Poster "Da Frankrigs Krigs - Erklaering blev afgivet" - France's Declaration of War on Nazi Germany Ahead of France's Invasion of Poland in Accordance with the Poland - France Pact. Copenhagen, September 3, 1939 - Two Days After Germany's Invasion of Poland and the Outbreak of World War II. Danish.
Official poster announcing France's declaration of war on Nazi Germany after the channel of talks between France's last ambassador in Germany before the outbreak of war, Robert Coulondre, and the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials) reached a dead end, and Germany's invasion of Poland was actually carried out:
"The Havas Agency announces: Paris, Sunday at 19:00. The French Ambassador in Berlin, Coulondre, met with the German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop today at 12:30. Coulondre asked von Ribbentrop if he was able to give a satisfactory answer to the French government's statement from September 1st. Von Ribbentrop replied in the negative. As a result, Coulondre noted that this was the last reminder of the heavy responsibility assumed by the German Reich by initiating hostilities against Poland without a declaration of war, and by not responding to the proposal of the British and French governments, the French government from today, September 3, 1939 at 17:00 will see itself forced to fulfill the commitments it has undertaken towards Poland and which the German government is aware of".
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, sparking World War II. France and Britain, who were allied with Poland, saw themselves obligated to assist it. With most of the German army racing towards the Vistula River in the east, a decisive thrust could have been made in the west to gain ground in Germany. However, military officials, headed by the French Chief of Staff Maurice Gamelin, were reluctant to act. Nevertheless, to formally uphold their commitment to Poland, the French army launched an offensive. By September 12th, 9 French divisions advanced 8 kilometers into the Saar region, up to the start of the Siegfried Line fortifications, occupying an insignificant, uninhabited area without resistance. After the fall of Poland, the forces withdrew to the French border. By October 4th, the offensive ended without any practical results. Now began a period of inactivity called the "Phoney War" ("Sitzkrieg" in German, "Drôle de guerre" in French), which Hitler exploited to mislead the British and French, and a week later he ordered his commanders to prepare an offensive in the west.
Size: 33x24 cm. Minor tears on margins. Good condition.
