referendum
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I don't know if anyone out there has read The Forced War, by historian David Hoggan. It represents perhaps the best revisionist historical work about the origins of World War Two. What sets it apart from other revisionist works is the amazing amount of detail and scholarship that Hoggan brings to the book. He uses a lot of Polish sources as well as German, French, British etc.
Basically his main point is that Germany wasn't demanding alot from Poland. Primarily they were asking for Polish acceptance of the return of the ethnically German city of Danzig back to Germany instead of it staying in its forced independence as a League of Nations free city. Germany also was demanding a plebiscite for the Polish corridor region. Significantly Hitler was not asking for Poland to return any other territory, such as in West Prussia around Poznan (Posen), Bydogozsch (Bromberg), or any part of the mineral rich Kattowitz area in East Upper Silesia.
Had Hitler been set on making demands that he knew Poland would not accept, there is no way he would have made such modest demands. This fact argues strongly that at least in August of 1939, Hitler was not set on a war of conquest.
When Germany did invade anyway, a reckless and agressive act certainly, Germany was still willing to pull back from the brink, agreeing to a cease fire the next day, Sept. 2, 1939 with a peace conference to be held at San Remo in Italy (a sort of Munich Part two conference). Tragically England insisted that Germany pull its troops back to German territory before agreeing to go along with this. Hitler refused to do this, thereby blowing the last chance to stop the war.
Hoggan points out that significant figures in the French government led by foreign minister George Bonnet were against a french declaration of war on Germany, and had France not gone in, Britain would have been forced to back down.
Hoggan brings up all sorts of interesting details, such as the attitudes of many now forgotten figures such as Jerzy Potocki the Polish ambassador in Washington, or Pierre Flandin a noted pro-German French politician (pro-German regardless of who was in power in Germany, he was someone who was looking toward a more cooperative Europe and was pro-German in the pre-Hitler era as well).
I don't agree with everything in The Forced War, such as Hoggan's refusal to even accuse Hitler of at the very least some recklessness in his prewar actions, but he does argue persuasively on some things, especially the very limited nature of Hitlers August 1939 demands on Poland. Even William Shirer, no friend of the nazis acknowledged that fact in one of his books, IIRC.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to really study the topic of the origins of WW 2.
Basically his main point is that Germany wasn't demanding alot from Poland. Primarily they were asking for Polish acceptance of the return of the ethnically German city of Danzig back to Germany instead of it staying in its forced independence as a League of Nations free city. Germany also was demanding a plebiscite for the Polish corridor region. Significantly Hitler was not asking for Poland to return any other territory, such as in West Prussia around Poznan (Posen), Bydogozsch (Bromberg), or any part of the mineral rich Kattowitz area in East Upper Silesia.
Had Hitler been set on making demands that he knew Poland would not accept, there is no way he would have made such modest demands. This fact argues strongly that at least in August of 1939, Hitler was not set on a war of conquest.
When Germany did invade anyway, a reckless and agressive act certainly, Germany was still willing to pull back from the brink, agreeing to a cease fire the next day, Sept. 2, 1939 with a peace conference to be held at San Remo in Italy (a sort of Munich Part two conference). Tragically England insisted that Germany pull its troops back to German territory before agreeing to go along with this. Hitler refused to do this, thereby blowing the last chance to stop the war.
Hoggan points out that significant figures in the French government led by foreign minister George Bonnet were against a french declaration of war on Germany, and had France not gone in, Britain would have been forced to back down.
Hoggan brings up all sorts of interesting details, such as the attitudes of many now forgotten figures such as Jerzy Potocki the Polish ambassador in Washington, or Pierre Flandin a noted pro-German French politician (pro-German regardless of who was in power in Germany, he was someone who was looking toward a more cooperative Europe and was pro-German in the pre-Hitler era as well).
I don't agree with everything in The Forced War, such as Hoggan's refusal to even accuse Hitler of at the very least some recklessness in his prewar actions, but he does argue persuasively on some things, especially the very limited nature of Hitlers August 1939 demands on Poland. Even William Shirer, no friend of the nazis acknowledged that fact in one of his books, IIRC.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to really study the topic of the origins of WW 2.