Comment on AltHist Europe Map 1933 by DaemonofDecay
I come from a long line of Polish horse thieves and listless bastards. But Poland has a very hit or miss history. It's either Poland defeating the Soviet Union on its own, or its Poland getting its ass beaten like a red-headed step-child. The only reason Poland saw independence in the post-WW1 era was because ALL of its neighbors were falling apart: Russia was in civil war, Austro-Hungary was imploding, and Germany was being punished for "starting" the great war. It is quite extrodinary that Poland went on to defeat the USSR just a few years later, considering where it was coming from.
But if the Germans had won the great war, the Kaiser would never have allowed Poland to see its independence. Perhaps some sort of low level autonomy to appease some Poles, but independence would have been crushed by an Imperial Army riding high on its victory over the Entente.
I imagine many Poles would have died and suffered if Germany had won the great war. And Polish history is filled with desperate and heroic struggles against long odds (Warsaw Uprising, anyone?). But Poland obtaining its independence while still held by Imperial Germany and Imperial Russia? I can't see it happening.
But if the Germans had won the great war, the Kaiser would never have allowed Poland to see its independence. Perhaps some sort of low level autonomy to appease some Poles, but independence would have been crushed by an Imperial Army riding high on its victory over the Entente.
I imagine many Poles would have died and suffered if Germany had won the great war. And Polish history is filled with desperate and heroic struggles against long odds (Warsaw Uprising, anyone?). But Poland obtaining its independence while still held by Imperial Germany and Imperial Russia? I can't see it happening.
