"WORLD ON FIRE" (2019, UK)

Lunes, 6 de abril de 2026: 

 At night, in my Japanese-style room, I watched the following war drama.

 Recorded on a USB-HDD (registration number 3) connected to a DIGA (2017 model). Aired on BS12 on November 25, 2022, at 9:00 PM.

 Friday's Killer Street "WORLD ON FIRE" (2019, BBC One. 7 episodes total. Original languages: Polish, German, English. Japanese subtitles). Episode 2.

 It was interesting.

 The period covered in Episode 2 was a delicate time for Anglo-German relations.

 Hitler did not want war with Britain (not to maintain peace and balance in Europe), nor did he have plans to attack and conquer mainland Britain. Hitler's interest, as written in "Mein Kampf," lay in the "East." Hitler needed to conquer France first in order to attack the Soviet Union (Franco's Spain and António de Oliveira Salazar's Portugal remained neutral), and therefore concluded a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. He had no intention of going to war with Britain as long as Britain tacitly approved and maintained its appeasement policy.

 Britain's declaration of war against Germany was unexpected for Hitler.

 On the other hand, Britain, regarding the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, accused Prime Minister Chamberlain of "breaking his promises and betraying Britain," and declared war on Germany based on the Mutual Assistance Treaty with Poland. However, at this point, he was still exploring the possibility of a ceasefire to avoid a full-scale war with Germany.

 France and Britain may have harbored a faint hope that if Poland were to cede the Polish Corridor, connecting mainland Germany and the birthplace of Prussia (a German exclave), to Germany, Hitler might agree to a ceasefire.

 The birthplace of Prussia (an exclave, now a Russian exclave) was not only a strategically important location but also a spiritual homeland for the general German people. The Polish Corridor issue was not merely a matter of Hitler's personal aggression, but a significant issue in the sentiments of the general German population, and a problem that Hitler had to resolve from a domestic political standpoint.

 The British also had various motives, including the overwhelming strength of German military power and the desire to divert Germany's aggression towards the Soviet Union, thereby weakening both countries.

 Although France and Britain formally declared war on Germany based on their mutual assistance treaty with Poland, at this point in the story (Episode 2), neither country had yet engaged in much actual combat with Germany. They were conducting diplomatic maneuvers behind the scenes, waiting to see Hitler's move.

 Of course, the governments did not make such matters public, so the people of both countries were outraged.

 The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact included "secret" clauses regarding Germany's invasion of Norway and the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland, which neither Britain nor France had anticipated.

 Furthermore, after World War I, the United States had assisted Germany in its post-war reconstruction, investing heavily and reaping enormous profits, thus having strong ties to Nazi Germany (the founder of Ford being a typical example). Conversely, Poland was of little interest to American business circles.

 At the time of this second episode, the United States (regardless of FDR's true intentions, who was surrounded by Comintern spies) still outwardly maintained "neutrality."

 Due to these complex circumstances, the second episode repeatedly features scenes of disagreements and arguments between Britons and Americans regarding the response to the German invasion of Poland. The statement, "Britain abandoned Poland," also appears.

 Following World War II, as a consequence of the immense admiration for Churchill, who became a national hero, former Prime Minister Chamberlain was criticized almost as a "war criminal," and his appeasement policy towards Germany was completely rejected.

 However, considering the sentiments of ordinary German citizens who were not Nazi Party members, and Hitler's party base, which rested on the delicate balance between left and right-wing forces within the Nazi Party, I believe his policies and insights were not necessarily wrong.

 Former Prime Minister Chamberlain did make "mistakes," such as failing to restrain Poland's hardline stance against Germany and failing to persuade Poland, and failing to discern Stalin's aggressive intentions.

 Furthermore, after Piłsudski's victory in the Polish-Soviet War (1918-1919) and subsequent territorial expansion, he concluded the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union in 1932. This is thought to have been a measure taken in response to the rise of Nazism in Germany.

 In 1933, upon Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Piłsudski, along with France, plotted to initiate war against Germany. From Poland's perspective, this was a so-called "preventive war" (similar to the exercise of "preemptive self-defense" under the UN Charter after World War II; though the current Israeli-American war against Iran doesn't seem to fit this description…).

 France rejected Piłsudski's secret proposal for a preventive war against Germany, citing a violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

 Poland was forced to sign the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact with Nazi Germany in 1934.

 Piłsudski distrusted both Germany and the Soviet Union. He believed the stability provided by the two non-aggression pacts would not last, and that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union would soon invade Poland. Poland strengthened its military.

 Ultimately, Piłsudski's prediction proved correct, but it cannot be denied that the situation might have been different if Poland had been more flexible regarding the Polish Corridor.