Silly Little Country

It Was Seventy Years Ago Today

I knew that Rondi would spare me the need to formulate much of a post; I could just point to hers.
And Norm made me understand even better the dismal Auden line:

Of a low dishonest decade:

with this link to a Martin Gilbert column.

On 1 September 1939, German forces attacked Poland. In a final attempt to avoid honouring Britain's treaty with Poland, Chamberlain told the Commons – as German troops advanced deep into Poland and Warsaw was under intense air bombardment: "If the German government should agree to withdraw their forces, then His Majesty's government would be willing to regard the position as being the same as it was before the German forces crossed the Polish frontier." Once German troops withdrew, Chamberlain promised, "the way would be open to discussions" between Germany and Poland, and Britain was willing "to be associated" in these discussions.
Parliament was in uproar. The chief whip feared that Conservative MPs would resort to physical violence against Chamberlain. That evening, several members of the cabinet, including the secretary of state for war, Leslie Hore-Belisha, went to Downing Street to protest. Chamberlain and Halifax were dining together. The ministers insisted they would not leave until Chamberlain agreed to honour Britain's treaty with Poland and declare war on Germany.
Chamberlain bowed to this unprecedented revolt. Britain's ultimatum to Germany, demanding that it withdraw from Poland at once, was sent to Berlin that night. It expired at 11 o'clock British time on the following day, 3 September. Britain was at war with Germany.
The cabinet revolt was unknown at the time. So, too, were Chamberlain's efforts to make the Poles give up Danzig. Even Churchill had no idea of the final gasp of Chamberlain's appeasement policy. "History will be unkind to Neville Chamberlain," Churchill remarked. "I know, because I shall write it." But when writing the prewar volume of his war memoirs, he had no access to the cabinet records that would have given him chapter and verse. Only an inquiry of the type he had rejected could have done so.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 5:17 PM