Russia-Poland row over start of WW2 escalates

[Anomalocaris]

A row between Russia and EU countries over the causes of World War Two has escalated, with a top Russian official condemning the US ambassador to Poland.
Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said a tweet by Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher was "insulting" to Russians and Americans.

On Monday  "Dear President Putin, Hitler and Stalin colluded to start WWII."

President Vladimir Putin says Poland and its allies are distorting history.

During a marathon news conference on 19 December, the Russian president said it was "totally unacceptable and inaccurate" to cast equal blame on Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for the war's outbreak.

Mr Putin said he had requested Soviet archive documents in order to write an article on the subject - Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 - and, in his view, to set the record straight.

He argued that the Western powers and Poland had appeased Hitler's aggression by letting him grab Czechoslovakia in 1938.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50955273

This is all news to me - I thought it was a universally accepted truth that Hitler started WW2 by invading Poland   also, let sleeping dogs lie? Stalin's army ENDED WW2 by seizing Berlin, no? So tarring them with the dirty end of the stick now over the start seems, er, beyond unhelpful to me.

1.  Many historians dates the start of global conflict called WWII to Japanese invasion of southern China 2 years before the German invasion of Poland and the end of WWII to Japanese surrender aboard the USS missouri 4 month after the fall of Berlin.

2.  The declaration of war between major European powers during WWII was an reaction to german invasion of Poland.   But German invasion of Poland was the direct result of collusion between hitler and Stalin which called for both to invade Poland and then split Poland between them.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov%E2...ntrop_Pact

Stalin realized that the French and British could do nothing to stop Hitler from "settling the Polish problem". He therefore thought it wise to cut a deal with Hitler. He would not oppose German occupation of most of Poland if the USSR could have the eastern part. This was agreed to in a secret codicil to the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.   Without a guarantee that the Soviets wouldn't "come to Poland's aid" Hitler may not have attacked on Sept. 1, 1939.

It’s not so much Soviet Union not “coming to Poland’s aid” that provided hitler with the assurances he needed to invade Poland.    It is that Soviet Union, after taking half of Poland, promised to be his buddy and keep his rear safe should the Anglo-French defy hitler’s expectation and honor their security pledge to Poland that provided hitler with the assurance.