Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 had started WWII in Europe, but by 1943, the tide was turning.
Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 had started WWII in Europe, but by 1943, the tide was turning. The Soviet Red Army was advancing from the east and Nazi Germany’s armies were in retreat. All the while, the Soviets were picking up territory, liberating millions from Nazi-occupation. The further Russian advances in June and July 1944 had succeeded beyond all expectation, and they eventually began moving into more disputed ground, beginning with the eastern Poland territory that Stalin had taken as part of his prewar deal with Hitler and that was now under German control. The Soviet advance presented the Polish resistance and the Polish government-in-exile with a terrible problem. They knew that Stalin had already massacred tens of thousands of Polish officers and officials. Stalin had even set up his own puppet Polish government in the liberated city of Lublin. Cutting a deal with Stalin would mean surrendering national sovereignty and accepting the massacre of their citizens. On th...