart of Poland is fully divided (1:427)
2) 1815
a. German-French Peace Treaty negotiated. (1:565)
3) 1866
a. German-Austrian Peace Treaty negotiated. (1:565)
4) 1872
a. German-French Peace Treaty negotiated. (1:565)
5) 1916
a. Austria and Germany, out of their parts of the previously partitioned Poland, found a new Poland. (1:424)
6) 1917
a. 2 April
i. Wilson: “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (5:92)
7) 1918
a. January
i. Point 13 of Wilson’s Fourteen Point Peace proposal is toward the establishment of a new state of Poland. (1:421)
b. March
i. Russian Communists sign Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Germany, ceding about 1 MM square kilometers to the Germans. (2:3)
c. 27 August
i. War reparations agreement between Russia and Germany, with Russia obligated to pay 6 billion marks. (2:3)
d. 11 November
i. Armistice
e. 13 November
i. Lenin and Trotsky issue order for the Red Army to begin offensive operations against Europe, in an attempt to continue the war toward world revolution. (2:4)
f. 29 November
i. Communist government of Estonia formed. (2:4)
g. 4 December
i. Communist government of Latvia formed. (2:4)
h. 8 December
i. Communist government of Lithuania formed. (2:4)
i. 17 December
i. Manifesto published in Riga, naming Germany as imminent objective of Communist revolution. (2:4)
j. Unknown
i. Poland claims a greater Poland – “Great Lithuania” – claimed based on marriage in 1569. (1:426)
ii. Polish army established from remnants of former German, Austrian, Hungarian, and Russian soldiers (now Polish nationals). Poland use army to attack in three directions at the expense of its neighbors. (1:424)
iii. Poland and Czechoslovakia each claim the Teschen region, with the Allies awarding a portion of it to Czechoslovakia. (1:433)
iv. Finnish army, immediately upon winning independence from the Russian Bolsheviks, begins building extensive defenses on the Karelian Isthmus. (2:136)
8) 1919
a. January
i. German Reichstag calls for elections. In Silesia, combined with a Polish boycott of elections, 75% vote for German political parties. (1:451)
ii. Soviet republic declared in Bremen, Germany. (2:5)
b. March
i. Hungarian Soviet Republic is formed. (2:5)
c. April
i. Bavarian Soviet Republic declared. (2:5)
d. Spring
i. Poland attacks Russia, weakened by the revolution, and independent Lithuania. (1:427)
e. May
i. Despite January election outcome, Allies demand surrender of Upper Silesia to Poland. It is the third industrial zone (after the Saar and German Lorraine) to be taken from Germany. (1:451)
ii. Churchill, before the Aldwych Club in London: “of all tyrannies in history the Bolshevik tyranny is the worst, the most destructive, the most degrading. It is sheer humbug to pretend that it is not far worse than German militarism.” (1:543)
f. June
i. Against French objections, Allies grant elections in Upper Silesia. (1:451)
ii. After German soldiers withdraw, but before the arrival of Allied soldiers, an uprising of Poles breaks out in order to prevent the referendum. (1:451)
g. June 28
i. Signing of Versailles Treaty (2:7)
h. July
i. Poles blow up three railway and road bridges, sealing off the disputed territory from Germany. (1:452)
i. December
i. Allies set the borders between Poland and the White Russians / Ukraine – the Curzon Line – from Grodno south, then along the Bug River. (1:429)
ii. Poland refuses to leave conquered territory east of this line; Soviets deploy troops to the region; Poland attacks Russia without a war declaration. (1:430)
9) 1920
a. February
i. French soldiers, under Allied authority, take over political power in Upper Silesia. French General, Le Rond, makes no secret of his sympathy for Poland. (1:452)
b. May
i. Poland overruns Ukraine as far as Kiev. (1:430)
c. July
i. Soviets push Polish troops back to Warsaw. (1:430)
ii. Polish troops then turn the tables and drive Russians back to Minsk, essentially wiping out Russian army. (1:430)
d. 22 September
i. Lenin sets as objective Warsaw (desiring a common border with Germany from which to advance), seeing the Versailles Treaty as sowing the seeds for the necessary revolution in Germany. (2:9)
e. October
i. Poland occupies Vilnius, Lithuania and the surrounding area. (1432)
f. November
i. Germany must give up West Prussia, Posen, and East Upper Silesia to Poland as a consequence of Versailles. (1:436) No referendum is allowed. (1:441)
ii. “Free State of Danzig” placed under protection of the League of Nations. Neither Germany nor Poland is satisfied. (1:445)
iii. Every German government since 1920 is dissatisfied with the decisions of the Allies at Versailles (1:468)
g. 6 December
i. Lenin, in a keynote speech before the Moscow organization of the Communist Party of Russia regarding England and France on the one side and Germany on the other (both sides capitalist, and therefore the enemy), declares: “Until the final victory of socialism over the whole world,” the fundamental rule remains valid that “one must exploit the contradictions and conflicts between two groups of imperialist powers, between two groups of capitalist states, and one must set them on each other.” [It is] impossible to defeat both of them, “so one must understand how to group his forces so that the two come into conflict with each other….” (1:528)
