The Polish Territories East of the Curzon Line

“Does Poland Really Need the Eastern Part of Germany?” – pg. 10

“A superficial glance at the map gives, indeed, the appearance that the Poles lost considerable territory to the Soviet Union. Of course, this can never entitle Poland to lay claim to the eastern part of Germany.” – Page One.

This decidedly biased interpretation of Polish history was written to inform the audience about the status of the reconstituted nation’s political boundaries in the years following World War II. It lays out a largely one-sided argument from the German perspective, beginning with Poland’s restoration after the First World War. Despite significant losses in both population and landmass to the Soviet invaders, they were apparently not enough to justify the acquisition of what would be known as the ‘Recovered Territories.’

The relative economic value of the ‘lost’ vs. ‘recovered’ lands is heavily emphasized in the volume, which notes “The Polish territory east of the Curzon line was, in part, economically “run down” and depressed, and, in part, an under-developed area.” Statistics ‘prove’ there was no excess population from the Poles fleeing Soviet occupation, callously ignoring the devastating implications of the Holocaust.

Published in Hamburg by Kant Verlag in 1950 or 1951. Printed by G. Rautenberg. As of May 2024, only two examples are noted in WorldCat, at Duke University and Freie University (Berlin).