Chapter 186 Where Is Danze?

"Natalie!"

Infantry General Hersman called out this name again. He was now sitting in the office of the chairman of the Army Policy Council. After returning to Zossen (the headquarters of the General Staff) from Riga, the capital of the Baltic Republic, on May 12, he would sit in this office every day for a while. Because on May 12, 1935, a far-reaching event occurred - the father of Poland, Joseph Clemens Piłsudski, died of illness in the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw on this day.

"Ludwig, did you call me?"

"Natalie, did the Poles respond? Did they agree to invite His Majesty the Emperor to attend Piłsudski's funeral?"

Natalie Lesinskaya is now not only a researcher at the Army Policy Council, but also the Secretary-General of the National Socialist International - the National Socialist International is certainly not comparable to the Third International. It is completely a "civilian organization" secretly funded by the Stasi.

Through this "civilian" international party alliance, the Stasi fostered a small Polish National Socialist Party in Poland (not the Polish branch of the German National Socialist Workers' Party).

The line of the Polish National Socialist Party is "Poland first", not "Polish Federation first". The party believes that the Free State of Poland has assumed too many obligations in the entire federation, while the Free State of Ukraine and the Free State of Lithuania have contributed too little. Therefore, both the Lithuanian and Ukrainian nations have taken advantage of the Polish nation, which is very unfair. The proportion of various obligations assumed by the three states of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine in the federation must be adjusted.

And this "Poland first" approach attracted a small number of Polish voters and helped the Polish National Socialist Party win several seats in parliament. Although the party has basically no say in Poland's national affairs, it can finally make a voice.

Therefore, after the news of Piłsudski's death came, Hersman immediately asked Natalie to instruct the members of the Polish National Socialist Party to propose to the Polish authorities: invite the former German Emperor Wilhelm II, who once supported Poland's independence, to attend Piłsudski's funeral.

Considering that William II was trying to restore the monarchy recently, the Polish government's invitation had a more "supportive" meaning - because William II was regarded as the culprit who provoked the First World War, most European countries were opposed to the possible restoration of William II.

"No, the Polish government did not invite Your Majesty, not even Mr. President."

Natalie walked into Hersman's office in two or three steps with a copy of the telegram. She was wearing a gray sweater and a black skirt, and a black veil on one arm, obviously mourning the just-dead father of Poland.

"But General Smygwi sent you an invitation telegram, hoping that you can attend Piłsudski's funeral."

Hersman took the copy of the telegram from Natalie, "Invited me? Well, it seems that Piłsudski's successor has not forgotten that I also contributed to the establishment of the Polish Federation." He smiled coldly, "Natalie, do you know? Without me, the Polish Federation would not have been possible."

"Really?" Natalie Lesinskaya looked at Hersman with wide eyes, "I heard that Poland was supported by the French and British?"

"That's not the case," Hersman smiled, "That's not the case, the support of Britain and France is useless... In fact, it was me who facilitated the handover of Lithuania to Poland, otherwise Poland would not have become a federation.

In addition, I also proposed in the "Great Poland Plan" to hand over part of the weapons of the German army on the Eastern Front to Piłsudski's Polish Corps. Otherwise, Piłsudski would never have won the subsequent Soviet-Polish War."

"Oh, Lenin must not know about this?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know, it's top secret," said Hersman, "but the Poles are ungrateful..." He seemed to remember that Natalie was also Polish, and smiled at her embarrassedly. "It's not about you, you are a good Pole."

"I know," Natalie sighed, "The whole world knows that Poland is sorry for Germany on the territorial issues of Posen, West Prussia and Silesia... The two sides had an agreement at that time."

The Poland of this time and space seems to be more hateful than in history. In 1918, the Polish Provisional Government, which obtained Lithuania, signed a border treaty with Germany, recognizing that Posen and West Prussia belonged to Germany. However, after the Treaty of Versailles, Poland turned its back on its people and took away most of the land of Posen and West Prussia with the support of Britain and France. It also instigated three uprisings of Silesian Poles (Poles were a minority in Silesia), and cut off a few pieces of meat from Germany with the support of Britain and France.

In addition, it also provoked trouble on the border between Lithuania and East Prussia, and cut off the port city of Memel (renamed Klaipeda) in East Prussia.