1. Is this what Stalin is playing in 1939?
10) 1921
a. 19 February
i. France and Poland conclude an alliance treaty. The core of the treaty is a promise to stand by each other in the case of unprovoked attack by a third country. This treaty is supplemented on the same day by a secret military convention, stipulating the details of French support in the event of a German or Soviet attack against Poland. (1:479)
b. 18 March
i. Peace of Riga, Russia renounces its claim to “East Poland” on the east side of the Curzon line; losing 5 million Ukrainians, 1.2 million white Russians, and about 1 million Jews – along with 1.5 million Poles. (1:431) Only about 1.5 million are Poles. (1: 458)
ii. This event is described by the French Slavic professor Martel: “There were shootings, hanging, torturing…. Many Ukrainian priests were executed.” (1:462)
c. 21 March
i. Referendum for Upper Silesia takes place, amidst bloody clashes; reportedly 1520 Germans meet there deaths while going to the polls. The results are 61% for annexation to Germany, 39% for Poland – with no clear ethnic boundaries. (1:453)
ii. As opposed to applying the election results to the region, the French prevail amongst the Allies, with a border drawn that includes 400,000 German in Poland. (1:453)
d. 22 March
i. General strike declared in industrial central Germany (2:11)
e. 24 March
i. Communists take control of government buildings in Hamburg. (2:11)
f. 1 May
i. The Poles disagree with the split proposed by France. (1:453)
g. 3 May
i. In a fourth uprising, Poles use weapons sent by France for the battle with Russia against the Germans. (1:453) General Le Rond allows the weapons and Polish infantry to come in unchecked. At the same time, Italian troops attempt to oppose the uprising. (1:454)
h. 5 May
i. Polish troops and insurgents capture East Upper Silesia as far as the upper reaches of the Oder. The Reich government protests these actions to the Allied governments. (1:455)
i. 13 May
i. British Prime Minister Lloyd George offered the following in the Lower House: “This step was a complete rupture of the Peace Treaty of Versailles…Poland is the last country that should go against the Treaty of Versailles…If Poland should get permission to overrun these German provinces, that would come to a bad end.” (1:455)
j. 21 May
i. Volunteers gather from Germany and Austria, and begin to recapture the lost and destroyed land: the critical battle is the battle in Annaberg. (1:455)
k. 24 May
i. Paris decrees that every German volunteer in the battle for Upper Silesia is subject to a fine of up to 100,000 marks. (1:455)
l. 5 July
i. German volunteer units have liberated most of Upper Silesia. (1:456)
11) 1922
a. 17 June
i. East Upper Silesia is forced from the Germans in favor of Poland. (1:456)
b. 26 November
i. Soviets sign agreement with German aviation firm Junkers Flugzeugwerke toward the production of metal airplanes. (2:17)
c. 30 December
i. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is born. (2:11)
d. Unknown
i. Poland becomes party to the “Geneva Convention for the Protection of Minorities.” (1:458)
ii. Poland expels minorities who entered after 1908 if they do not “opt” for Poland. Initially, those deported are not compensated for property. Officials with Russian or German as their mother tongue are dismissed from their posts. Half of Russian, German, and Jewish schools are closed. Bilingual teaching is prohibited by Law. Many business and professional licenses held by minorities are revoked. (1:459)
iii. Soviet Russia and Germany conclude the Treaty of Rapallo, as a means to break the isolation each country is experiencing. (1:527)
12) 1923
a. July
i. Soviet agreement with Germany regarding production of munitions and military agreement, and a second regarding construction of a chemical plant. (1:17)
b. 9 November
i. Date fixed by Stalin for a communist coup in Germany. (2:12)
c. Unknown
i. The expanded Poland consists of 30 million people: 19 million speak Polish as their mother tongue, 5 million are Ukrainian, 2.5 million Jews, 2 million Germans, 1.2 million White Russians, and lessor amounts of Lithuanian, Czech, Hungarian, Kashubian, and Slozaken. (1:458)
ii. Polish were Roman Catholic; most of the minorities were Orthodox, Protestant, or Jewish. This created another dividing line and litmus test. (1:461)
13) 1924
a. Unknown
i. In Mein Kampf, Hitler mentions Poland only twice, vaguely and in one case critical of the Germans and Austrians for attempting to Germanize their Polish minorities. (1:507)
14) 1925
a. 15 April
i. Agreement signed between Soviets and Germans toward creation of a secret air force center near Russian city of Lipetsk for training German military pilots. (2:17)
b. September
i. In a letter, German Foreign Minister Stresemann (a Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the Franco-German reconciliation) expresses that “no German administration, from the German Nationalists to the Communists, would ever recognize the boundary of the Versailles Treaty.” (1:468)
c. October
i. The Gazeta Gdansk writes: “Poland must insist that without Königsberg, without the whole of East Prussia, it cannot exist. We must now demand in Locarno that the whole of East Prussia be liquidated…. Should this not happen in a peaceful way, then there will be a second Tannenberg…” (1:472)
1. Referring to the battle of 1410 in which the Polish-Lithuanian army defeated the army of the Teutonic Order, precipitating its political decline. (1:472)
ii. Germany recognizes France’s territorial gains from the Great War. Due to this, France weakens its treaty with Poland – no longer offering a guarantee against a Russian attack, and second, tying any assistance to a prior decision by the League of Nations. (1:480)
d. December
i. In a keynote speech at the Locarno negotiations (in which France’s borders and its possession of Alsace-Lorraine were confirmed), Stresemann added: “The League of Nations leaves open the right to make war if an agreement cannot be attained on Political issues… I seek indeed no military conflicts, but also do not exclude changes of borders in the East, if the impossible boundary drawing in the East should bring about conditions to make that necessary.” (1:468)
ii. Great Britain, in the same Locarno negotiations, explicitly refuses to make a guarantee in favor of Poland concerning the former German territories. (1:468, 482)
15) 1926
a. Unknown
i. Soviet Russia and Berlin conclude the Berlin Treaty, a neutrality Treaty for a period of five years.
