alexander koryagin wrote to Robert Bashe on Sunday August 13 2017 at 19:49:

ak> The list of German overseas colonies was bigger:
ak> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_German_colonies

The Kaiser would have appreciated your comments.

ak>>> ... and many other territories.

RB>> You mean the western part of Poland, most of which Germany took by
RB>> force with Stalin's enthusiastic cooperation.

ak> I said about WW1 ending when France, Denmark, Poland and
ak> Czechoslovakia chunked territories from Germany.
ak> https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_nm.php?MediaId=1620

The discussion was NOT about WWI.

ak>>> Russia didn't participate in the afterWW1 pie division. Russia
ak>>> itself was chunked by Poland as if Russia was a German ally.

Russia wasn't Russia after WWI. Lenin gave up large swaths of territorty to the
Germans at Tannenberg. That was Lenin's method to end the war and keep his own
people quiet. By that time, the Tsar was no longer in power. And Lennin could
concentrate on elimiating his own opposition in Russia with the help of people
like Trotsky - later murdered by Stalin. Thanks, incidentally, to Germany,
which was stupid enough to allow him to pass from Switzerland through Germany
without being shot. If he had been eliminated during that passage, world
history would have been changed. No Lenin, no Stalin. Possibly no Hitler.

RB>> I suppose that's why there was a secret addendum to the Molotov-
RB>> Ribbentrop treaty allowing Germany and Russia to split up Poland
RB>> between themselves.

ak> It depends from point of view. IMO Poland was captured by Hitler, but
ak> the USSR returned its own territories.

Like the Crimea. Except that there was no subtrefuge.

RB>> That's probably why Stalin was so supprised when Hitler attacked
RB>> Russia - he thought both Russia and Germany had arranged quite a nice
RB>> deal for themselves. But only Russia got to keep it's share.

ak> Many believe that originally, after France, Hitler wanted to attack
ak> the UK.

He did, but was disappointed that Goering couldn't keep his promise to gain air
superiority over the RAF. His biggest mistake of the war. If he had stayed by a
one-font war, he might have won. His mistake was the same as Napoleon's: a
two-front war can't be won.

The result was, as we know, the destruction of the so-called "Third Reich".
Which, incidentally, Ivan the Terrible ("Ivan Gruzny") termed Russia during his
reign ("Rome was the first reich, Constatinopel the second, and Moscow the
third reich").

ak>  But IMHO the UK did everything it could (including betraying
ak> Poland) in order to help Hitler to approach and attack the USSR.

No, the real betrayal came earlier in Munich, where the Czechs were
partitioned, but not even invited. That was a betrayal that only Chrchill
recognized at the time, and has gone into history as one of the most odious
betrayals of the last century. The infamous "Peace in our Time" speech was the
death knell of the previous British Empire.

RB>> Poland was merely "reimbursed for the Russian takeover by giving it
RB>> part of what had been eastern Germany before the war.

ak> Well, maybe. Poland was considered by Stalin as an important future
ak> ally.

Call it a "puppet" or a "buffer state" and we agree.

Cheers, Bob

--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-0613