And they ended up with Poland, the protection of which was ostensibly what brought Britain and France into the war in the first place.
Most people do not understand what happened in Europe after Germany was conquered. Americans to today don’t know about Russia after the war was over.
The number of Russian deaths is incomprehensible, beyond reasonable understanding. Not only that but it was at least the third time that Russia at war experienced deaths simply beyond comprehension.
Having defeated the Germans and occupying all the territory between Allied occupied Germany and Mother Russia, a decision was made to maintain Poland and all that land as a buffer against future invasion from Germany or some other European nation.
Poland was and in fact is just in the way. If there was to be another invasion, the war will be fought in Poland or Hungary or Romania and not on Russian soil.
Americans get upset over one death in Afghanistan. Russians killed on Russian soil by the Germans number in the millions. I posted earlier the fact written by the historian Victor David Hansen, that more Russians were killed by German aggressors in the siege of Leningrad than all the Americans who died in the entirety of WW II.
I do not overlook the fact that the vicious dictator Stalin killed lots and lots of Russians, but that is not relevant ot the Russian occupation of Poland and other nations to close the invasion routes and serve as a protective buffer
Poland has the historical and geographical misfortune of being in the way.