The Historical Warning Putin Ignores

On September 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. This major historical event happened after Germany refused to leave Poland. Britain had issued a final warning, but Hitler ignored it. This moment is deeply embedded in British memory. Many people see this as the start of Britain’s heroic defense of Europe. They remember the resilience shown during the Blitz and the eventual liberation of the continent.

However, Britain’s decision to defend Poland was somewhat surprising. At that time, Britain had limited ties with Poland. Poland was located much further away than Czechoslovakia. In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had dismissed Czechoslovakia as a "far away country of people of whom we know nothing." He spoke of it with little sympathy. Poland had not been a historically significant nation to Britain. It was not a vital diplomatic partner either. Poland had only become an independent nation in 1918. Many British commentators, including the famous writer T.S. Eliot, were skeptical. They believed that the new independent states in Eastern Europe would not survive for long.

So, why did Britain choose to support Poland? Understanding this decision offers important lessons about Western support for Eastern Europe. This is particularly relevant regarding the current situation in Ukraine.

Britain’s decision to support Poland can be traced to changes in Europe after the First World War. During that conflict, Poland and Czechoslovakia emerged as new nation-states. This was part of idealistic post-war goals to create a peaceful continent. Unfortunately, this vision did not fully materialize. The new map of Eastern Europe created opportunities for self-determination. However, it also created vulnerable states. The security of these new nations depended heavily on whether Western powers were willing to defend the post-war borders.

Poland faced a difficult path to independence. It fought wars on almost all of its new borders. Tensions were particularly high with Germany. Germany was left destitute by the punitive Treaty of Versailles. Germany immediately criticized the treaty. Surprisingly, many citizens of the Allied nations shared this view. It was not just Germans who found the treaty vindictive and problematic. Leading figures, including the influential economist John Maynard Keynes, felt similarly.

This sympathy for German grievances made many in Britain less willing to view German revisionism as inherently dangerous. This attitude was combined with Western criticism of the independence of nation-states in Eastern Europe. Ongoing conflicts in the east and political instability in Poland fueled this skepticism. Poland cycled through over ten prime ministers between 1918 and 1926. In 1926, a coup led by Józef Piłsudski overthrew the government. These factors, along with a reluctance to enter future European wars, weakened Western commitment. The League of Nations also proved ineffective. This was partly because America refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League.

Germany was gradually being reintegrated into Europe. This was largely thanks to the Locarno Treaties of 1925. Proposed by German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann, these treaties guaranteed Germany’s western borders and pledged peace. Crucially, however, they did not guarantee the eastern borders. In effect, Western Europe was stabilized while Eastern Europe remained negotiable. The West viewed Germany as having political and cultural influence over the east. These factors, combined with the economic devastation of the Great Depression, were vital to the rise of Hitler and his revanchist ideology in the east.

By the 1930s, Germany was becoming increasingly aggressive and militaristic. It rearmed in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany also sought to reclaim lands lost in the east. Britain responded with a policy of appeasement. This approach preferred efforts to ensure peace and avoid war. It also maintained focus on Britain’s waning Empire.

In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria in an event known as the Anschluss. The reunification of the two German-speaking nations had been a central tenet of Nazi politics since Hitler came to power in 1933. Chamberlain was ambivalent about resisting this move. The established British view was that the Anschluss was simply the natural unification of two nations.

Germany then turned its attention to Czechoslovakia, another target of revanchism. Germany aimed to govern the Sudetenland, an area on the German border. This nearly triggered a European crisis. Czechoslovakia defended its control of the area and had friendly relations with Britain and France. Despite French commitments to protect the nation and establish regional stability, both France and Britain decided they were unable to fight Germany. They pursued a diplomatic resolution. Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, Hitler, and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini held talks in Munich. The result was the Munich Agreement of September 1938.

This agreement allowed Germany to take control of the Sudetenland. In return, Hitler pledged that this would be his last territorial expansion. The Munich Agreement was a test to see if Hitler would accept a negotiated settlement. His actions the following year provided the answer. In March 1939, Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. This was the turning point in British relations with Eastern Europe, particularly concerning Poland.

Poland was under threat from German aims to conquer Danzig (Gdańsk) in the north. Danzig had been made a free city in the Treaty of Versailles. Germany also wanted to reunite with East Prussia. This region was separated from the rest of Germany by the Polish Corridor. As Britons condemned the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, there were fears that Germany might move into Romania. Romania bordered Poland and held valuable oil resources. Recognizing Polish military strength, forming a new alliance with Poland seemed like the obvious step.

This decision still came as a surprise to many in Britain. This included Winston Churchill, who had opposed appeasement and promoted the British defense of Poland. However, he had not expected a formal promise. The guarantee promoted the independence of Poland rather than its full integrity. It applied only if Poland fought with its national forces. It also made very few other promises. It did not immediately provide Poland with loans for military aid.

The story of Britain’s support for Poland has clear parallels with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Western support has enabled Ukrainian defense. This demonstrates how financial and military aid has a real impact on the battlefield. It has prevented total occupation. However, dwindling Western support, especially from the United States, mirrors the acquiescence to attacks on Eastern Europe in the 1930s. That earlier failure led to a global war.

Poland’s own waning support for Ukraine, due to historical tensions and a new right-wing president, also has similarities with the interwar period. Tensions between Eastern European nations during the 1930s allowed larger, militaristic powers to take control. The lessons of the 1930s show that commitments to Eastern Europe need to be quick and sustained. Without such commitments, global escalations in war become much more likely.

The historical record warns us against underestimating aggression. It shows that waiting until a threat is too large to ignore leads to catastrophic conflict. The decisions made in 1939 changed the world. They remind us that standing firm against expansionism is not just a moral choice but a practical necessity for peace.