Would World War 2 have happened if Stalin had not eagerly assisted the Nazis before June 1941?
Would Hitler have attacked western Europe in 1940 with a hostile Poland and a potentially hostile Russia on Germany's eastern border?
Always important to recall Hitler's conversations with his generals in the late 1930’s.
Hitler said neutralizing Poland and Russia were absolute requirements before an attack in the West was possible.
Again and again, Hitler stressed that this was the fatal oversight by the German High Command in World War 1.
Would Hitler have backed down on World War 2 if Stalin had vowed to “defend” Poland in order to PROTECT Russia's border from Germany?
Did Stalin and the Russian High Command really not read “Mein Kampf,” where Hitler explicitly explained that the WHOLE POINT of the war was to seize Russia's farm land and destroy the Communist Leadership?
The “What If” question I had was, What if Pilsudski survived and stayed in power until 1939?
A little-known fact was that one of Hitler’s first orders after invading Poland was to place an honor guard at Pilsudski’s grave. Of course, Pilsudski hated the Russians, would he have made a deal with Hitler to spite Russia? He did sign an non-aggression treaty with Hitler in 1934, even though earlier he had urged France to attack Germany after Hitler took power. One wonders if he would have made Poland a puppet state along the lines of what Slovakia was during the war? Certainly Pilsudski mistrusted the Germans, but he might have made deals that his successors didn’t, and in effect make Poland a part of the Axis Powers.
On the other hand, Pilsudski was considered much more supportive of Poland’s Jews then the Endecja was. So he would have faced pressure from Germany, and would that have stopped him from making such a deal with Hitler?