DISINFO: Poland and Nazi Germany planned a military campaign against the Soviet Union and the final solution
SUMMARY
Nobody was shocked when the German historian Rolf-Dieter Müller, in his book “The Enemy in the East. Hitler’s Secret Plans to Invade the Soviet Union”, wrote that the Poles, who courted Hitler’s favour, jointly planned a military campaign against the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany, as well as the final solution to the “Jewish question”.
RESPONSE
Recurring narrative of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign targeting Poland. This narrative aims at vilifying Poland by accusing it of being an ally and partner of Nazi Germany.
In his book “The Enemy in the East. Hitler’s Secret Plans to Invade the Soviet Union”, German military historian, Rolf-Dieter Müller, does not argue that Poland and Nazi Germany jointly planned a military campaign against the Soviet Union, nor does he argue that the two countries cooperated in planning the “final solution” to the “Jewish question”.
Müller explains that after Hitler’s rise to power, the Germans attempted to woo Poland into joining them in a war of aggression against the USSR. Müller argues that, up until 1939, Poland was still being courted as a potential partner by Germany, but Polish leaders rejected Hitler’s proposals.
Müller does not in any way argue that Poland and Nazi Germany jointly planned, or even discussed, the “final solution” (Endlősung), a euphemism used by Nazi leaders to refer to the mass murder of Europe’s Jews. Müller states (on page 144 of the book) that the two governments discussed the possibility of a forced migration of Poland’s Jewish population. Müller quotes Ambassador Josef Lipski’s discussion with Hitler in October 1938 about German plans to expel Jews to Africa. Lipski’s note of this discussion is currently being used in a misleading way by Kremlin propaganda to allege that Lipski supported these plans and to accuse him of anti-Semitism and collusion with the Nazis.
Read here for background about Polish proposals in 1936-37 on the emigration of its Jewish population to Madagascar and here for similar cases claiming that Poland supported Hitler’s plan to expel Polish Jews to Africa, that Poland posed a military threat to the USSR in 1938-1939 and that Nazi Germany considered Poland its best ally.