Part 2: The Nazi-Soviet Pact

This is the second in a series of posts on William Shirer's book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

By the early summer of 1939, it had became apparent that Hitler was planning the destruction of Poland. The only thing that was stopping hm was the nightmare of a two-front war. If Poland was invaded, the Polish Army would have been easily defeated, but it was obvious to Hitler that the Soviet Union would not stand by and let Germany take Poland. With the Germans tied up battling the Soviet Union, the Western Front would have been left defenceless. It was apparent to everyone that a two front war would have meant disaster for Nazi Germany.

The Basis for The Nazi-Soviet Pact

Hitler repeatedly told the French and British that he did not want to go to war with them. But the the British no longer had the desire to appease Hitler like at Munich. According to Shirer, Hitler and his Generals believed that if it was guaranteed that The Soviet Union would not go to war against Germany, it would discourage the French and British to go to war over Poland. The Germans, French, and British had all realized that with a neutral Soviet Union, Poland was doomed.

The Nazis and the British immediately opened up communications with the Soviets. The Nazi goal was to have the Soviets agree to a non-aggression pact, and the British were hoping for a French-British-Soviet military alliance - similar to the one that proved so destructive to the German war effort in the First World War. However, the British did not know (but the Nazis did) that The Soviet Union desired a chunk of Poland, and wanted greater influence in the Balkans, and the Baltic Sea. The Nazis were prepared to give them what they wanted in order to secure a non-aggression pact, but the British were not prepared to go that far. Shirer writes that the British feared a more powerful Soviet Union, and that the Nazis were also fearful of giving them more power, but Hitler said he would remedy that problem by destroying The Soviet Union in a future war!

A Last Minute Hope for Peace

On August 28, 1939 it was announced that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression pact, the nightmare of a possible two-front war was over. Many people, including Shirer himself, thought that a world war would be avoided. According to Shirer, many, including Roosevelt, Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler himself, had assumed that the French and British would not bother to fight for Poland now that the Soviet Union was out of the picture. It turned out that they were proven wrong.

The Italians, after signing the Rome-Berlin Axis, were terrified of the prospect of a war with France and Britain. The Italian Army would have likley met disater agaunst the French in the Alps, and Shirer wrote that the Italian Navy would be destroyed in a fortnight. When it became apparent that The British and French will go to war with Germany if Poland was attacked, The Duce (Mussolini) was able to wiggle out of his country's military alliance with Germany (according to Shirer, he did this by demanding from the Germans an impossible amount of rubber, coal, oil and gas). After a last ditch attempt by Hitler to prevent France and Britain from going to war (he offered to guarantee the French frontier and the British Empire), the orders were given for the German Army to attack Poland.

Why The Soviet Union Signed a Non-Aggression Pact With Germany

When reading Shirer's depiction of the prelude to The Second World War, it is easy to realize why the Soviet Union -no big fan of Nazi Germany, had agreed to sign the Non-Aggression Pact. Shirer makes it clear in his depiction of the events, that the British were not determined enough in their negotiations to get the Soviet Union to sign an alliance with them. Shirer writes that the British did nothing to address Stalin's fear of having to bear the full brunt of a German attack.

According to Shirer, the Soviets pointed out that France's 100 divisions would only take up defensive positions behind the Maginot Line and not attack Germany, and that the British Expeditionary Force would only be 4-5 divisions strong. Whereas the Soviets would have to mobilize almost 200 divisions to defend Poland - a territory with no natural defences. It was also pointed out that Hitler would direct most of his forces in the direction of Poland, and likely wouldn't stop until he got to Moscow.

It is hard not to blame the Soviets for not wanting to go to war against Germany. Shirer makes it obvious that they would have had to do most of the fighting, and besides, Poland did not like The Soviet Union that much. Unlike with the Munich Agreement, there was no real alternative to preventing the outbreak of war.

However, the Franco-British military strategy is another matter.