ii. Near the Soviet city of Kazan, a tank school is created for training of Germans. (1:18)
iii. Soviet Union begins construction of the “Stalin Line,” thirteen fortified regions along the western borders of the USSR; this effort continues through 1937. The line is built deep in Soviet territory, in order to provide a security pale – a region designed to bog down an aggressor, ensuring no chance at surprise attack. (2:171)
16) 1927
a. September
i. During a meeting of the League of Nations, Poland again asks Britain to guarantee its borders. Britain again refuses. (1:482)
b. Unknown
i. Stalin consolidates power in Soviet Union. (1:28)
17) 1928
a. Unknown
i. Poland is party to the “Kellogg Pact,” renouncing war as a means to settle international disputes. (1:436) Additional parties include the United States, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Germany. (1:506)
b. 1929
i. 29 February
1. The Soviets, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states sign the “Litvinov Protocol,” according to which wars between these countries is to be excluded in the future as solutions to international disputes. (1:483)
ii. Unknown
1. The buildup of Finnish defenses in the Karelian Isthmus (known as the Mannerheim Line), increases significantly. The bulk of Finland’s military expenditures over the next ten years is spent in this buildup. The line is considered impenetrable by various military experts. (2:136)
18) 1930
a. September
i. Three years before Hitler’s rise to power, the Polish Foreign Minister Zaleski tells the President of the Danzig Senate that only a Polish army corps can solve the Danzig question. (1:473)
b. 24 December
i. Two disassembled tanks, products of American George Walter Christie, were shipped to the Soviet Union, falsely labeled as tractors. Purpose was for Soviets to study design. (1:50)
c. Unknown
i. Archbishop Szeptyćkyj, Metropolitan of the Greek Catholic Church of Lemberg writes to a friend: “We are living through terrible times. The punitive expeditions ruin our villages, our schools, our economic institutions. Thousands of villagers have been beaten…. There is a critical aggravation of a system of persecution that has not stopped since 1920.” (1:463)
ii. The newspaper linked to Pilsudski, Mocarstwowiec (The League of Great Power), writes: “We are aware that war between Poland and Germany cannot be avoided…we will see…a new victory at Tennenberg…. But we shall fight this Tannenberg in the suburbs of Berlin. Our ideal is to round Poland off with frontiers on the Oder in the West and the Neisse in Lausatia, and to incorporate Prussia, from the Pragel up to the Spree. In this war no prisoners will be taken, there will be no place for humanitarian feelings. We will surprise the whole world with our war against Germany.” (1:472)
19) 1931
a. October
i. Head of Warsaw government, Marshal Józef Piłsudski, to US President Hoover: “Poland must counter an imminent attack by irregular German troops and invade Germany in order to settle things once and for all.” (1:473)
b. December
i. The Manchester Guardian describes the Polish policy towards minorities as “hell.” “The minorities in Poland are supposed to disappear…. This policy is recklessly pursued, without the slightest attention to public opinion in the world…” (1:461)
20) 1932
a. 23 March
i. Soviet Union becomes first country in the world to create a heavy bomber corps. (1:35)
b. June
i. Before the House of Lords, Lord Noel-Buxton reports on many of the issues and atrocities in Poland regarding the minorities. (1:459)
c. 25 July
i. Warsaw and Moscow conclude the Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact: “…in the event of a Polish-German conflict, [the Soviet Union] will provide help and assistance to the German Reich neither directly nor indirectly.” (1:474)
d. 31 July
i. Hitler’s Nazi Party amasses 13.7 million votes, its highest total ever; represents only 37.3% of total votes. (1:39)
e. August
i. Polish fleet stationed in the port of Danzig, against protest of the senate of the Free State of Danzig (1:448)
f. 6 November
i. Hitler’s Nazi party receives fewer votes, now 11.7 million. Goebbels writes in his diary: “All hope has disappeared….We are on our last breath.” (1:29)
ii. The communists come in third, but under orders from Stalin (and instead of forming a coalition with the Social Democrats and bringing an end to the Nazis) form a coalition government with the Nazis, propelling Hitler into power. (1:30)
g. 24 November
i. Churchill, at the time a conservative MP, in a speech to the Lower House: “If the British government really wishes to promote peace, then it should take the initiative and re-open the issues of Danzig and the Corridor while the victorious powers are as yet superior. If these matters are not resolved, there can be no hope for a lasting peace. (1:482)
21) 1933
a. February or March
i. The first of “Piłsudski’s Pre-emptive Plans” – in total, three attempts to enlist France in a pre-emptive war against Germany – is attempted. (1:475) These three attempts were considered relatively safe given the Russian-Polish Treaty, as Poland felt safe to attack Germany without threat from Russia. (1:476)
b. March
i. Roosevelt scuttles the World Economic Conference in London, shortly after he takes office. (5:93)
c. 6 March
i. Marshal Piłsudski reinforces Polish troops in the Free State of Danzig. This is beyond the authority granted by the League of Nations; Poland withdraws the additional troops. (1:475)
d. April
i. The second of “Piłsudski’s Pre-emptive Plans” is attempted. This one comes to the attention of Hitler. (1:476)
e. 15 November
i. At the request of Polish Ambassador Lipski, German Ambassador von Moltke presents a draft “friendship and non-aggression” treaty. This is followed by silence, and Piłsudski’s third attempt to enlist France in a pre-emptive war against Germany. (1:476)
f. Unknown
i. From 1933 – 1938, 557,000 Jews leave Poland for Germany (or through Germany to other countries) due to the harsh anti-Semitic movement.
22) 1934
a. 9 January
i. The German-Polish Friendship and Non-Aggression Pact is concluded, and with it comes peace for four years (although terms in the treaty called for ten years). (1:476, 487)
b. 5 May
i. The Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact from 1932 is renewed, with a scheduled term of ten years. (1:475)
c. September
i. Poland unilaterally renounces the Minority Protection Treaty which it had concluded in 1919 at the demand of the Allied powers. (1:466) This treaty is sometimes referred to as the “Little Versailles Treaty.” (1:479)
d. Unknown
i. Hitler approaches Poland with the objective of better relations between the two countries and better treatment of German minorities in Poland. The first result is the Friendship and Non-Aggression Treaty of 1934. (1:466)
ii. The Polish Academy of Sciences prints picture postcards show the Polish King Boleslaw Chrobry in front of a map of Poland – including East Prussia, Silesia, Pomerania, the Margraviate of Brandenberg and Lübeck are represented as the western part of Poland. (1:473)
23) 1935
a. 21 November
i. Soviet pilot Vladimir Kokkinaki sets world altitude record of 14.575 meters with the I-15 fighter. (2:61)
b. Unknown
i. The German armed forces surpass in strength those of Poland, with the Soviet army several times the size. (1:478)
24) 1936
a. January
i. As a reaction to various breaches by both Germany and Poland regarding access to East Prussia, Poland imposes the Corridor Blockade, significantly reducing rail transit traffic between East Prussia and Germany. (1:443)
b. 18 July
i. Signal given by radio to begin the uprising against the Spanish Republic. (2:98)
c. August
i. Gamelin weakens the details of the exact nature of the French commitment to Poland in case of German attack. (1:480)
d. Unknown
i. German troops march into the Rhineland; this action is not prevented by France. (1:480)
ii. Stalin convinces Spanish Republic’s government to hide gold reserves in the Soviet Union for safekeeping and for payment for supply of weapons. Reserves were not seen again. (1:99)
25) 1937
a. February
i. President of the Reichstag Hermann Göring to State Secretary of Poland’s Foreign Ministry Count Szembek: “The only thing that we are interested in is a corridor through the Corridor.” (1:445)
b. 5 November
i. Germany and Poland consummate the Minority Protection Agreement, toward the improvement of the treatment of Germans in Poland. (1:466, 511)
ii. Hitler speaks for the first time in front of his generals and Foreign Minister von Neurath about war and his plans to incorporate Austria into Germany and annex Czechia. Poland is only peripherally mentioned – hoping that in any wars with third countries, Poland will remain neutral. (1:511)
c. 19 November
i. British MP (and later Foreign Minister) Lord Halifax visits Hitler to explore possibilities of cooperation between Germany and England. Halifax speaks about a “change in the European order, which will probably occur sooner or later. Among things at issue are Danzig and Austria and Czechoslovakia. England is only interested in ensuring that these changes are brought about by way of peaceful developments.” (1:511)
d. Unknown
i. Rydz-Śmigły instructs the Inspector of the Polish Army, General Kutzreba, to design a war plan against Germany (this, while the German-Polish Treaty still has seven years to run). (1:478)
26) 1938
a. Unknown
i. Polish Foreign Minister Beck lets French Ambassador Noel in Warsaw know that “Czechoslovakia must disappear in the near future” and that in Poland one is preparing “to take part of the legacy for oneself.” (1:485)
ii. Warsaw rescinds passports of Jews who have left due to anti-Semitic actions in the previous five years, rendering them stateless.
