Did Germany invade Poland because the Germans in the south of Poland were being persecuted and killed?

Answer 1

This is an excuse used by Germany.

Hitler made a pact with Russia that they would not fight each other and would divide Poland between them when they conquered it. It is more likely that Hitler invaded simply to increase his land mass and resources.

Comment

Germany invaded Poland to gain space and recources. Germans used the lie about being attacked first. 17 days later Soviets invaded Poland as well and split it in half. Would you say that Poles were both persecuting Germans and Russians? In 1939 Poland as a country existed only for 20 years after regaining independency after 125 years of being partitioned by whom? : Prussia and Russia. Please see the map of Europe from year 1939 to see where was Poland, Germany and Russia then. Also read Norman Davies's newest book "Europe at war, 1939-1945"

Poland was created out of pieces of the German Empire and Imperial Russia. This meant that the Border areas had large numbers of either Russian or German people on the Polish side of the Border. While there was some tension in Silesia (Southern Poland), most of the tension with Germany was over the "Danzig Corrider" connecting central Poland to the Baltic. This area had been German since the late middle ages, but was given to Poland so it could have access to the sea.

Hitlers foreign policy had 4 pieces:

1) Unite all Germans under one government (his).

2) Avoid the threat of a 2 front war by destroying Poland and France.

3) Unify and "rationalize" Europe under one empire (like the EU only more violent).

4) Drive the Russians out of the Western USSR and repopulate it with Germans.

Points 1) and 2) put Poland firmly in Hitler's crosshairs.

IMPROVEMENT COURSO

This question isn't TODAYS GERMANY excuse, because today POLAND and GERMANY are allies and very good friends who help eachother, it was NATZI, and HITLERS Propaganda.