Following the Munich agreement of September 1938, Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia and ruthlessly claimed it as a German protectorate. Still, even following his annexation of Czechoslovakia, Hitler’s determination to make Germany the greatest power in Europe was far from sated. Thus, hungry for war and keenly conscious of Germany’s fast imploding economic situation, his mind had turned by the beginning of 1939 to his next unfortunate target: Poland. And it was not only defeat that he envisaged this time, but Polish liquidation. But, with both the Poles and British becoming increasingly wary of Germany's growing assertiveness and militarism, in March 1939 they and France forged a military alliance. Enraged by this, Hitler finalised his plans for the conquest of Poland. In an unexpected turn of events, he also went in search of an unlikely ally of his own to counter the new alliance from which he was smarting: Russia’s Joseph Stalin, the Nazis’ ideological antagonist… Join Tom and Dominic for the appalling story of the build up to Hitler’s genocidal war on Poland. Was it possible that even at this inflamed juncture, war could still have been prevented? _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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My Fuhrer, your comrades of the First Hour are seated before you, willing to follow your lead nobly as one united whole, to stride forth at your side in the future also, suffused by the single desire to follow you blindly towards the attainment of the greatest of victories, the victory of our great German Volk. You have led us onward to victories unfathomable.
You have restored to us a life worth living, a life splendid und magnificent. It was you who created Greater Germany. How feeble are our expressions of gratitude! Words to express our gratitude to you simply defy us.
The cries with which we jubilantly hail you presently, mein Führer, these shouts of hail sum up everything we feel within ourselves in respect to inspiration, dedication, love, and loyalty. Comrades, to our dearly beloved Führer, the creator of greater Germany,
So that, Dominic, was Herman Goering, who you've put down in your note, you've described as a sinister man-mountain. I hope that I adequately conveyed your kind of instructions there. He's a gentleman of size, isn't he? And I hope that that came across. This is going out early in January, and that was actually his New Year address to the Reichstag on the 1st of January 1939.
That was how Goering welcomed the New Year, Tom. And of course, we always like to welcome the New Year in the company of these terrible people. So New Year 1939. And Goering there, I think it's fair to say, is speaking for tens of millions of ordinary Germans. They all love their Fuhrer. Well, Hitler is very popular. And of course, there are people who have issues with the regime of various kinds.
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