iii. US government sells to Stalin the production license and the necessary equipment for the production of the Douglas DC-3 (PS-84) transport plane. (1:77)
b. 26 January
i. General Kutzreba submits to Rydz-Śmigły the requested war plan. According to this plan, Poland will fight in 1939. The plan assumes that Poland can withstand Germany for eight weeks, by which time France will join and then Germany will be beaten. (1:478)
c. September
i. Poland uses Sudeten crisis to annex West Teschen against the wishes of Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The British, French, and Soviets all reject this claim. The Soviets threaten to terminate the Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of July 1932. (1:434) London is very upset with Poland’s action. (1:483)
ii. Hitler does not object to Poland’s claim over West Teschen. (1:435, 488)
iii. Poland deploys an army corps near Teschen and threatens the Czech government with war. The Czech government yields. (1:435)
d. October
i. Poland occupies Teschen. (1:435)
ii. Soviets renounce the Non-Aggression Pact with Poland. (1:435, 484)
e. 24 October
i. Hitler, in a first for a Reich government, recognizes Polish gains in former German territories of Upper Silesia, West Prussia, and Posen in exchange for annexation of Danzig to the Reich and extra-territorial access (a corridor) to Danzig. (1:488) The proposal would allow Poland a free port in Danzig, along with transit rights; an extension of the German-Polish Treaty from 10 years to 25 years. This is the first of six attempts by Hitler (with ever-improving terms) over the next ten months to resolve this issue by negotiation. (1:489)
f. 11 November
i. Secret cooperation agreement between Soviet NKVD and German Gestapo was signed. (2:xxi)
g. 19 November
i. Polish Ambassador Lipski lets von Ribbentrop know that, due to domestic political reasons, Poland cannot comply with German wishes about Danzig. (1:490)
h. December
i. Agreement on a German-French Non-Aggression Pact (1:491) NEED MORE DETAILS ON THIS!!!!!!
i. 2 December
i. From Professor Burckhardt, the High Commissioner of the League of Nations for Danzig, regarding his impression of a conversation with Anthony Biddle, Roosevelt’s Ambassador in Paris: “He declared to me with a curious satisfaction: The Poles are ready to wage war over Danzig…. In April the new war will break out. Never since the torpedoing of the Lusitania has such a religious hatred of Germany existed in America like today. Chamberlain and Daladier will be blown away by the public opinion. It is about a holy war.” (1:524)
27) 1939
a. January
i. French Ambassador in Berlin, André François-Poncet: “Hitler suggests that they install an extraterritorial throughway with an auto highway and railway line through the Corridor, so that East Prussia has a direct connection with the Reich. Beck had stated that such a solution appeared acceptable to him.” (1:513)
b. 4 January
i. Roosevelt has the US fleet from the Pacific pass through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic side for maneuvers in the Caribbean. On the same day, he requests $1.3 billion for arms production and asks Congress to repeal or relax the US neutrality laws (this latter being refused). (1:524)
c. 5 January
i. Poland’s Foreign Minister Beck visits Hitler in the Alpine residence near Salzburg. Hitler, still hoping that his agreement regarding Teschen would result in some gratitude, offers again to concede all lost territories to Poland in exchange for Danzig and extra-territorial transit rights, with some further clarification: “Danzig comes politically to the German community and remains economically with Poland.” Beck doesn’t budge, but offers to consider further solutions. The peace is not lost. (1:490)
d. 11 January
i. The People’s Commissariat of Defense Industry is disbanded; it is replaced with four new commissions: shipbuilding, weapons, aviation, and ammunition. (2:127)
e. 25 January
i. German Foreign Minister visits Warsaw – a third attempt on the German side to resolve Danzig. Once again, there is no progress, but also the door is not closed: “…agreement that both the present and the future issues that concern jointly both states should be examined and resolved, with protection of the legitimate interests of both nations.” (1:490)
f. 26 January
i. French Foreign Minister Bonnet gives a speech on the broad outlines of his foreign policy before the National Assembly in Paris: “In the event of war, …if England and France should be drawn into it, all the forces of Great Britain are available to France as all the forces of France are to Great Britain…. Regarding the relations with Poland, it suffices to recall that the Polish Foreign Minister Beck has declared that the Polish-French friendship invariably represents one of the foundations of Polish politics.” At the same session, Prime Minister Daladier says “That it is fitting to oppose a categorical no to the demands of some neighbors.” This is before Hitler occupies the remainder of Czechia. (1:491)
g. February
i. The Polish General Staff work out guidelines for the operations of their armed forces in a war against Germany. (1:492)
ii. Roosevelt undermines the ongoing German-British negotiations on a trade agreement through his own offer of a trade treaty [with Britain] which excludes a German-British Treaty. (1:525)
h. March
i. Hitler reincorporates Memel into the Reich. The poor treatment of German minorities in Poland intensifies. (1:466)
ii. After German advance into Czechoslovakia, Polish Foreign Minister Beck makes use of British anger at the Germans and asks the British for a protection agreement. Britain agrees. (1:493-494)
iii. Poland makes a partial mobilization of troops in Danzig, contrary to the German-Polish Treaty. (1:494)
iv. Polish newspapers in West Prussia-Pomeralia call for a boycott of Germans: shops, market stalls, restaurants, hiring, etc. (1:555)
