The British-French Guarantee of Poland, March 1939

What was the Polish guarantee?

After the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Britain and France offered a guarantee to Poland, promising protection if it was attacked.

What led to Britain and France issuing the Polish Guarantee in March 1939?

By March 1939 Britain and France were prepared to take steps to stop Hitler. There were a number of reasons why they chose to guarantee Poland's independence.

• ❖ Poland was clearly going to be Germany's next target for expansion.
• ❖ Public opinion had swung away from appeasement over the winter of 1938-39.
• ❖ They hoped the guarantee would be an effective deterrent to Hitler's invasion plans.

Why did Germany threaten the Polish Promise?

Britain and France guaranteed Poland because it was clearly the next target for German expansion.

• ❖ Poland had been created using German territory by the hated Versailles settlement in 1919.
• ❖ Poland included east Prussia, which had been German territory until the end of the First World War.
• ❖ Germany was split in two by the Polish Corridor, with east Prussia separated from the rest of the country.
• ❖ Danzig, with its German population, was located in the Polish Corridor.
• ❖ Hitler had made specific demands for Danzig to be returned to Germany.

How effective was the Polish guarantee?

The Polish guarantee was not very effective for the following reasons:

• ❖ Although Britain and France promised to help Poland if it was attacked, in practice this provided little protection.
• ❖ Britain and France tried to form an eastern alliance to ensure that Germany would have to fight a war on two fronts, but the USSR didn't trust the western powers.
• ❖ Neither France nor Britain could offer immediate support to Poland in the event of an attack.
• ❖ Hitler had gained so much confidence during appeasement that the guarantee was not a deterrent to his plans.