Chapter 4 The General Staff and the Polish Question

Poland has always been an object of hatred for us since it annexed German territory by virtue of the Treaty of Versailles, because this annexation has no historical basis and does not conform to the demand for national self-determination.For us soldiers, Poland has always been the object of our sorrow in the era of Germany's weak national power.Every time we look at the map, it makes us worry about this dangerous situation.The German borders are unreasonably divided!Our motherland is dismembered!That corridor cut off East Prussia from Germany, and gave us every reason to be apprehensive about that lovely province!Even so, the German Army never dreamed of an aggressive war against Poland to end the state of affairs by force.There was also, among other considerations, a purely military reason: any attack on Poland would plunge Germany into a war on two or more fronts, which Germany could not cope with.On the contrary, although we do not want to engage in an aggressive war, we do not dare to hope that we can sit down peacefully with the Poles and discuss how to amend these unreasonable border issues at the conference table.At the same time, it seems possible that one day the Poles will take the initiative to use force to resolve the border issue.We have gained considerable experience in this field since 1918, and we were always preparing for it when Germany was still weak.Once Marshal Pilsudski dies, some nationalists will gain a decisive power in Poland, and they will have the possibility of invading East Prussia and Upper Silesia. La (Vilna) is a precedent.However, in our military considerations, we have found a political answer to this situation.If Poland goes to war first, and we are able to repel their attack, Germany may have an opportunity to resolve this unpleasant border issue with a political counterattack.

In any case, no general in the army has ever given too much hope to this question.Although General Rabenau (Gen‧V‧Rabenau) in his biography of Zeckert once quoted the admiral as saying: The existence of Poland is intolerable and does not meet the basic needs of Germany.Using its own internal weakness, and Russia's strength, with our help, should be able to destroy it.In fact, however, since new developments have taken place in both the political and military spheres, this attitude should have been revised long ago.We are well aware of the growing military power of Russia; and France is as hostile to us as ever.It always wanted to seek allies in Germany's rear.But if Poland were eliminated, Russia would be a more dangerous ally of France to Germany than a mere buffer state as Poland is at present.If the buffer state of Poland (and Lithuania) were removed between Germany and Russia, the two powers would be too prone to conflict.Amending the border between Germany and Poland is certainly beneficial to the two countries, but because the existing situation has completely changed, it is not good for Germany to completely cancel this country.

So whether we like it or not, there should still be a Poland between us and Russia.Although we are very disgusted with the unreasonable separation of the eastern border from the standpoint of the military, in any case, Poland is a less dangerous neighbor than Russia.Of course, like all other Germans, we hope that someday these borders will be amended so that the predominantly Germanic areas will return to Germany in accordance with the natural rights of their inhabitants.But at the same time, from a military point of view, if the population of Poland in our country increases, it is also very unreasonable.Although Germany wants to be united with East Prussia, Poland's desire for a fishing port should still be taken into account.Until the end of the 1920s, the majority of German soldiers viewed the Polish question in much the same way.

So the wheel of fate turned again.Hitler came to power.Everything has changed, including the basis of our relationship with Poland.An anti-aggression pact and a treaty of friendship was signed between Germany and its eastern neighbor.We no longer fear the possibility of a Polish attack.At the same time relations between Germany and Russia began to cool, and our new ruler made his hatred of the Bolshevik system very clear in his public speeches.Due to this new situation, Poland can feel less constrained politically, but it is no longer a danger for us.Germany's rearmament, coupled with Hitler's succession of foreign policy victories, made it unlikely that Poland would use this new freedom of action against Germany.In the partition of the Czech Republic, Poland once asked for a share of the pie. From this point of view, it seems that we are not without opportunities to negotiate national border issues with it.

Until the spring of 1939, the German Army Headquarters never had in its files any plans for an offensive deployment against Poland.Until then, all our military measures in the East have been purely defensive in character.