i. 4 March
i. Polish military begins work on “Plan Operacyny Zachud” (Operation Plan West), one month before Hitler orders the Wehrmacht to work on “Case White.” (1:492)
j. 10 March
i. At the Eighteenth Congress of the Communist Party, it is declared that Great Britain wants to trigger a war between the Germans and the Soviet Union – while Britain remained on the sideline. (2:233)
k. 16 March
i. Hitler marches troops into the rest of disintegrating Czechoslovakia. (1:492)
ii. This action perhaps spoiled his chances of bringing Danzing through diplomatic means, as Hitler went beyond his previous agreement with Britain. (1:523)
iii. France’s Foreign Minister Bonnet proposes French-Soviet deliberations to the Soviet Ambassador in Paris regarding possible joint action against Germany in case the Germans take new action toward another East European country. (1:539)
l. 18 March
i. Soviet Foreign Minister Litinov offers a proposal similar to that offered by Bonnet on March 16 – this to include the governments of Paris, London, Warsaw, Bucharest and Ankara. Poland pushes back on any agreement with the Soviets. (1:540)
m. 19 March
i. The English Foreign Office asks the American one to a) continue the cooperation between the two navies and b) to transfer the US Navy to Hawaii in the Pacific – freeing up the British fleet for the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. On the 23rd, Roosevelt agrees to both. (1:525)
n. 20 March
i. Roosevelt introduces a bill in Congress to revise the neutrality laws. (1:525)
ii. Britain makes its initial offer to Poland to take on a guarantee for its security. (1:526)
iii. Britain wants to include the Soviets in a guarantee arrangement for Poland, but Poland refuses. (1:532)
o. 21 March
i. Von Ribbentrop petitions to Ambassador Lipski for passage to Warsaw, to request new negotiations. This is the fourth attempt. (1:494)
p. 25 March
i. A “Directive of the Führer,” filed in the German Foreign Office: “Führer wants however to solve the Danzig question non-violently. Would not like to push Poland thereby into the arms of England. A possible military occupation of Danzig would only come into consideration if Lipski intimates that the Polish Government cannot publicly support a voluntary surrender of Danzig….” (1:515)
q. 26 March
i. Lipski returns to Berlin with a memorandum in response to German proposals; fundamentally a clear “no.” Von Ribbentrop replies that the only clear solution is reintegration of Danzig to the Reich. Lipski answer is that “he has the unpleasant duty to point out that any further pursuit of these German plans, particularly so far as they concern the return of Danzig to the Reich, means war with Poland.” This is the first overt threat of war between the two countries. (1:495)
ii. Von Ribbentrop replies: “That, for example, a violation of the Danzig sovereign territory by Polish troops would be considered by Germany in the same manner as a violation of the Reich’s borders.” (1:496)
iii. Hitler, when informed by von Ribbentrop of the conversation, replies: “Of war, of course, there may be no talk here.” (1:497)
iv. With negotiations between Britain and Poland regarding a guarantee at an “impasse,” [perhaps due to Britain’s desire to include the Soviets in the guarantee and Poland’s refusal of same?] Roosevelt exerts influence over Chamberlain. He sends Ambassador Kennedy to Chamberlain, indicating the danger of an insufficient guarantee for the Poles and for peace. (1:526)
r. 27 March
i. German Chargé d’Affaires in Washington, Hans Thomsen to Minister von Ribbentrop in Berlin: “The announcements and measures of the American government in the last few weeks show ever more clearly that President Roosevelt’s claim to leadership in world political affairs is directed at the objective of destroying National Socialist Germany with all available resources….” (1:526)
s. 28 March
i. Back in Warsaw, Beck summons German Ambassador von Moltke to give him his views. Beck: “That any intervention by the German government for a change of the existing status quo in Danzig will be regarded as an attack against Poland.” (1:497)
ii. Von Moltke replies: “You want to negotiate on the points of bayonets.” (1:497)
iii. All that is left for Germany is abandonment or war regarding Danzig. (1:497)
iv. Von Moltke reports to Berlin regarding the Polish illusion of its armed-forces to those of the Wehrmacht, and a statement from Vice-Minister of War Gluchowski: “…therein he states that the German Wehrmacht is a big bluff, for Germany lacks the trained reserves to fill out its units. When asked whether he believes that Poland is seriously superior to Germany, Gluchowski answered: ‘But that is self-evident.’” (1:567)
v. Madrid falls to Franco and the nationalists, ending the Spanish Civil War. (2:100)
t. 31 March
i. After arguments in favor by Lord Halifax before the Lower House, the British government announces the guarantee of Poland against Germany. (1:498, 533)
ii. Paris also declares a guarantee for Poland. (1:529)
u. 3 April
i. Hitler gives the order for “Case White,” for the Wehrmacht to prepare for an attack on Poland anytime from 1 September and on. (1:498) It is a conditional directive. From the directive: “German relations with Poland remain determined by the principle: avoid disturbances. If Poland changes its policy towards Germany, which up to now has been based on the same principle, and adopts a threatening attitude toward the Reich, a final reckoning may be required.” (1:516)
ii. The Polish Foreign Minister travels to London to obtain in writing the British guarantee. Both parties now assure each other that they will assist each other in case of an indirect or direct threat by other states. (1:534)
v. 7 April
i. Italy attacks Albania. (1:534)
w. 13 April
