Poland; Tragedy From WWII

Though there are many modern conflicts, and their impact on the environment and on the people in the area is undeniable, I'd like to take a step back from the modern world which we all understand and can see with our own eyes. I would like to take you all back to a time in the middle 1900's, a time when the world was at war, yet again.

Immediately images from the movie renditions of the holocaust may fill your mind, perhaps even German propaganda regarding the evil people that the Germans were. Or maybe you recall the desolated landscape that remained with the people of Poland for a great many years to come.

Though that is unlikely.

Poland was, and is considered one of the greatest mistakes made by the people countering the German offensive. Even within Poland resentment still is not pushed aside for what the 'allies' FAILED to do. They FAILED to provide adequate aid for Poland, they FAILED to save them from the social, economical, and environmental stresses they were put under, then and now.

Of course, one can argue that there was nothing that the 'allies' could have done. Perhaps even argue that Poland was hardly a large sacrifice in the grand scheme of the war. That may be the case looking back, but I feel there is a need to look again and realize exactly what happened because of the inability to create peace in time.

Poland has always had a very precarious standing with regards to its international relations. Russia had annexed a portion of its land, even while it was allied with Britain and France, and when Russia joined the war effort against Germany, there was only more confusion to be had. Seeing as Russia would not directly help Poland, considering their past, and England saw Poland as it did many of its other 'broken off' countries, as a overly ambitius country with no grasp on how a government should be run.

With such misunderstandings dominating the global view of Poland, it seems much less climatic that Poland was taken over by Germany. Particularily in the way that it was done. Germany attacked Poland from north south and west using the chaotic and heavily damaging Blitzkrieg technique, something which had not been performed previously and caught the Polish people off guard. In spite of this, the Poles defended themselves for several days before Russia (then the USSR) attacked from the East, surrounding the Poles entirely. When petitioned for aid by the Polish government, the 'allies' did nothing. After 35 days of fierce battling, Poland was officially defeated, not to be freed until after the war.

The reasons why it would never become strong again was that a great many of the fighting men were dead, the holocaust had taken hold in Poland in spite of anti-germany sentiment, and there had been another genocide involving a Ukrainian semi-ruler and many other issues for racial minorities in the country.

What we end up with is a desperate country breaking away from former bondage after a great many years of not being rescued by the 'allied' forces, its allies. Having suffered more damage to the populous than many of the other anti-German forces and having any infrastructure they had established destroyed, it is no wonder that Poland is one of the worst off European countries.

In addition, due to the Blitzkrieg already mentioned, there was very little environment left over, and what little there was would be destroyed or abused by the occupying forces.

So you see, Poland has received a reputation as being one of the quickest to submit to the German forces, while all along it was the one that was given the least help. It was because of this lack of aid that Poland suffered the incredible losses it did, comparable even to any modern conflict and equally tragic.

"Lest we forget."