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The Invasion Of Poland During The World War II

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On September 1, 1939, at approximately 4:45 A.M. Germany commenced their invasion of Poland (Bethell 1). The events that ushered in this invasion are complex, and help explain Hitler’s intentions and goals. The invasion was preceded by Germany’s vast re-equipment, as well as its numerous diplomatic efforts. Hitler’s September invasion was predicated on his strong belief that the war would be limited to a single enemy, Poland. Aware of Germany’s economic and militaristic limitations, Hitler did not intend to start World War II when he invaded Poland in 1939. Rather, his plan was to avoid a world war until the mid to late 1940’s. The invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 was preceded by a significant effort at negotiation between Germany and Poland. Germany’s diplomatic attempts targeted two crucial goals. Their first objective was to persuade Poland to collaborate with them against the USSR. After being adamantly rejected, Germany’s ambition turned towards regaining land lost to Poland in the Treaty of Versailles. From 1933-1939, German officials persistently presented proposals to Poland to ally against the common enemy, Russia (Budurowycz 20). After numerous failed diplomatic visits to Poland, Germany visited on January 25-27, 1939 in a final attempt at persuading Poland (Budurowycz 26). During this visit, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Germany’s foreign minister, beseeched Poland to join the Anti-Comintern pact. After the Poles maintained their inflexible and negative attitude

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