i. France and England offer a joint guarantee for Greece and Romania (1:534)
x. 14 April
i. Roosevelt sends a letter to Hitler and Mussolini, demanding guarantees not to attack 31 named states. (1:526)
ii. French, British, and Soviet mediators begin discussing a possible alliance against Germany. (1:540)
y. 15 April
i. The American naval attaché informs the French Navy High Command in Paris that Roosevelt, without asking Congress, could order the American navy into the Irish Sea or to the Philippines, if there should be any indications about the military plans of the Axis powers. (1:526)
z. 17 April
i. Soviets propose a triple alliance to include France and Britain, against Germany. (1:540)
ii. Soviet Ambassador Merekalov in Berlin calls State Secretary Weizsacker, declaring: “that ideological differences of opinion need not upset the German-Russian relationship, as they do in fact the Russian-Italian relations…. The Soviet Union has not used against Germany the current frictions between Germany and the Western democracies, and also does not wish to do that.” (1:540)
aa. 19 April
i. Roosevelt lets the British know it is indispensable that Britain adopt universal conscription. Such a law is passed in the Lower House on 28 April. (1:526)
bb. 24 April
i. General staffs of Britain and France meet in London (through May 4) to discuss Poland; mostly discuss the British-French cooperation in case of war. (1:534)
ii. Britain promises 32 divisions to support France, Gamelin reports the number as 40 to the French cabinet. (1:535)
cc. 27 April
i. Hitler announces the cancellation of the German-Polish Friendship and Non-Aggression Treaty of 1934, via memorandum to the Polish government and the next day in a Reichstag speech. In the speech, he offers once again to negotiate on the status of Danzig, while renouncing all claims to territories lost to Poland. This is Germany’s fifth offer. (1:498)
dd. 28 April
i. Hitler one more time makes an offer to the Polish Government: Danzig returns as a Free State to the German Reich; Germany receives a road and railway corridor to Danzig. In exchange, Germany recognizes Poland’s complete economic rights in Danzig, with a free port and totally free access; remaining boarders between Poland and Germany remain as present; a twenty-five year non-aggression pact between Germany and Poland. (1:517)
ee. May
i. On the border between Mongolia and China near the river Khalkhin-Gol, armed conflict occurred between the Soviets and Japanese; the Soviets in Mongolia and the Japanese in China. (2:105)
ff. 4 May
i. British Ambassador writes from Berlin to Minister Lord Halifax in London: “Once again the German case on the immediate issue is very far from being either unjustifiable or immoral…. My thesis has always been that Germany cannot revert to normalcy…until her legitimate (in German eyes) aspirations have been satisfied…. According to my Belgian colleague, practically all the diplomatic representatives here regard the German offer in itself a surprisingly favourable one. The Dutch Minister, the United States Chargé d’Affaires and my South African colleague have themselves spoken to me in that sense.” (1:500)
gg. 5 May
i. Foreign Minister Beck, regarding the demands of Germany, in the Sejm (the parliament in Warsaw) says that the status of the Free City of Danzig is not based on Versailles, but on traditionally belonging for centuries to Poland. (1:499)
ii. The Polish government, by note, replies to the German cancellation of the Non-Aggression Pact: Poland wants to negotiate, Germany has always pledged to respect Polish rights in Danzig, and Poland has already met the Germans halfway via the 26 March response brought by Lipski. (1:499) The rights Poland claims for Danzig are those same rights offered by Germany in the previous German proposals. (1:500) Poland demands Germany continues to respect the Non-Aggression Treaty (ignoring the Polish army deployments to the outskirts of Danzig on 24 March. (1:500)
hh. 15 May
i. General Gamelin of France promises to Poland’s Minister of War Kasprzycki to attack Germany with the mass of the French Army in the event of war over Danzig. (1:478, 529)
ii. When asked by members of the French military delegation regarding Poland’s border defenses, and if these will withstand a German attack, Polish Minister of War General Kasprzycki replies: “We have no fortifications, for we intend to wage a mobile war and right at the beginning of operations to penetrate into Germany.” (1:567)
ii. 19 May
i. An outcome of the meeting between the war ministers of France and Poland is a written agreement obliging the French army to start an offensive against Germany by the 15th day of conflict. The document does not differentiate if Poland is attacked or first attacks. (1:529)
ii. Churchill, in a speech before the Lower House, justifying the desire to form alliance with the Soviets: “without an Eastern front there can be no satisfactory defense in the West. And without Russia, there can be no effective Eastern front.” (1:543)
iii. In the same speech, Churchill offers justification for the necessary sacrifice of the Baltic states in any alliance with the Soviets: :What about the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for whose sake Peter the Great went to war? Russia has the greatest interest that these countries not fall into the hands of Nazi Germany.” (1:545)
jj. 23 May
i. Poland until May has been in Hitler’s “wishful thinking” a potential partner. Now Poland becomes a victim. For the first time, Poland enters more concretely into Hitler’s vague notions of “Lebensraum.” In a speech on this date to his top generals, Hitler says as much.
kk. 31 May
i. Gamelin writes the guidelines in support of the agreement to come to the aid of Poland. It is not clear that any offensive will begin within the 15 days, as stipulated in the agreement. (1:530)
