The Polish-French Alliance of 1921

Concluded in February 1921, Poland’s alliance treaty with France, which was intended to afford the former an additional level of protection against German aggression, was the centerpiece of Poland’s foreign policy during the Interwar Period. However, from Poland’s viewpoint, the alliance had all along been fraught with significant shortcomings. With the passage of time, it lost some of its significance as Paris increasingly disregarded Warsaw’s interests. This trend was epitomized by the Locarno conference of 1925, which marked the beginning of the Franco-German rapprochement. By 1933-1934, Poland began to revise its foreign policy with an eye to turning the alliance into a partnership. This effort turned out to be unsuccessful. It was not until the diplomatic crisis of 1939 that the treaty was strengthened and complemented with an Anglo-Polish alliance, which nevertheless failed to avert the German attack on Poland. Despite both France and Great Britain having declared war against the Reich on September 3, 1939, neither provided their Polish ally with due assistance.