Theatre and Actors
To truly savour this performance, it is worth arranging the proper lighting-
so that both the light and the shadows can be seen.
1. LIGHT
London’s Knowledge of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
In the summer of 1939, British and French intelligence services were aware that the Soviet Union was conducting negotiations with Germany.
On 21 August 1939 – two days before the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact – the British ambassador in Moscow, Sir William Seeds, reported to London that the German‑Soviet talks were „at an advanced stage” and concerned a possible non‑aggression agreement.
On 23 August, only a few hours before Ribbentrop and Molotov put their signatures to the pact, this information about the planned agreement reached Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax.
Sources:
– Foreign Office Documents, Public Record Office (London), Series FO 371/22944 and FO 371/22950
– A.J.P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, 1961
– M. Howard, The Continental Commitment, 1989
Although reports about a German-Soviet understanding were arriving, the British government did not officially communicate them to the Polish side, nor did it ask about Warsaw’s defensive plans against a possible joint aggression by its neighbours.
While Marshal Rydz‑Śmigły and Foreign Minister Beck awaited confirmation of allied support, London remained silent.
2. SHADOWS
The Secret Annex to the Polish‑British Agreement
On 25 August 1939, the Agreement of Mutual Assistance between Poland and Great Britain was signed.
Publicly it was announced that both parties would render aid in the event of an attack by a „European Power.”
However, in a secret annex revealed after the war (Documents on British Foreign Policy, Third Series, Vol. VII, London 1956),
London stipulated that the obligation of immediate military assistance applied only in the case of German aggression.
It did not cover attacks from another direction – that is, from the Soviet Union.
In practice, this meant that when on 17 September 1939 the Red Army entered Poland’s eastern territories, the British government did not recognise this as „the situation” that would activate the alliance obligation.