1. Was Poland merely baited, with Gamelin having no intention to follow through?
ll. May
i. In a fact-finding mission for the London foreign office, two officials report on the confidence of the Polish military in any battle with Germany: “…one is thinking to attack East Prussia at the start of the war because it would be difficult for the Germans to reinforce the province promptly and adequately…” “Anyway the general view seemed to be that East Prussia must be annexed by Poland.” (1:472)
mm. June
i. Harassment of minorities in Poland increases in such a way that tension-free negotiation is no longer possible. The situation also deteriorates “psychologically.” Hitler wants success, price is beside the point. (1:501)
ii. Roosevelt fails in Congress; Congress refuses to lift the arms embargo against warring nations and to soften the neutrality laws. (1:527)
nn. 1 June
i. Soviets declare “We will defend the borders of the Mongolian People’s Republic as we defend our own.” (2:105)
oo. 8 July
i. Paris and London present a draft treaty to Moscow. (1:541)
pp. 17 July
i. Paris and London present a second draft treaty to Moscow. (1:541)
qq. 20 July
i. From the weekly newspaper “Narod W Walce” (People in the War): “Danzig must remain Polish, and Germany must be forced to relinquish the East Prussian area without population to Poland.” (1:473)
rr. 24 July
i. A treaty is initialed (but not signed) between France-Britain-Soviets. (1:541)
ss. 3 August
i. Berlin offers to Moscow talks regarding an agreement. (1:545)
tt. 4 August
i. Stalin approves a document entitled “Agenda for the Negotiations with England and France,” with five different plans of attack with up to 120 army divisions against Germany. (1:541)
uu. 5 August
i. Chargé d’Affaires of the Soviet Embassy in Berlin, Astakhov, pays a visit to the Senior Counselor in the Foreign Affairs Office, Schnurre. From Foreign Minister Molotov, he conveys that the Soviet Union is interested in normalization and improvement of its relations with Germany. (1:541)
ii. Customs dispute erupts in Danzig. The tensions escalate significantly. From the Polish Commissioner-General, if directives issued by the Danzig Senate are not reversed: “The Polish government without delay will take retaliatory measures against the Free City.” Hitler advises the head of the Danzig Senate to find a way to ease tensions. (1:557)
vv. 8 August
i. British Ambassador Henderson comments on the Danzig customs incident, in a note to Foreign Secretary Halifax in London. He suggests that these actions tend to humiliate Hitler; if the actions are not of His Majesty’s government, then all efforts should be taken to not drive Hitler to react promptly, because of pride.(1:558)
ii. Swedish mediator Dahlerus suggests a secret German-British-French-Italian talk about peaceful settlement of the disputes. The German Reich agrees immediately; England lets it be known that it cannot answer at this time. (1:570)
ww. 11 August
i. British and French delegations arrive in Moscow to discuss joint actions against Germany. (2:106)
xx. 12 August
i. Hitler notifies Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano that he will attack Poland after the next provocation. To Ciano’s further query, Hitler replies “End of August.” In the meantime, Hitler is hindered by British and French attempts to bring the Soviet Union to their side – an event which by Hitler’s own account would have stopped him from any invasion plans. (1:520)
ii. Astakhov contacts Schnurre a second time, informing him on behalf of Molotov that “on the Soviet side one is interested in a discussion of the individual groups of questions which have so far come up,” including the “Polish problem.” (1:546)
yy. 13 August
i. Talks begin in Moscow, including the military missions from Paris and London. From Marshal Voroshilov: “Soviet troops operating against East Prussia and in Galicia, and England and France operating in the West, it would be the end of Germany.” (1:542)
ii. Poland continues its refusal to consent to such an alliance, (rightly) fearing that the Soviets, in order to attack Germany, would have to march through Poland…and might then never leave. (1:542)
zz. 15 August
i. Soviet-German talks begin in Moscow. Moscow wants from Germany: a moderating influence on Japan, as the two are still at war; a non-aggression pact with Germany; a trade treaty with Germany; a joint guarantee of the Baltic States (meaning a Soviet domination). (1: 546)
aaa. 16 August
i. From British Ambassador Henderson in Berlin, to Lord Halifax, by telegram: “I would recommend myself that the Polish Government should be persuaded – and persuaded at once – to instruct the Polish Ambassador here to make some form ofdémarche which he should easily be able to do through Göring …. Lipski after all is a ‘persona grata’ here…. The Poles could deplore deterioration of the situation and suggest the maintenance of the status quo ante March…to allow diplomatic negotiations to start again.” (1:561)
bbb. 17 August
i. Two telegrams from Halifax to Kennard, the British Ambassador in Warsaw, show no reaction to Henderson’s telegram of yesterday. (1:562)
ii. In a written response delivered to the German Ambassador, Molotov reiterates points made on 15 August. Additionally, he writes that, because of Germany’s anti-Soviet stance, the Soviet Union has been forced “to take the first measures to prepare a defensive front against a possible aggression against the Soviet Union from Germany’s side.” He continues: “that the Soviet government has never had any aggressive intentions against Germany.” (1:547)
iii. Molotov proposes a “special protocol,” but does not at this time reveal the contents. It will later be shown that the protocol includes: the German government will recognize that east Poland, Bessarabia, Finland, and the Baltic sphere belong to the Soviet sphere of interest. (1:547)
ccc. 19 August
i. Attempt by Britain-France to bring Soviets into alliance against Germany fails. (1:536) They explain this is due to objections by the Polish government. (1:548) Russians believe that a) France only wants to protect its borders, and b) as the British delegation does not have full authority to negotiate, that the objective for the Western democracies is for Russia to bleed alone against Germany. (1:542)
ii. Stalin explains to the Politburo his decision for alliance with Germany, and not England-France: a trio of England-France-Soviet Union against the Germans would end the war too quickly. Germany fighting only against France and England would drag out longer, wearing out the forces of the participants further. (1:543)
iii. Stalin decides to stop talks with Britain and France. (2:108)
iv. Stalin begins mobilization of Red Army in Mongolia. Zhukov defeats the Japanese with lightning speed. (2:108) at 0545, 153 Soviet bombers, covered by fighter aircraft, carried out a surprise raid on Japanese air bases and command posts. (2:114)
v. Stalin holds a secret meeting of the Politburo. He gives a speech, suggesting that Germany will certainly invade Poland once the treaty between Soviets and Germans is signed; England and France will then enter the war. The capitalists will then wear each other out, and the Soviets must do all they can to prolong this – in order to exhaust the two sides. For this reason, the Soviets side with Germany. (2:109) Stalin: “If we make a pact of mutual aid with Great Britain and France, Germany will give up Poland and…the War will be averted.” (2:122)
vi. By 1600 hours, the German Ambassador is summoned to Molotov at the Foreign Office, handing him a treaty with a provision that it is valid only with the signing of the previously mentioned “special protocol,” not yet available. (1:548)
ddd. 19 August
i. Politburo decision authorizes the formation of troops in inner districts to later move these to the western front. (2:224)
eee. 20 August
