Editing Polish Corridor (section)

== Ultimatum of 1939 ==

{{Main|1939 German ultimatum to Poland}}
A revised and less favorable proposal came in the form of an [[ultimatum]] delivered by the Nazis in late August, after the orders had already been given to attack Poland on September 1, 1939. Nevertheless, at midnight on August 29, von Ribbentrop handed British Ambassador Sir [[Nevile Henderson]] a list of terms that would allegedly ensure peace in regard to Poland. Danzig was to return to Germany and there was to be a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor; Poles who had been born or had settled there since 1919 would have no vote, while all Germans born but not living there would. An exchange of minority populations between the two countries was proposed. If Poland accepted these terms, Germany would agree to the British offer of an international guarantee, which would include the Soviet Union. A Polish [[plenipotentiary]], with full powers, was to arrive in Berlin and accept these terms by noon the next day. The British Cabinet viewed the terms as "reasonable," except the demand for a Polish plenipotentiary, which was seen as similar to Czechoslovak President [[Emil Hácha]] accepting Hitler's terms in mid-March 1939.

It was not until the following noon that the [[Józef Lipski|Polish Ambassador Józef Lipski]] appeared at the Foreign Office and sought an audience with Ribbentrop. Five hours later he was shown in, and since he did not have the negotiating authority demanded by Hitler, Ribbentrop briefly dismissed him with the information that he would inform the "Führer" of this. Thus the [[Germany–Poland relations|German-Polish relations]] were severed.<ref name="Rohde 90">Horst Rohde: ''Hitlers erster „Blitzkrieg“ und seine Auswirkungen auf Nordosteuropa''. In: derselbe, Klaus A. Maier et al.: ''[[Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg]]'', Bd.&nbsp;2: ''Die Errichtung der Hegemonie auf dem europäischen Kontinent''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1979, pp. 79–158, p. 90.</ref>