46
votes
Accepted
Would the USSR have invaded Poland in WW2 if the Germans had not crossed into previously-agreed Soviet sphere of influence?
Short answer: The Soviets had already invaded - at German request - by the time this exchange could even have happened
German troop movements in "Soviet Poland" cannot be considered the ...
- 8,919
34
votes
Accepted
What concessions did Hitler demand from the Poles before 1939?
As of 24 October 1938 the demands were annexation of Free City of Danzig by Germany and extraterritorial roadway+railway from East Prussia to mainland Germany through the Polish Corridor (so a "...
- 6,173
32
votes
Identifying this uniform, possibly German or Polish
Bunzlau is now in Poland and called Bolesławiec. Back then it was in Silesia, thus Prussia and therefore in Germany.
The photographer is given as "Otto Scholz", a German, not a Polish name, ...
- 80.8k
29
votes
Accepted
What is the name and meaning of a World War 2 CCC Medal with both the Polish Eagle and British Statant Gardant Lion?
This would appear to be the badge of the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron which
fought alongside the Royal Air Force and operated from airfields in
the United Kingdom.
Above: Badge with colour. ...
- 108k
26
votes
Accepted
Any information about the photo with Army Uniforms
These are Polish Army Uniforms, starting around 1919.
Unfortunately the main wiki pages show no Uniforms of the times.
To my knowledge, these types of zig-zag collars (Polish only, but translates ...
- 9,504
25
votes
Accepted
Where can I find information on a Polish castle dismantled by Sweden?
This story almost certainly relates to the invasion of Poland (1655-60) by the Swedes and their allies during the reign of the Swedish king Charles X, but it has been considerably embellished in that ...
- 108k
25
votes
Why would this word have been an unsuitable name in Communist Poland? Is it because it's a racial slur?
As a Pole, I'm confused by all the comments trying to find a racial angle here. I don't recognize either the original name "Samba" or its translation "Sambo" as a racist slur, and ...
- 351
24
votes
Accepted
What does this acronym and the symbol in the middle represent?
The symbol, though defaced, is probably the symbol of the Hitlerjugend. Click the link to see the actual image, I don't want to post it here, since it would be a legal grey area for me to do so for ...
- 4,629
24
votes
Accepted
Was there a battle at "Wodziki" in October 1914?
I found Count Posadowsky-Wehner right away in an initial Google search, in a Who is Who style work from the 1920s:
Hermann A. L. Degener (ed.), Wer ist's. VIII. Ausgabe. Leipzig: H. A. Ludwig Degener ...
- 2,171
21
votes
Why would this word have been an unsuitable name in Communist Poland? Is it because it's a racial slur?
In the original, Polish version, the dog's name is "Samba", not "Sambo"
Samba is a lively dance of Afro-Brazilian origin in 2/4(2 by 4) time danced to samba music. The term "...
- 3,400
19
votes
Accepted
What plane would have been used to airdrop someone into occupied Europe?
The earliest air drops of aid to Poland were made in February 1941 using Whitley bombers. To the best of my knowledge, none of these drops involved parachuting agents into Poland.
By 1943, Halifax ...
- 77.3k
19
votes
Accepted
Did Augustus the Strong sleep with his own daughter?
No. there is no evidence to backup this claim.
Like it says on Wikipedia:
The Countess frequently appeared in men's clothing and even in military uniform. Some sources alleged that August the Strong ...
- 80.8k
18
votes
Why was Poland subject to much harsher Russification than Finland was?
While the integration of these territories into the Russian Empire took place at the same time, they were subject to wholly different methods of integration, one a conquest but a conquest which wasn't ...
- 10.8k
18
votes
Accepted
Do we know the names of the German soldiers entombed at Babie Doły?
There is another (fictional!) movie about the affair: Nasser Asphalt (Wet asphalt, 1958). Emphasis mine:
... and Boyd, after listening to a tale from his chauffeur Jupp (Gert Fröbe), in the last ...
- 8,382
17
votes
Accepted
Why did China decide to support Poland in 1956, but not Hungary?