i. Hitler sends a telegram to Stalin, informing him that he accepts the draft of the Non-Aggression Pact, and he wants to send von Ribbentrop with “comprehensive Proxy Power” for the signing of the treaty and the drawing up and signing of the protocol. (1:548)
fff. 21 August
i. Stalin invites von Ribbentrop to Moscow, arrival date of 23 August. (1:548)
ggg. 22 August
i. In a speech to his generals, Hitler says: “It was clear to me that sooner or later it had to come to a conflict with Poland.” This statement would not have been surprising to the generals, given Poland’s actions against Germany over the previous two decades. (1:477)
ii. From the same speech: “The relationship with Poland has become intolerable. My suggestions to Poland about Danzig and the Corridor were foiled through the intervention of England. Poland changed its tone towards us. This stressful situation is intolerable in the long run…. Now the time is more favorable than in two or three years.” (1:521)
iii. Hitler also mentions that he took the decision of the attack as early as the Spring of 1939. If true, this was the time of Poland’s movement toward the British and French. (1:521)
iv. Hitler at this time does not yet know that the “special protocols” will include, not a joint guarantee for the Baltic States, but the inclusion of the Baltic States and other parts of East Europe, including Eastern Poland, in the Soviet “sphere of influence.” (1:548)
hhh. 22 August
i. Roosevelt, at Daladier’s suggestion, calls for a World Peace Conference in Washington. (1:570)
iii. 23 August
i. Morning newspapers are filled with reports of the flight of von Ribbentrop from Berlin to Moscow. (1:572)
ii. Chamberlain sends Henderson with a letter to see Hitler. Hitler assures Henderson of his personal appreciation, then complains of England’s attitude regarding Danzig: “Germany has made Poland a decent and fair offer,” to which Henderson replies “that the German offer was indeed made, but it had the character of a diktat.” “He (Hitler) sees no possibility by way of negotiations because he is convinced that the British government is not interested in such a settlement.” Hitler regrets that England “makes him her enemy, he who himself wanted to be England’s greatest friend.” Hitler stresses “that Germany has never undertaken anything to the detriment of England, nevertheless England places itself against Germany. “…at the slightest Polish attempt to take actions against Germans, or against Danzig, he will intervene immediately….” (1:572)
iii. Chamberlain’s letter contains two new offers: the first is a play for time – that negotiations between Poland and Germany be put on hold until the situation has cooled down; the second is more substantial – Chamberlain holds out the prospect for later negotiations parallel to those on the Danzig question “in which it might be possible to discuss wider problems affecting the future of international relations, including matters of interest to us and you.” (1:573)
iv. Hitler replies to Chamberlain’s letter on the same day. Germany has tried in vain to win England’s friendship; Germany has never sought conflict with England; Germany was prepared to settle the Danzig question on terms of “unparalleled magnanimity”; England has sabotaged this effort through cheap propaganda and the guarantee to the Poles; Germany will no longer tolerate pressure and ultimatums to the minority Germans in Poland and against Danzig. The letter ends: “The question of the treatment of European problems on a peaceful basis cannot be decided by Germany but primarily by those who, since the crime committed by the Versailles dictate, have stubbornly and consistently opposed any peaceful revision…. I have all my life fought for German-English friendship; the attitude adopted by British diplomacy – at any rate up to the present – has, however, convinced me of the futility of such an attempt. Should there be any change in this respect in the future no one could be happier than I.” (1:575)
v. Hitler has the High Command of the Wehrmacht prepare for attack on Poland on 26 August at 430 hours. (1:575)
vi. Hitler sends a telegram to Daladier: “I harbor no enmity against France. I have personally renounced Alsace-Lorraine, and I have recognized the German-French border…. Now, the Polish challenges have produced a situation for the Reich which cannot last…. I will not attack France. But if it participates in the conflict, I will go to the end.” (1:575) Daladier’s reply is four days later. (1:576)
vii. Hitler and von Ribbentrop conclude a Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin and Molotov. (1:520) The pact is to be valid for ten years. (1:549)
1. Immediately after the signing of this pact, Stalin forms the 9th Army on the borders of Romania. (2:197)
viii. Neither side is to come to the aid of Poland to protect it from the other. (1:550)
ix. As to the “special protocol,” von Ribbentrop is now surprised to learn of the Soviet sphere of influence requirement. Additionally, Stalin wants two ports in Lithuania and Latvia – without this concession, there will be no treaty. Von Ribbentrop, despite having full authority, is not sure how far he may proceed. (1:549)
x. At 2000 hours, von Ribbentrop phones Hitler. Hitler agrees, without much hesitation. Everything is thereafter signed. (1:549)
xi. The suddenness by which the German-Soviet treaty is signed, so shortly after the efforts of England and France have failed, is a shock throughout Europe. Yet, Poland still makes no concessions on Danzig. (1:550)
xii. The French cabinet takes stock to determine if – even without Russia’s help – it can meet its treaty obligations to Poland. Through this, the following thoughts of Gamelin are revealed: a) he sees at the earliest an aid to the Polish army only in the Spring of 1940, and not 15 days after the conflict, b) he viewed the point of the May agreement as one where Poland would help France against Germany – as there was no German threat against Poland when the agreement was made in May, he did not believe the promise would be called, and c) there are not any plans to come to the rescue of Poland in case of attack by Germany. (1:531)
1. Bonet, the French Foreign Minister, does nothing to warn his Polish counterpart of these facts. (1:531)
xiii. In Mongolia, Zhukov completes his encircling operation against the Japanese. (2:114) Zhukov is given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. (2:115) Stalin does not publicize this victory; implication is in order to hide capability of Soviet military in order to surprise Germany in the near future. (2:116)
jjj. 24 August
i. Moscow immediately notifies Roosevelt of the treaty with Germany. Including the “secret protocol” which divides Poland in two. Roosevelt does not immediately notify either Warsaw, London, or Paris. Instead, that evening he sends a message to Warsaw and Berlin that one might find solutions via peaceful negotiations. (1:551, 579)
1. But when did it become public? Was it not already public? Or is the secret in the “secret protocol”?
ii. Hitler confides to State Secretary Ernst von Weizsäcker that he believes England will drop Poland (with the Soviet switch to the German side), and Warsaw will concede to Hitler’s demands. (1:521)
iii. Roosevelt sends a peace message to Hitler and Polish President Moscicki. His message: “refrain for a certain time from any aggression,” and agree to direct negotiations. Hitler, who has been asking for direct negotiations for some time, ignores the message from Roosevelt. (1:570)
iv. Prime Minister Chamberlain, addressing the Lower House, reaffirms the allegiance of Britain to Poland, and notes the uncompromising attitude of Germany regarding Danzig: “[The Poles] have always been ready, as I am sure they would be ready now, to discuss differences with the German Government.” (1:577)
v. Ambassador Henderson reports to London: “With the Russian pact in his hands the initiative is now Hitler’s….I anticipate an ultimatum to Poland.” “It was heartbreaking since, as you know, I ha