Would Poland negotiate over Danzig with a non-Nazi Germany?

Bit of specific question but I'm writing up some ideas about an authoritarian Germany (traditional junta) in the 1930s. Ideas such as transport links through Polish territory to East Prussia being floated between Berlin and Warsaw.

Could a Germany not bent on annihilating the Polish state come to an agreement with Poland. Reading up on the Free City it seems the Poles were happy with Nazis running the city as they pushed a pro-Polish line following the 1932 Non-Aggression Pact. By then Gydina had taken over as Poland's main port however they were adamant Danzig remain 'independent' and under Warsaw's thumb.

Say in return for supporting Polish claims in Czechoslovakia would Poland accept Danzig being reincorporated into the Reich or becoming an equal condominium?

Jape said:

however they were adamant Danzig remain 'independent' and under Warsaw's thumb.

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This is not an accurate account of the status of Gdansk.

Jape said:

Bit of specific question but I'm writing up some ideas about an authoritarian Germany (traditional junta) in the 1930s. Ideas such as transport links through Polish territory to East Prussia being floated between Berlin and Warsaw.

Could a Germany not bent on annihilating the Polish state come to an agreement with Poland. Reading up on the Free City it seems the Poles were happy with Nazis running the city as they pushed a pro-Polish line following the 1932 Non-Aggression Pact. By then Gydina had taken over as Poland's main port however they were adamant Danzig remain 'independent' and under Warsaw's thumb.

Say in return for supporting Polish claims in Czechoslovakia would Poland accept Danzig being reincorporated into the Reich or becoming an equal condominium?

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I don't see why it should be impossible. There's a large number of factors at work here, such as:

-Will this Germany be content with Danzig, or does it also want to vassalize Poland anyway and drag it into a big war with an uncertain outcome (a matter considerably more important then Danzig itself)?
-Is Germany threatened by British/French action if it moves against Poland? Does the Polish government expect that Germany will risk war anyway?
-Does Poland judge the USSR to be a threat?
-Who is in charge of Poland anyway? Some may be more prepared to make concessions then others.

and so on.

According to various Poles on this site (I can't remember who though) a unification between Danzig and Germany would have been possible in the 30's. Or at least Poland will not go to war over Danzig (they would go to war over the corridor and Silesia).

Well, it is not impossible. But I think it is not very likely. Beck and Göring had a very good personal relationship. He offered Danzig plus free ways to East Prussia against recognition of the borders. These negotiations in 1938, before this became a crisis again, were going well, until the climate in Poland, also thanks to French interferrings, changed. They soon after declared, Danzig being reunified with Germany would be a casus belli. This even didn't change, when the offer was made that Danzig would stay economically "Polish".

Many might argue now from hindsight, but it is interesting to see. Ironically the Nazi government of 1933 up to 1939 was the most pro-Polish government Germany could have. All other governments would not have acted this way.

To see a peaceful solution one has to have these factors:

1. A somehow pro-Polish government in Germany no longer demanding more.
2. A somehow pro-German government in Poland accepting such a deal like above.
3. No interference of third parties, especially France.

Thus I think it will be next to impossible to have a peaceful solution here.

Michele said:

This is not an accurate account of the status of Gdansk.

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What is an accurate account? It was run by the League of Nations and Poland had special rights regarding access and administration with the Polish postal system among other things being run in Danzig rather than independent systems.

I don't see why it should be impossible. There's a large number of factors at work here, such as:

-Will this Germany be content with Danzig, or does it also want to vassalize Poland anyway and drag it into a big war with an uncertain outcome (a matter considerably more important then Danzig itself)?
-Is Germany threatened by British/French action if it moves against Poland? Does the Polish government expect that Germany will risk war anyway?
-Does Poland judge the USSR to be a threat?
-Who is in charge of Poland anyway?

and so on.

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The general idea is Russia does better in the 1920 War and gets land up to the Curzon Line. Poland falls to the National Democrats, Pilsudski having been discredited by the war and establish a not very nice UnFascist, anti-Semitic regime with a hatred of Russia.

Germany is less focused on Lebensraum than dominating Eastern Europe so bar ethnic German settlements in Silesia and Danzig she's not all that bothered by Poland's existence. Poland meanwhile would be hurting from defeat in 1920 and keen to 'reclaim' lost lands, in this Germany is an obvious ally.

Basically I imagine something similar to Italy's slow turn into a German ally, at first weary of a nationalist regime in Berlin but thanks to Anglo-French impotence Warsaw slowly comes round, seeing the Germans as the only realistic way to get revenge on Russia.

EDIT:

Tyr Anazasi said:

Well, it is not impossible. But I think it is not very likely. Beck and Göring had a very good personal relationship.

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I actually imagined Goering being Chancellor of this Germany (basic idea Hitler dies in Putsch, radicals join Roehm in a 'Strasserite' party and conservatives like Goering go to the DNVP who help facilitate a rightist-military take over in the 1930s).

Jape said:

The general idea is Russia does better in the 1920 War and gets land up to the Curzon Line. Poland falls to the National Democrats, Pilsudski having been discredited by the war and establish a not very nice UnFascist, anti-Semitic regime with a hatred of Russia.

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Right wing =/= authoritarianism/fascism. The second part of the name "National Democracy" was not there by accident. The right wing in Poland did undergo a certain radicalization in the 1930s, with some movements becoming more or less fascist, largely in reaction to the authoritarian policies of Piłsudski's regime. Without Piłsudski's coup it will happen to a far lesser extent, if at all.

Jape said:

Germany is less focused on Lebensraum than dominating Eastern Europe so bar ethnic German settlements in Silesia and Danzig she's not all that bothered by Poland's existence. Poland meanwhile would be hurting from defeat in 1920 and keen to 'reclaim' lost lands, in this Germany is an obvious ally.

Basically I imagine something similar to Italy's slow turn into a German ally, at first weary of a nationalist regime in Berlin but thanks to Anglo-French impotence Warsaw slowly comes round, seeing the Germans as the only realistic way to get revenge on Russia.

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Germany also wanting the part of Upper Silesia which Poland got (which unlike Danzig had a clear Polish majority) would make things more difficult then Danzig alone. Not necessarily impossible - the right combination of threats, western apathy and Soviet threats could go a long way - but much, much harder and have much worse consequences for long-term future relations.

Jape said:

What is an accurate account? It was run by the League of Nations and Poland had special rights regarding access and administration with the Polish postal system among other things being run in Danzig rather than independent systems.

Click to expand...

So it was not "under the Polish thumb".