Hitler technically didn’t invade Austria. There was a Nazi coup in Austria shortly before the Anschluss. The Anschluss wasn’t unpopular in Austria. Not exactly a similar situation.
You are right about Czechoslavakia. They were invaded in the spring of 1939 and were not organized enough to resist, whether they would have or not. I overlooked that.
I have been saying all along that Poland was administered directly by the Nazis. Not because the Poles made some kind of decision against a collaboration government, but because the Nazis did not want Poland to be an independent polity of any kind. I don’t see how this says anything about the Poles, whose collective opinion was not taken into consideration.
Poland suffered immensely under the Nazis. I certainly do not deny that. But why would that suggest that Poland as a country was braver or more noble than any other? Because of Poland’s brief resistance in 1939 and its resistance movement under the occupation? Every Nazi-occupied country had individuals who sacrificed themselves to oppose Nazi rule. Zegota saved several thousand Jews out of several million murdered from Poland, but that doesn’t change the fact that many more Jews were not helped or were killed by their Polish neighbors during the same period. It is a very sad and mixed legacy, not a remarkably glorious one.
Every country with a substantial Jewish population has had Jewish patriots. Poland was no exception. At the same time, Poland had a long history of brutal anti-Semitism and Jewish anxiety.
One reason that some Jews were hopeful about Soviet rule is that the Soviets promised to abolish anti-Semitic policies, religion being excluded from socialism.
I am dubious that Poland’s postwar Communist security apparatus could have actually been dominated by Jews, since there was only a very small remaining Jewish population in to draw from, while Poland is a country with one of Europe’s largest populations. For that reason alone, it is absurd to blame Jews as a group for Poland’s decades under communism.
Some Jews naturally would have been grateful to the U.S.S.R. for rescuing them from the Holocaust. Collectively, the Russians clearly did much more for them at that time than the Poles did and therefore had a better claim to Jewish loyalty.
Of course I’m right and you are not. Your anti-Polonism stinks.
Poland was administered by the Germans b/c the extermination of Jews and Poles was the point. As I’m sure you know, more Polish Christian than Polish Jews were exterminated by the Germans. What’s more, the Poles would not collaborate (sadly, as my last post pointed out, the Jews collaborated with the Soviets. Comment?)
Poland’s ‘brief’ resistance was followed by having the fourth largest Allied armed force. 20% of the pilots in the Battle of Britain were Polish. It was You, YOURSELF, who said that the Poles collaborated with the Nazis!
Zegota did what it could. They even went to the President of the USA! Not enough for you!
You can doubt what you want; I guess that makes you feel better. Deal with the quotes of the Jews who ran the place and how they see it. Your opinion is — apparently — uninformed.
The Jewish community had many who collaborated with the Soviets. Gross documented it. No surprise that Poles found it a problem Wouldn’t you? You can’t believe that Jews dominated the security aparatus, even though the Jews who did talked about it freely? What’s wrong with you? You can’t deal with those who were there? You know more than the actors themsevles? Read Toranska’s book.
Poland’s Minister of the Interior was Jakub Berman, and the troika who ran the coutnry were Minc, Berman and Beirut. Kasman was in charge of propaganda. Chajn ran the SD, a Communist affiliated party. I already noted Werfel. We can argue opinion, not facts.
I appreciate your post, but it’s weak. You can’t ignore the facts (from their own mouths) that I laid out. You should give up, really, unles you can marshall facts.
Poland’s balance is quite positive. As I said, collaborators existed on all sides. Entire communities can’t be defined by the collaborationist minority.
Who’s blaming Communism on the Jews? I was simply responding the your note that some (a minority)of Poles helpled the Nazis. Guess what? Some Jews (a minority) helped the Soviets. Collaboration happens in all wars. Sadly.
I’m not sure about even your comment “poland’s brutal anti-semitism” That’s an urban myth. Let’s talk facts. Poland ceased to exits in the 18th century. Until then, it was a haven for Jews. Duh, that’s why so many Jews went there.
So let’s get to FACTS. What is the nature of your ‘brutal(hehe)” antisemitism. If you can’t give CONCRETE examples, then it’s anti-polonomism
And if you don’t reply w/ CONCRETE examples, then you are lablelling yourself a BIGOT.
Look, your lack of facts are obvious to all readers. You can’t sustain a thread w/ the lack of any solid info.
So don’t worry that you can’t respond; you will just look even weaker when you try w/o facts. No harm in just letting our thread go, and we’ll leave it at that.