History (and related interesting facts)

Isn't it funny how France and Great Britain declared war on Germany for attacking Poland, but didn't declare war on USSR for doing the same 2 weeks later? Isn't it funny how post WWII they didn't seek to restore Polish Independence...you know...a thing they declared a war for?

Hey gimme dat cookie or i'll fite you! Another guy claims the cookie - fine you can have it.

It's just a rough map from 1941. I can't scan the much more detailed ones I have. 

^ Japan is between a rock and a hard place.

The population is aging rapidly (average age is nearly 90). They have very rigid work ethics and opposed to change for the most part. They are depended on resources. They need lots of power, but can't rely on nuclear in the very long term, because earthquakes and tsunamis happen. The goverment owns the stock market. They have huge debt to GDP ratio - like 240-260%. They have negative interest rates. The monetary policies are not working for decades. They are planning to do helicopter money and nuke their economy once and for all.

In a word, they're are SCREWED.

Still a damn beautiful country with fascinating history.

They lost 30% of their economic power in these two decades which is a shamefur dispray! Well Japan is like a huge beautiful museum now!

I think average age 90 is too much tho. Their fertility rate is a bit increaed from 2010 to 2016 (1.34 -> 1.41)



I think this chart's future part is too unreal. Realist and nationalistic waves hit countries every few decades and they awaken people of what is wrong with them.

Well its not like France or Britain were ina  position to go to war seriously against Germany at the time, much less Germany and the USSR simultaneously.

And at the end of the war, what were the Allies to do, keep the war going for a few years more in a massive gamble at trying to defeat the USSR?

Yes in 1936 maybe, but there was widespread consensus that the Versailles treaty was unduly harsh on the Germans ("Just Germans walking in their own backyard"), and especially after the Ruhr Crisis several years before there was no political will for such an intervention from the French.

As for after the war started, no France probably couldn't have beaten them straight up.  French forces were hopelessly overstretched due to their manpower crisis, sub-par armor and aircraft, and weren't in a position to be immediately mobilized for an invasion of Germany. The Sitzkrieg in between the invasion of Poland and France wasn't done merely out of the French just sitting there twiddling their thumbs.

The Allies correctly assumed Germany was a much bigger threat than the Soviets.  Sure the Soviets were every bit as barbaric and cruel (and often much more so), the Allies were certainly in no position to be attacking them, and much less after the war started.  The Allies didn't go around declaring war on every odious ruler of the day, Hitler attacked and forced their hand after making a mockery of their attempts to keep him appeased, meanwhile Stalin and the Soviets were far too internally focused to be much of an issue at the time.

France going to war in 1936 while not impossible would have been very difficult. The kind of mobilisation required to ensure that the Germans would back down would have close to bankrupted the government and that's not even considering the diplomatic impact. While we can sit here with the benefit of hindsight, at the time, there was no way simply stopping the Germans having troops there was going to be worth the damage it would have done to France.

As for why they declared war on Germany and not the USSR, well, by the time that latter invaded, the Allies were already involved in a major war. It would've been insane to get involved in another - there's a point that no matter how noble your principles might be you just have to face facts. What would've happened had Stalin invaded first is however an interesting question. I don't think there's a clear cut answer on that one. The allies did hold Poland's independence pretty seriously but after Hitler taking Czechoslovakia (thus breaking the Munich treaty) he was far and away the more immediate threat so whether they would stand by in the face of Soviet aggression...I dunno.

Unfortunately it seems like it, Polish troops weren't even invited as only country that was on allies side In London victory celebration, Churchill sold Poland, Czech republic (just Easter/middle Europe to soviets) and specially this if its true:

wgospodarce.pl/informacje/20592-bitwa-o-anglie-polacy-obronili-brytyjczykow-ci-kazali-im-za-to-zaplacic-zobacz-kwoty

(main points translation) Poland had to pay UK £107 650 000 For airplanes, ammunition, bombs etc In battle of Britain. So for our pilots to fight and spill blood for British, in battle of Britain..

They got their cash from polish gold that was deposited after 1939 in Canada, hope those who wanted it so badly chocked on it.

My great uncle died in battle of Britain as a pilot, so this greatly pisses me off.

England didn't care about Poland like many other countries, after all for a country that was an empire at a time a lot of other countries were just pawns.

Well England and France and many other countries then gave that Gold to USSA (yes, that's how it's spelled) for lend-lease. And also deposited more later. But Nixon gave them the finger in 1971 and told them to fuck off and didn't give them their gold back 

Without Polish work on Cyclometer and the Bombe, the British may never have cracked the Enigma code. But they are so keen of dismissing that fact. 

Your pilots fought mainly for Poland, not for Britain, just like Free France fought for France and not for Britain.

And yes, Britain and France didn't really care much about Poland, but that's just how the world goes around. Poland didn't care much about its neighbours either. Everyone knows Hitler took Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement. A lot less know that Poland annex Czechoslovakia's Teschen region at the same time. The Poles basically used Czechoslovakia's weakness for their advantage, acting just as despicable as Hitler acted.

Breaking news: nations use each other and stab each other in the back all the time.

 Czechoslovakia annexed Some Polish lands earlier (there was conversation about it earlier, later just before WW2 Poland took them back which a lot of people think is a mistake) 

But there is a big difference between small skirmishes and a world war, Polish, French, British etc all fought against Nazis and therefore their goals were aligned. You're also wrong, the pilots fought for Poland and Britain. Without those pilots there was a good chance battle of Britain would have been lost.

Of course there is always back stabbing nothing new there mate but WW2 had just some biggest genocides you know, where majority of civilian population has been affected and huge proportion of them died, obviously some people don't know what honor means, soviets rule just send more people on the shooting wall.

(Just gonna add, aren't you bloody surprised people are savour about it.)

Nah. Old news by 33 except among nationalists.

The occupation of the Ruhr by the French army. In response to Germany's inability to pay reparations after the depression and stock market crash.

... Right on the eve of election.

It saw the NSDAP go from a party with two seats in the House to over thirty.

Basically overnight.

Because of criticism leveled at the sitting regime due to said invasion. Hitler went from a long shot candidate to the people's chosen in days.