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2. Poland in the Second World War
- The University Press of Kentucky
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45 Poland in the SecondWorldWar beFore we consider what hollywood said about the Poles during World War II, it would be useful to present a brief outline of the events to which the film industry was reacting. Two themes are particularly noteworthy. The first is that many of the significant aspects of Poland’s involvement in the war were ignored by Hollywood. The second is that the film industry made certain references to Poland that were entirely without foundation but nonetheless figure prominently in Hollywood’s version of the war. In other words, Poland in World War II and Hollywood ’s Poland have little in common. Germany invaded Poland early in the morning of September 1, 1939.Afew days previously, onAugust 23, the famous Hitler-Stalin pact was signed in the Kremlin, pledging mutual neutrality in the event of a war. Soviet neutrality was vital to Hitler’s strategy of isolating Poland before the invasion, as he had assumed that Britain and France, ostensibly Poland’s allies, would not respond. Poland, thus isolated, would be easily defeated. The Nazi-Soviet pact included a secret protocol that detailed far-reaching economic cooperation and carefully delineated a future partition of Poland that would divide the country roughly equally between Russia and Germany. Additional paragraphs specified zones of influence for each country in the Baltic.1 By these secret aspects, the Soviets and Nazis conspired against the sovereignty and territory of their neighbors. Only by ignoring these aspects of the treaty can one interpret it as designed to preserve peace in Europe—an interpretation that was basic to the presentation by Hollywood Communists. 4 Hollywood’sWar with Poland, 1939–1945 Although the Poles had anticipated a war for some time, they were well aware that their military position was far weaker than that of Germany or Russia. As a result, their strategy was based on a long-term view of the war in which Poland would emerge victorious only after prolonged efforts. In fine, Warsaw planned to resist Germany with all of its strength until France and England could mount a major offensive on the western front, a period anticipated as lasting perhaps two weeks. During this interval, Poland would face Germany alone and, being hopelessly overmatched, could anticipate enormous casualties and much destruction. Poland would have to hold as much of its national territory as possible. Once the western front became active, the pressure on the Poles would greatly lessen, and Germany would face a two-front war in which Poland would have some chance of victory. The larger the territory Poland controlled, the more rapidly and effectively it could serve as a second front. The German onslaught was even more powerful than the Poles had feared, and despite heroic resistance, the front was broken in many places after a week of intense combat. The Polish counteroffensive of September 6, the Battle of the Bzura, delayed but did not deflect the forward impetus of the Wehrmacht. German military efforts included indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets and wholesale terror directed against the population. By mid-September the Polish situation was desperate , and only a rapid French offensive could have brought significant relief. No such offensive took place, and the British also made no contribution to Poland’s defense. The strategic prewar plans collapsed, and Poland’s position was dire. On September 17, a massive Soviet invasion flooded into eastern Poland. Polish defense had to be improvised using border guards and other lightly armed units, as the bulk of the main forces were engaged against the Germans. The Soviet invasion force included twenty-four infantry divisions, fifteen cavalry divisions, two tank corps, and additional units, the whole accompanied by a vast air armada. The troops numbered between 500,000 and 1 million, accompanied by at least two thousand tanks.2 Fighting was ferocious, with fire and police departments , scouts, and schoolchildren joining in a desperate defense of eastern Poland. Troops at Dzisna suffered 50 percent casualties in a few hours; at Grodno the local population fought Soviet tanks on the streets with homemade weapons. The Soviets later massacred many of the [18.234.165.107] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:18 GMT) Poland in the SecondWorldWar 4 city’s defenders. This was repeated at Sarny, where many Poles were murdered after surrendering; the rest were beaten and robbed. Similar massacres occurred throughout the vast territory. The Russians suffered heavy casualties at a number of fierce encounters—the precise number has never been ascertained...