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One of the biggest bits of bs during the Cold War was the notion of the Red Army storming out of the old Soviet Union through Poland and into East Germany with their Warsaw Pact allies for whatever reason to smash the evil Western capitalists and all that when the reality was the Russians were scared to death of that ever being the case. They knew, certainly Russian officers knew the moment their troops had the chance they would have murdered them and went running for the border. Heck, the average Russian soldier was never taught to read a map. And as far their ‘’allies’’? If their own troops didn’t kill them the Poles weren’t going to fight for Ivan. They’ve have killed Russians in a heartbeat. East Germans would have too. And then the Poles and Germans would have gone at it. I don’t think most Americans understand the level of animosity the peoples of Eastern Europe have toward each other. I’m sure it has lessened over time since the collapse of The Soviet Union but memory is a persistent thing and revenge often bides it’s time. War slumbers , but always keeps one eye open.

And you realize why the Nazis never had Poles fighting for them or used them as guards in the Death Camps, unlike the Ukrainians. The Germans knew that the moment they gave a Pole a gun, the Pole would use it on the German. And when Hitler gained power, he envisioned Poland as a potential ally, even making overtures to Piłsudski, promising them Russian territory if Poland joined German as an ally. Poland turned them down, and instead allied with France and Britain, angered Hitler to the point, where he vowed to wipe out the entire Polish race.