Tuesday, 9 February 2010

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Russian TV claims Poland was WW II aggressor

24.08.2009 03:35

On the anniversary of the signing of the Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939,  the Russian state-controlled Rossiya TV channel broadcast a documentary claiming Poland was planning an invasion with Nazi Germany of the Soviet Union.

 

The documentary claims that the government in Warsaw was in a secret alliance from 1933 with Nazi Germany and Japan in plans to invade the Soviet Union. The deal was struck within the, as yet, unpublished part of a non-aggression treaty between Poland and Germany signed in January 1934.

 

Hitler’s portrait in the cabinet of Poland’s pre-war Foreign Minister Jozef Beck proves the thesis, claims Russian TV journalists.

 

In June, after part of the documentary was broadcast, the Polish embassy in Moscow strongly protested.


“The report is deceitful and unreliable. It is a striking example of the falsification of history,”  read the official statement by the embassy. “

 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry retaliated saying that the Kremlin is not responsible for the content of programmes aired on state TV. “Opinions voiced on TV channels should not come under the consideration of state agencies. What times, exactly, is it being suggested we return to?”

 

Foreign Ministry – no comment


Poland’s Foreign Ministry in Warsaw has yet to make a formal response, a stance approved of by former head of Polish diplomacy Adam Rotfeld.  He argues that the Polish government should only react to statements made by state authorities rather than to claims made in TV programmes.

 

But the Kremlin appears to back the claims made in the documentary.  In a bulletin published by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, President Dmitri Medvedev is on record as saying: “The Ribbentrop-Molotov pact was a reaction to the efforts of western states at directing German expansion eastwards.”

Another former foreign minister, Dariusz Rosati, however, stated that Poland should take a firm stand on the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the reasons behind the outbreak of World War II. (pg/ab)

Comments
  • Boris Badinov 24.08.2009 19:10 It’s a provocation intended to get Putin’s invitation to Poland withdrawn, as he doesn’t feel comfortable with this charade because he isn’t going to get good press as Merkle stands there being apologetic. Putin with his official re-write of history has nowhere to go but to support the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

    Let him show up and squirm or better yet, tells us WW2 was our fault in the first place. There was Ivan the Terrible and now we have Putin the Ignorant.

    Boris Badinov
  • John K. 24.08.2009 20:11 The Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement was a reaction to Munich pact. As paranoid as Stalin was, it was natural of him to suspect the West of colluding with Germany. I mean didn't Poland join Hitler in dismembering Czechoslovakia?

    By the standards of that time the Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement was fine. But the secret protocol to it is another story...     John K.
  • Patryk 24.08.2009 21:15 John K. your comment clearly states the lack of basic historical knowledge. People in Poland are used to statements like this. nobody really cares about it anymore. what is scary is individuals like you. Read a book or two. it will do you some good. Trust me. Patryk
  • Nate Riley 24.08.2009 22:43 Merkal and Putin have gotten close . The Baltic States and Georgia are planing an invasion of Russia every one knows it has push putin into a corner he had to nuke the it is just what he had to do... Just Kidding it will only be an invasion . Putin's tyranny and 10% decline in the Russian GDP make people afraid and that cause trouble for Putin so whipping people into a nationalist fervor to distract them after all it is his private country. Putin maybe laying the ground work for another invasion of his own like the Precident set by Kosovo so did Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact if you are a dictator you can invade other countries. I wish the russian TV would stop saying russia was the biggist victem what about the jews come on . And it was to buy time an when Hitler Ivaded Russia Stalin was shocked.
    Strength of the opposing forces on the
    Soviet Western border. June 22, 1941
    Germany and Allies Soviet Union Ratio
    Divisions 166 190 1 : 1.1
    Personnel 4,306,800 3,289,851 1.3 : 1
    Guns and mortars 42,601 59,787 1 : 1.4
    Tanks (incl assault guns) 4,171 15,687 1 : 3.8
    Aircraft 4,389[72] 11, 537[73] 1 : 2.6     Nate Riley
  • Fred, Chicago 24.08.2009 23:14 Was there some kind of a formal agreement between Nazi Germany, Poland and Hungary, when they partitioned Czechoslovakia? Admittedly, Poland got a rather small piece back then. I don't understand why Polish radio doesn't report on that.

    Nate, I believe the USSR was the biggest victim in the WWII in terms of absolute population losses.     Fred, Chicago
  • John Halucha 25.08.2009 02:05 Interesting list, Nate. Only what do you mean, "Soviet Western border. June 22, 1941"?
    Are you referring to the line between the two co-occupiers of Poland in June 1941, accepting the Soviet propaganda that it was the "new" border? At the time, it was a border only in the eyes of Stalin and his then-buddy, Hitler. To the rest of the world, it was only an imaginary line through the middle of occupied Poland, where the co-invaders agreed on their respective spheres of reference.
    It wasn't until later that Roosevelt and Churchill gave away the east of Poland to Stalin, the part he had taken as Hitler's pal. They did it without even consulting the Poles, who were still fighting alongside Americans and Brits to defeat the Germans.
    It wasn't until after the war was "over" in Europe (not over for the Poles, who were to stay under the Soviet yoke for more than four more decades) that the territory was "legally" ceded to the Soviets by a puppet Polish communist government that they had installed.
    The West has been happy to keep attention away from its own role in the perfidy, and likes it when people say that the Hitler-Stalin line was already the "border" in 1941.
    Scary, when someone as knowledgeable as you appear to be falls into the trap.     John Halucha
  • Carl 25.08.2009 03:41 John, the borders in Europe at that time were a messy thing to say the least. So for all practical purposes we can assume that the Soviet-Western border was there.

    BTW, the Poles were fighting alongside the Soviet troops as well. Just like the the Soviet Union and the Western Allies, Poland did a lot for the victory in the WWII.     Carl
  • Andrzej 25.08.2009 06:26 And Polish TV claims the USSR was WWII aggressor. What's the big news here? Every country seems to be writing and re-writing world history to its own liking. Andrzej
  • Steve 25.08.2009 07:21 No big news, but the information on national psychologies is interesting. The Russian belief in their innocence may be simplistic, but it would be interesting to know whether the Georgian led, Soviet government believed at the time that Poland was a threat (whether true or not) or whether this is just post-rationalisation.

    On the Polish side, its fascinating to find that John doesn't mention that the Poles were also still fighting alongside their buddies, the Soviets to defeat the Germans.     Steve
  • Maciej Skiba 25.08.2009 12:11 I'm shocked at how many people don't even know there history.

    Yes, Poland participated in the dismemberment of Czechslovokia. But it does not mean we were working with Hitler to help him out in any way. This all dates back to the 1919 Polish-Czechslovakia conflict. After WW1, the border between Poland and Czechslovakia was in dispute. When Poland wanted to hold national parliamentary elections in 1919 in the area that had been designated Polish in the interim agreement (agreement signed by both the Poles and the Czechs), Czech troops decided to invade the area. Both sides were compelled by allies to sign a demarcation line but the tension never disappeared between the countries.

    Once Hitler decided to invade Czechslovakia, Poland decided to take advantage of the situation and take back the area which was agreed upon by both the Czechs and the Poles in the interim agreement as being Polish. It's not as black and white situation and had nothing to do with helping out Hitler. Maybe thats why Nate, Radio Polonia doesn't write about it, because all of you would need a long history lesson.

    P.S yes Russia lost the most troops, so what? It started the war along side Germany, so they have no sympathy from me.     Maciej Skiba
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