The German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact Case Study

The German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact (German: Deutsch-polnischer Nichtangriffspakt; Polish: Polsko-niemiecki pakt o nieagresji) was an international treaty between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic, signed on January 26, 1934. Both countries pledged to resolve their problems by bilateral negotiations and to forgo armed conflict for a period of ten years. It effectively normalized relations between Poland and Germany, which were previously strained by border disputes arising from the territorial settlement in the Treaty of Versailles. Germany effectively recognized Poland's borders and moved to end an economically damaging customs war between the two countries that had taken place over the previous decade.
One of the most noted of
They state that when in late October 1933, rumors of a Polish "preventive-war" proposal were reported in Paris, their source was the Polish Embassy, which had informed French reporters that Poland had proposed a "preventive war" to France and Belgium, but Poland and Germany had already been secretly negotiating their Pact. It has been argued that Piłsudski had had the Polish Embassy start rumors about a "preventive war" to pressure the Germans, who were demanding that Poland abrogate its 1921 Franco-Polish alliance. The Pact would specifically exclude that
Nevertheless, by easing Poland's disputes with Germany bilaterally, the treaty weakened France's diplomatic position against Germany.
To allay any fears of a war against the Soviet Union, on May 5, 1934, Poland renewed the Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, which had been first signed on July 25, 1932.
Poland was able to maintain friendly relations with Germany for the next five years but also with France and Britain. However, it may have also led to foreign policy inattentiveness regarding the activities of the crumbling League of Nations and ignoring the collective security schemes proposed by French and Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s.
The Pact, soon followed by a trade agreement with Germany, is said to have granted Germany a settled eastern border and allowed Hitler time for rearmament. Five years later, Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland.[7][8] Piłsudski distrusted German intentions on the whole but perceived Hitler's origins as an Austrian rather than a Prussian as a mitigating factor and stated that Hitler should stay in power as long as possible.