Interpretations are called for here — and these are necessarily opinionated to a degree.
From a recent Polish perspective, it might seem rather simple – and one-sided:
There are strong indications ...
- 80.8k
16
votes
Why did Hitler treat the Slavs inconsistently?
Hitler's racial policy was based not on anything to do with biology, but rather on who he wanted to be friends with in foreign policy. Semaphore♦ 9 hours ago
...he didn't actually have policies. He ...
- 54.9k
16
votes
Did the Red Army and German Army clash in Poland in 1939?
This does not appear to be true. There's no mention of it in Weinberg's A World at Arms, which is about the best one-volume history of WWII. The German multi-volume history Germany and the Second ...
- 31.4k
13
votes
What concessions did Hitler demand from the Poles before 1939?
There is an explanation for a second question: Why Poland thought it would threaten their independence?
As foreign minister Józef Beck said 5 may 1939:
„My w Polsce nie znamy pojęcia pokoju za ...
- 231
13
votes
Help with identifying my great-grandfather's pre-WWI Cossack uniform
Cossack was not just a regiment one can get drafted into, it was something hereditary and traditional. The cossacks lived in specific areas (Don, Kuban river basins, Siberia, etc), had their own ...
- 131
13
votes
Accepted
When in September 1939 did the British diplomatic mission leave Warsaw?
The ambassador most likely left Poland for Romania by about noon on Sept. 17, 1939, within a few hours of the Soviet invasion that morning, having already left Warsaw for Kuty in preparation for just ...
- 72.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Did Poland help Germany take Czechoslavakia before Germany invaded Poland?
You are conflating a bunch of different things.
The creation of Poland and Czechoslovakia
Poland was not a result of Germany's defeat in the Great War. When Russia signed the humiliating Treaty of ...
- 8,919
12
votes
Accepted
What was the border regime between Poland and Czechoslovakia like during the 1970s and 1980s?
For the countries of the former Warsaw Pact borders were normally restricted to permitted traffic. Borders themselves were patrolled and places where one could cross it were limited. Mind you that ...
- 924
10
votes
Did Britain bill Poland for maintaining Polish Air Force that fought over Britain?
It appears this war debt was partially voided.
The Government of The United Kingdom will make no claim for replayment
of the Ł 73 million sterling, in respect of amounts spent on war
material, ...
10
votes
Accepted
Why was Polish king Sigismund II Augustus' coronation held when his father Sigismund I was still alive?
The practice of a king having his son crowned during his lifetime was not uncommon; two well-known examples are Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England, and Philip II Augustus, son of Louis ...
- 108k
9
votes
Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
ANOTHER EXPLANATION REGARDING POLAND IS THAT IT HAD A LOT OF JEWS, PARTICULARLY IN URBAN SETTINGS; NOW, WHY WERE Jews Less Affected?
And even if Jews died at a lesser rate, it can be attributed to ...
- 101
8
votes
Accepted
Cryptography used by Red Army in Polish-Bolshevik war
Soviet Union in that time?
As a quick aside, we would know that the Soviet Union did not use any forms of encryption at this time as the Soviet Union did not exist yet. The ratification of the USSR ...
- 3,175
8
votes
What is the actual Polish street name of the street in Martinau, now Rokitnica, of Strasse der SA?
In Beuthen there was a Straße der SA, that is now Bytom' ulica Żołnierza Polskiego (Street of the Polish soldier):
Map
The street was before that the Feldstrasse:
Bytom, then Beuthen O.S., ...
- 80.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Why was Austria given the best chunk in the First Partition of Poland, even while protesting it?
It is important to understand why Maria Theresa protested Austrian involvement. It wasn't that she didn't want Austria to succeed over her neighbours, but rather in her mind it was immoral of them to ...
- 10.8k
8
votes
Why was Austria given the best chunk in the First Partition of Poland, even while protesting it?
Not Austria, Prussia received the 'best share' in the end.
It's not about size. Neither population nor territorial size. It's purely location, location, location. In terms of strategic positioning.
It ...
- 80.8k
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