The Pact With Stalin: Hitler's War On Poland

This is part 2 of our series on Hitler's War On Poland, part 1 is here:    • Countdown to Armageddon: Europe 1938-39 | ...   Watch the next episode in the series here:    • The Fall Of Poland & The Beginning Of WW2   Playlist of all of our episodes on the Nazis in power can be found here:    • The Nazis in Power   By the 11th of April 1939, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis were in the process of drawing up a plan of attack for Poland, the Poles having resisted Germany’s attempts to make them hand over Danzig and turn themselves into a satellite state. Now, with a new military alliance between France, Britain and Poland established, the time has come for Hitler to throw the dice and cast Europe into the long predicted war. Yet, at this most crucial and long awaited moment of his career, Hitler found himself in a state of emotional distress. Uncertain of whether France and Britain would join the war upon his invasion of Poland, and aware of Germany’s economic turmoil, the stakes had never been higher. He therefore decided to make a deal with his greatest ideological enemy - Joseph Stalin - forming an alliance with Russia, with the intention of dividing up Poland between them. Then, on the 1st of September, Hitler gave a landmark, excoriating address at the Reichstag, declaring war on Poland and tearing up his naval pact with Britain. War, it seemed, had become truly inevitable. Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the build up to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, one of the darkest episodes of all time, and the moment that the Second World War truly began. 00:00 How Hitler saw the outbreak of war 10:28 Hitler prepares for war 12:54 Hitler pretends he isn’t preparing for war 14:10 A grain of truth 16:45 A deal with the Soviet Union? 24:55 Hitler prepares for the summit 27:02 Ribbentrop heads to Moscow 33:20 Ribbentrop heads back to Berlin 34:10 Hitler’s views on Stalin 37:18 The reaction to the pact 42:30 Mussolini’s views on war 44:40 Hitler’s last offer to Britain 49:59 Poland finally prepares for war 51:52 The night before the war 54:20 Hitler’s address at the start of the war 56:05 Britain finally declares war Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor