appeasement policy Munich Agreement world war II

#appeasement policy #Munich Agreement #Chamberlain #annexation of #Czechoslovakia #Zaolzie region #Lend-Lease  Nikolay #Gastello Alexey #Maresyev #Soviet fighter ace Zoya #Kosmodemyanskaya Battle of #Moscow world #war II

Once a year I have a strong desire to fight my battle against blunt ignorance. I usually pick an article, couple comments and answer them trying to escape any emotions, just facts. This year I have chosen the article of Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/.../russia-v-day-celebrations...

Comment of reader 1:
Twisted history, I see how things get rewritten.... Russia did not save us, we saved Russia. At the very beginning of WWII, Russia and Germany were partners and both invaded Poland to split it up between them. Then Hitler decided he didn't trust Stalin, so he invaded them too. Someone said if it wasn't for the Russians, we'd all be speaking German. I'd rather say that if wasn't for Russia's eagerness to dominate Europe somehow, that Hitler would never had invaded Poland. He was afraid to initially start a war with 2 sides. BUT, once he saw how easy his troops rolled through Poland he felt easier about taking in Russia. It later was the US Lendlease program that sent war equipment to Russia that enabled them to turn the tide. But yes, later we all worked together. It's never the people who we need to reprimand, it is always the leaders that make these decisions "for the people" that are

MY COMMENTS:

1) European occupations and agreements Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano pictured just before signing the Munich Agreement, 29 September 1938
In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria, again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement, which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed Czechoslovakia's Zaolzie region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II...

2) David Glantz the American military historian known for his books on the Eastern front concludes:
Although Soviet accounts have routinely belittled the significance of Lend-Lease in the sustainment of the Soviet war effort, the overall importance of the assistance cannot be understated. Lend-Lease aid did not arrive in sufficient quantities to make the difference between defeat and victory in 1941-1942; that achievement must be attributed solely to the Soviet people ...As the war continued, however, the United States and Great Britain provided many of the implements of war and strategic raw materials necessary for Soviet victory. Without Lend-Lease food, clothing, and raw materials (especially metals), the Soviet economy would have been even more heavily burdened by the war effort.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease

3) By 1943 the Soviets HAD ALREADY DEFEATED the Germans at the Battle of Moscow and at the Battle of Staliningrad, and now we see the lendlease going: Allied shipments to the Soviet Union Year, percentage from all the shipments in 1941 – 1945: 1941 - 2,1% 1942 - 14% 1943 - 27,4 % 1944 - 35,5 % 1945 - 21%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease

4) Why didn’t the USSR join Allies in 1939?
Moscow, London and Paris did try to forge an alliance against Hitler 80 years ago – but it went so badly...
Neville Chamberlain, who played a crucial role in shaping the policy of Western democracies, especially hated Communism; the sheer idea of cooperating with Stalin repulsed him. “I must confess to the most profound distrust of Russia. I have no belief whatever in her ability to maintain an effective offensive, even if she wanted to. And I distrust her motives, which seem to me to have little connection with our ideas of liberty,” he wrote to a friend in March 1939.   Why was Chamberlain so stubborn? It wasn’t just about his anti-Communist stance. The point was there was no direct border between Germany and the USSR in spring 1939: in case the Red Army had had to fight Nazi Germany, either Poland or Romania would have to let them through their territory – something they were very unwilling to do. As Britain and France guaranteed their help to Poland and Romania, Chamberlain was uneager to pressure his allies. Nevertheless, a large part of the British public thought the other way: future PM, Winston Churchill, gave an eloquent speech in the Senate, claiming that “there is no means of maintaining an eastern front against Nazi aggression without the active aid of Russia.” According to national polls of June 1939, 84% of the British favored an Anglo-French-Soviet military alliance. So, Chamberlain and Daladier reluctantly began negotiations with Stalin. The negotiations failed.

5) Underrepresented talks From June 15 to August 2, 1939.
British, French and Soviet representatives gathered in Moscow, to decide on political terms of the possible convention. What had they agreed on after two months of arguing? They reached a preliminary agreement – but when it came to the direct talks between military missions, everything quickly collapsed. While the USSR was represented at the negotiations by Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, the Soviet Minister of Defense, Britain and France only sent minor military officials to Moscow: Admiral Reginald Drax and General Aim; Doumenc, who weren’t even authorized to make any decisions without their government’s approval. “The Soviets were appalled with such low representations, so they didn’t even consider those talks seriously,” Moreover, the negotiations stalled immediately after Voroshilov had asked if Poland and Romania would let the Red Army through their territories to fight Germany. Drax and Doumenc didn’t have the competency to answer such a principal question – of course, Poland and Romania would not agree. Voroshilov was quite brief. “The Soviet mission considers that without a positive answer to this question all the efforts to enter into a military convention are doomed to failure,” he said, inviting Drax and Doumenc to enjoy their time in Moscow instead. The fruitless talks were officially halted on Aug. 21, 1939.
Comment of reader 2:
Russian sacrifice in WW2 should never be forgotten...without them we would be speaking German.

Comment of reader 3:
Sad that it was because they feared their own more than the enemy, but true non the less.

MY COMMENTS:

Did Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, aged 18, fear “their own” or was she a patriot? "After being arrested she was stripped, beaten, interrogated and tortured with 200 lashes and her body burnt but refused to give any information. The following morning she was marched to the center of the village with a board around her neck bearing the inscription 'Houseburner' and hanged. Her final words were: Why are you looking so sad? Be brave, fight, beat the Germans, burn, trample them! I'm not afraid to die, comrades. It is happiness to die for one's people!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoya_Kosmodemyanskaya

Did Nikolay Gastello, aged 33, fear “their own”? On June 26, five days after the war started, he deliberately directed his doomed aircraft into a German Panzer column, performing the first "fire taran" of the German-Soviet War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gastello

Did Alexey Maresyev fear “their own”? Alexey became a Soviet fighter ace during World War II despite becoming a double amputee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksey_Maresyev