These German lands taken away by Poland were precisely the hometowns of many Junker officers, so the Junker group hated Poland extremely. The alliance with the Soviet Union against Poland (which was also true in history) emerged under such circumstances.

When Piłsudski saw the rise of Germany during his lifetime, he also knew that he needed to give something to ease the relationship with Germany, so the "Polish-German Non-Aggression Declaration" was issued.

But the "Declaration" has been issued for several years, so where is the promised Danze? Why hasn't it been returned to Germany? Now that Piłsudski has kicked his legs and gone to see God, can Danze still be returned?

"Go send a telegram to General Smigły. I will go to Huashan with Chancellor Hitler to attend the funeral."

Hitler was an old friend of the Polish people, so he had naturally received an invitation. However, he received an official invitation from the Polish government, while Hersman received an invitation from the Polish military.

In Europe, many bigwigs were invited to attend Piłsudski's funeral. The great leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Prime Minister Mussolini, French President Albert Le Brun and Prime Minister Pierre Etienne-Frandy, Austrian President William Miklas, Czechoslovak President Thomas Masaryk, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Foreign Secretary John Simon, etc., have all expressed their readiness to attend Piłsudski's funeral.

There is no doubt that Piłsudski's funeral will be another meeting between bigwigs from European countries.

…

"Mr. Prime Minister, the Polish government refused to invite William II to Warsaw. Even German President Ludendorff and Polish President Goltz were not invited. This shows that the Polish government is against the restoration of William II."

At the same time, in London, England, Stanley Baldwin, who moved into 10 Downing Street for the third time, was listening to Foreign Secretary John Simon's report on the funeral of Piłsudski. The funeral of the father of Poland will be held in a few days. Stanley Baldwin himself has received an invitation and is preparing to go to Warsaw.

But there is one thing that makes him a little worried-it is possible to meet with German Emperor William in Warsaw!

Of course, he is against William II. At the end of the World War, he was also the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and proposed to try William. And now the British government he leads still opposes the restoration of William II in Germany. In his view and that of many British and French politicians, William II is the symbol of German militarism, and the restoration of William II is the resurrection of German militarism!

Therefore, Britain and France have always been opposed to the restoration of William II, and have been exerting pressure on the Hitler government in Germany, hoping that the Nazi Party can become an important foundation for peace between Germany and Europe and prevent the restoration of William II.

In addition, Britain and France have also begun to expand their armaments. Britain expanded the Royal Air Force, and France accelerated the design and production of new tanks in addition to speeding up the construction of the Maginot Line.

At the same time, improving Poland's armament level is also an important way to contain German militarism.

"The attitude of the Poles is worthy of praise," Stanley Baldwin said slowly while smoking his pipe, "Piłsudski's death is a loss to the Polish people, but it is a good thing for us. Because Piłsudski's death, the door to improving relations between Poland and Germany is basically closed. What Piłsudski did not do, no one else in Poland can do."

Piłsudski is half a god in Poland. He did not complete the return of the Free City of Danze, let alone his successor.

As long as the Danze issue is not resolved, there will be no real reconciliation between Poland and Germany.

"Prime Minister, but we must also pay attention to the possibility of Germany and the Soviet Union cooperating to attack Poland. This is very likely to happen." Neville Chamberlain, the chancellor of the exchequer, was also in the prime minister's office. He, John Simon and Stanley Baldwin were the three giants of the British Conservative Party. Now the national affairs of the United Kingdom are decided by these three people.

"Prime Minister, according to reliable information, the Germans held a large-scale military exercise in the Baltic Republic at the beginning of this month." Foreign Minister Simon mentioned the "Iron Fist-1935" military exercise that had just ended. The scale of the exercise was large, so it was naturally impossible to keep it secret. The British and French embassies in the Baltic countries received a lot of relevant information.

He said: "This military exercise is likely to be aimed at Poland. Some people in the German military have always advocated an alliance with the Soviet Union to fight Poland. We should be vigilant."

Stanley Baldwin smoked a cigarette and was silent for a while, then said: "Poland and Britain should strengthen their national defense to prevent Germany's ambitions for the Polish Corridor and Danze City, and also prevent the Soviet Union's ambitions for the right bank of Ukraine. I think... we can discuss defense issues with our French and Polish friends in Warsaw."