The Diplomacy of Self-Delusion: Poland's Relations with Germany, 1932-1939

Abstract

If Germany was determined to effect the revision of the Versailles system, France stood as the pillar under Versailles. Poland had turned to France in 1921 to conclude the Franco-Polish alliance which she regarded as the foundation of her international position.[6] A strong France meant a secure Poland. Yet the Versailles settlement was, in reality, an artificial imposition upon the normal pattern of European history and France soon found herself hard pressed to maintain it. The passage of time also beclouded Polish understanding of the contingencies of Poland's existence. With the advent of the Pilsudski regime in 1926, the Franco-Polish alliance began to weaken. Alliances are strongest in the face of immediate danger and in 1926 Pilsudski did not expect a major upheaval in Europe within the next five years.[7] The new Polish ruling group, given at times to illusions of grandeur, resented what it considered a patronizing French attitude. Poland's internal financial problems negatively affected French investments, resulting in adverse political repercussions.[8] In the early 1930's the French will to support strenuously the Versailles system began to falter and by 1932, France had willingly abdicated leadership of the continent to Britain whose capacity for appeasement was shortly manifest and whose espousal of the Versailles was less than enthusiastic.[9] [From Preface]