Chapter 138 Who belongs to Danzig in the five-nation negotiation?
Danzig is located in the north of Poland, bordering the Baltic Sea to the north, with an area of 262 square kilometers. 95% of the city's population is German, German is the main language, and Poles account for only 3%. But such a standard German-speaking city
The city was "forcibly independent" because of the arrogant Treaty of Versailles.
Yes, just like the literal meaning. The people of this city have no desire for independence at all. However, under the intervention of the League of Nations controlled by Britain and France, the "Danzig Corridor" area was brought under Polish control.
As a result, the German province of East Prussia, located east of the "Danzig Corridor" and the city of Danzig, became an isolated island, cut off from road connections with the mainland.
This situation of being at the mercy of foreign countries makes many Germans very dissatisfied. You know, even if a referendum is held in accordance with the principle of "national self-determination," Danzig should belong to Germany, but the League of Nations does not allow a referendum to be held here.
If it had been 15 years ago, perhaps the German people and government would have dared to question the powerful League of Nations. At that time, Germany had just been defeated and was in dire straits. It had neither the confidence to speak nor the strength to resist, and could only be slaughtered by others.
Just let it be.
But things are different now! Under the leadership of Reinhardt, the German government took the risk of violating the Treaty of Versailles, established an army with super combat effectiveness, and showed a small part of its strength in Spain.
It was this small portion of strength that determined the outcome of the entire Spanish Civil War and created a new Western European regime that was close to Germany—the Kingdom of Spain under Franco.
In addition to the Kingdom of Spain, a historical power in Western Europe, Italy, a long-established power in Southern Europe, shares the same hatred with Germany. It has repeatedly sided with the German government in the international community and blatantly declared Italy's alliance with Germany.
Austria, a large country in Central Europe, directly merged with Germany and became the Eastern Province of the Third Reich, which greatly improved Germany's military and economy. As a result, Germany's international voice will naturally follow.
Increases with the expansion of strength.
The increase in the international voice further laid the political foundation for Germany to merge with Czechoslovakia, the "fourth largest factory in Europe". In addition, Poland's crazy territorial ambitions demonstrated at the right time further promoted the German-Czech merger and sent troops to Germany.
Found a moral high ground.
Different from history, these two successful mergers are not the end, but a good beginning. The Hungarian people, who envy the German family, hope that their motherland, which is the mainstream military country in the Balkans, can also become part of the German Empire.
, bringing stability to Hungary, a chaotic country.
With the attitude of not wanting anything for nothing, Reinhard used a little power of the Gestapo to kill the regent of Hungary easily, and then naturally accepted all the political institutions and military forces of Hungary.
This series of chain reactions was not over yet. Reinhardt took advantage of the merger of Germany and Hungary to issue a "Proclamation on the Territory of the Southern Provinces", excluding Romania and the once Hungarian disputed territory of Transylvania from the south.
In addition to the province, it is equivalent to a disguised recognition of Romania's sovereignty over the Transylvania region.
In this way, he immediately won the favor of Romanian Army Minister Antonescu. At the request of the military, the weak Romanian king agreed to Antonescu's pro-German stance, becoming Germany's largest military presence in the Balkans.
military allies.
Spain - Germany - Italy - Romania, the number of troops in these four countries is already equivalent to the total number of troops in half of the European continent. The unprecedented unity of interests of the four countries has also made this "quasi-quadruple alliance"
” becomes more and more important.
Compared with the League of Nations, which has become in vain, the title of organization that can influence European affairs has actually fallen to the "quasi-four-nation alliance".
Therefore, on March 15, 1938, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Romania jointly issued an invitation to Poland for negotiations. During the negotiations in Berlin, Reinhardt, as the German head of state, proposed that the Polish government should hand over
Exit the Danzig Corridor and maintain the territorial integrity of the German Third Reich.
During the negotiation meeting, Reinhard looked at the face of the great Italian leader Mussolini and gave up the recovery of sovereignty over the city of Danzig in a compromise, instead requesting only the recovery of the Danzig corridor railways and roads.
It was built in control of the road to connect the German mainland with East Prussia.
Originally, Mussolini only participated in this meeting in a friendly manner based on the strategy of "four countries advancing and retreating together". After all, Italy is different from Spain and Romania. In today's Europe, Italy's apparent military strength is second only to Germany.
Although Spain is a historical power and has a strong foundation. However, after experiencing the losses of the civil war, Spain's remaining strength is not as good as before.
Not to mention Romania, its ranking as the most powerful country in the Balkans is just the result of the dominance of tigers and monkeys in the mountains. On the European continent, even if it takes out the Austrian or Czechoslovak armies that were once merged by Germany, it can
The beating caused it to lose its armor.
However, Reinhardt's respectful attitude really moved Mussolini. In order to casually put forward some "compromise suggestions", Reinhardt immediately gave up the recovery of Danzig's sovereignty.
The next best thing was to ask for the right of way.
It seems that the German head of state still respects him from the bottom of his heart.
Just when the satisfied Mussolini had earned enough face and was preparing to return home with a glorious image as a key mediator, the Polish representative was unhappy.
Just when everyone thought that Poland should be able to accept Reinhard's favorable conditions, the negotiators, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and Polish Foreign Minister Becker, could not reach an agreement.
Behind Baker, he represents the tough attitude of the Polish government: Germany has just expanded its military, and it has already dared to go against Poland on the issue of Czechoslovakia. What if we let it go? Although the German army looks very strong, Poland is not
The standing army of 800,000 people is not a vegetarian. If there is a fight, the outcome is uncertain. It is also unknown whether Berlin will be named Bo in the end.
Then, a very famous scene happened in later generations. On the last day of the meeting, in front of German Head of State Reinhard, the Polish Foreign Minister accused the German government of wishful thinking and stated that the Polish government would never return the city of Danzig.
, there is no sovereignty, and no right of way.
It is undeniable that the Polish Foreign Minister was a bit arrogant. Even Mussolini, who was accustomed to arrogance, admitted that the Polish minister was a bit ignorant. Since he rejected the goodwill that he had finally won, he also mocked the head of state in front of him.
But the German head of state happened to be even more arrogant. In front of the Spanish Regent Franco, the Italian Prime Minister Mussolini, and the Romanian Army Minister Antonescu, he rushed to fight with the Polish Foreign Minister Baker.
.
As a result, a good meeting ended and turned into a chaotic fight. Baker, who was fighting on the road, was eventually beaten up by more than 10 tall German guards and imprisoned for threatening the safety of the head of state.
A prison on the outskirts of Berlin.
Well, now, even the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland has been arrested, so there is no need to talk about the border issue between Poland and Germany.
