World War II about to start... Europe on edge...

AI notes: On August 29, 1939, Adolf Hitler intensified diplomatic pressure on Poland as part of his final preparations to launch an invasion, using a carefully orchestrated mix of threats and propaganda. After signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union just days earlier—securing a non-aggression agreement and secretly agreeing to divide Eastern Europe—Hitler felt emboldened to move forward with his expansionist aims. On this day, he summoned the British ambassador, Sir Neville Henderson, and insisted that a Polish envoy arrive in Berlin within 24 hours to discuss vague and one-sided German demands concerning Danzig and the so-called Polish Corridor—territories Hitler claimed were unjustly taken from Germany after World War I. However, the proposals were never formally delivered to the Polish side, allowing Hitler to falsely portray Poland as unwilling to negotiate. This maneuver was part of a broader strategy to create a diplomatic façade and justify German aggression. Behind the scenes, German military forces were already mobilized and positioned for an imminent attack, and Hitler was determined to strike before Britain or France could mount a meaningful response, believing their support for Poland would falter in the face of war.