DISINFO: Poland posed a military threat to the USSR in 1938-1939
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: pl.sputniknews.com (archived)*
  • Date of publication: September 09, 2019
  • Outlet language(s): Polish
  • Reported in: Issue 164
  • Countries / regions discussed: USSR, Poland, Germany, Russia
Tags:
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Historical revisionism WWII

DISINFO: Poland posed a military threat to the USSR in 1938-1939

SUMMARY

Throughout 1938-1939, the Soviet military functionaries assumed that the most probable security threat for the USSR came not only from a military union of Germany and Italy, but also from Poland, which appeared in the “orbit” of the Nazi block. Thus, the USSR had to be prepared for a fight on two fronts – in the West (against Germany and Poland) and in the East (against Japan).

RESPONSE

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism – it tries to explain the necessity of signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and German and Soviet attacks on Poland in September 1939 by alleged “military threats” coming from Poland. See other examples referring to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact here, here and here. The accusation of Poland as posing a “military threat” for the USSR is a clear historical manipulation. Before WWII, Poland had tense political relations with Nazi Germany, which had open territorial claims to Poland (revision of the status of the Free City of Danzig and control over the “Polish Corridor”). Despite intense political pressure from Hitler, Poland refused to become a part of the Nazi block. See similar examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning Poland here and here.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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