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| Andrii2603, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Ukraine tanks move into Lviv before the invasion |
On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler's army invaded Poland.
He choose Poland, because it would be a test against a much weaker opponent, but also to gauge what England and the UK allies would do. Poland did have a large enough army, over 1.2 million, but they were ill prepared for war, both in terms of logistics and equipment.He next invaded Czechoslovakia, a country created by allies (after WW1) to combine Slovaks and Czecks into one country. Despite the name, there was a large German population in Czechoslovakia and Hitler used this to his advantage, saying he was concerned for the German people of the new country.
Why did this happen so quickly and without much bloodshed?
Why was this allowed to happen?
Neville Chamberlain, British PM at the time, had agreed that Hitler could annex a large part of Czechoslovakia (called Sudetenland), where a majority of German speaking people lived. This was a negotiation for peace signed by England and Germany in 1938 hoping to thwart a second World War. Unfortunately Czechoslovakia wasn't involved in the negotiations at the time. Chamberlain felt he spoke for all of Western Europe when he signed that non-aggression agreement.
When Hitler took Czechoslovakia, he didn't stop at the 'agreed to' annexed section, he invaded the entire country and armed with a previously signed Russian agreement (signed in 1939 - unknown to Chamberlain and the allies), gave Poland to the USSR. The Polish army was overwhelmed quickly and Russia took over Poland without firing a shot while the Germans continued their advance.
What is interesting, besides the historical aspect, is how the Nazi's convinced their countrymen and women that the war was just and honourable.
Nazi propaganda began with state-controlled media. No video's of course, just lots of innuendo. Radio stations and newspapers began claiming that Polish people were treating Germans as second class citizens, that the Polish Governments had removed their freedoms. They claimed barbaric acts, that Polish Citizens of German descent were being brutalized and jailed for just being German. It would be many years before the German people learned the truth. In the meantime, Germans felt justified that attacking Poland was honourable.
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| Photos such as this were sent to German State-owned newspapers showing what the Nazi's said were Polish dissidents who had tortured and killed German citizens in Poland who had been caught by German Officers. In truth these were farmers and the photo was taken shortly before they were executed. |
Even after the Nazi regime was defeated, Poland was 'liberated' by the USSR and had a Communist Government forced upon them. This changed after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Communism.
If you switch the word Nazi and Hitler for Russia and Putin in most of the above, does it not all sound familiar? Independent Russian Media, has now been silenced, and only state-controlled media is allowed.
What is happening in Ukraine is ominously similar to the start of WW2. A dictator convinces his country of the atrocities in another country. He goes on air claiming he was 'liberating' their very own countrymen from evil, claiming all the while that he is not attacking civilians or important architectural sites.
It should be noted that it took the allies 8-9 months to gather forces and train the army before fighting Nazi Germany, and in that delay Hitler's army took Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France on top of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania.
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| Stanislav Kozlovskiy, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. A Russian RT-2UTTKh «Topol-M» ICBM on parade in Moscow in 2011 |
It is no secret that Putin has Nukes, and that fact is the only thing holding NATO and the West from intervening. However, I don't think most people expect Russia to stop at Ukraine. If he is allowed to continue his aggression, how long will it be before we see a repeat of the way WW2 started.
Putting sanctions on Russia right now may seem like the only thing that can be done, but just as Germany was broke and financially crippled after WW1, the Russian government will just print money and borrow against the future to finance this war. The leaders of this nation apparently care very little if their people starve, have no fuel during winter months, employment is lost, as long as the army is fed and has what is needed to advance (which in itself is questionable).
Keep in mind, the main reason Hitler failed - besides the Allies, was that he spread his army in half when he went two-faced and attacked his main ally Russia. I think that lesson has already been learned by Putin and the Russian army.
Will sanctions work? Putin has threatened all countries that have placed sanctions or tariffs on his country. Is it an idle threat? To an extent yes, he knows he cannot defeat the entire world. But the question remains, will sanctions, which hurt the innocent Russian citizen more than the ruling elite, do a lot of good? If his closest friends and allies put pressure on Putin, they may.
Personally, and I hope I am wrong, I really don't think they will. It remains to be seen what happens after Ukraine falls. Will the Western allies take 9 months to respond to Putin moving into Poland or Romania?
Should NATO even wait while thousands of Ukrainian civilians are killed and thousands more soldiers - on both sides are wounded or killed?
Wonder if the Western world needs to read a WW2 history book before things get worse? Maybe a discussion with Winston Churchill's ghost might shed some light on this complex situation?
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