Short Term Consequences Of The Invasion Of Poland

On the 1st of September 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the western Polish border. It took no longer than three weeks for Germany to gain control over Poland and its people. This event has many significant causes and consequences. Some causes are the Treaty of Versailles, specifically its demands; the act of Appeasement; as well as the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression pact. Some significant consequences are the beginning of WWII; the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people; and the construction of concentration camps.

A long term cause of the Invasion of Poland is the Treaty of Versailles, more specifically its demands. Hitler felt that the demands of the treaty were unfair, this caused him to resent the countries that proposed it (Britain, France and less so The United States). Some demands of the treaty are that the German Wehrmacht (armed forces) was to be downgraded to 100,000 men; Germany was to have no significant navy or air force; there was to be no Anschluss (union) with Austria as Britain and France believed having no German speaking ally would weaken Germany; reparations

Britain and France elected to give into Hitler’s demands in the hope that it would appease him, as they wanted to avoid war with Germany at all costs due to the fact that they were not prepared for war. One of Hitler’s demands was to annex the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia where many Germans lived. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Britain at the time, agreed to give Hitler the Sudetenland without Czechoslovakia’s permission. Because of this, Hitler believed that the major powers were, in a way, ‘scared of him’ and would not stop him, no matter what he did. Hitler then took over the rest of Czechoslovakia on the 15th of March. After this, Chamberlain guaranteed to defend Poland if Germany invaded. Hitler then invaded Poland on the 1st of September. Britain and France then declared war on