# What were the REAL reasons that the UK declared war on Germany in 1939? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419 "2015-09-09T07:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/21 "2015-09-09T18:39:06Z")
It reads to me in OP that the other reasons given here–which surely cannot be new to you–are capital letters FALSE. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/22 "2015-09-09T18:42:23Z")
> [@Anondragon2012](#): > > What I meant by “ideologically aligned” was not from the British side, but from the German side. Not one single thing you’ve typed in this thread indicates any degree of “ideological alignment” between Nazi Germany and the UK. > [@](#): > > I would say point 2, 4, 5, are totally irrelevant to British-German relations and quarrel. In fact you could even ask: “Why did Britain have the gal to meddle in continental European politics”? Its not a valid reason for war (but could be for France, as its geopolitical sphere was encroached upon). > > I’ll be honest…If the purpose of war was simply the annihilation of Germany due to its place being too bothersome to the British, that doesnt put the British in a very good light, regardless of who the Nazis were. The British decision to go to war was a vastly more complicated one than is being described here, and if you want to re3ad the first quarter or so of Beevor’s “The Second World War” the politics of the Allies in commencing the war are well described. You are, however, in a state of total misunderstanding regarding the geopolitical reality of Nazi Germany, one that many Britons did in fact understand at the time. Peaceful coexistence with a Nazi state was not possible. It could never have been possible, because the central ideological tenet of Nazism is war and conflict. The ideological basis of the Nazi way is that all states, all societies, all factions and all people are perpetually in a state of conflict, to be decided by war sooner or later. The purpose of the apparatus of state, to a Nazi, is to make war - perpetually, forever and ever, both externally and internally. Who they went to war with at any given time was based on their perception of strategic interest and need, but they would EVENTUALLY have gone to war with the UK, because without war a Nazi state has no purpose. The Nazis were not just really right-wing. If the UK had not gone to war in 1939 the Nazis would have attacked them eventually, and everyone else, for that matter. If they’d conquered the whole world, then Nazi factions would commenced war against each other. The end state of a war where the Nazis keep winning is the last two men on earth strangling each other, both wearing Nazi uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/23 "2015-09-09T19:18:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The end state of a war where the Nazis keep winning is the last two men on earth strangling each other, both wearing Nazi uniforms. And then the Daleks get invented. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/24 "2015-09-09T19:18:22Z")
If France wanted to pre-emptively attack Germany, why didn’t they? They declared war and sat and did nothing. They could have march to Berlin while Germany was devastating Poland because there were virtually no German troops on the French border at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/25 "2015-09-09T19:24:33Z")
They didn’t know that. There were plans for an invasion that would have taken the Ruhr Valley and basically ended the war before it began but the French thought it was heavily defended. I just read that quite recently but I can’t remember where. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/26 "2015-09-09T20:24:30Z")
I misspoke. They planned one (probably started planning around 1919), but they did nothing, not even scout for locations of German troop concentrations that would have to be dealt with in the course of an attack. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/27 "2015-09-09T20:26:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I misspoke. They planned one (probably started planning around 1919), but they did nothing, not even scout for locations of German troop concentrations that would have to be dealt with in the course of an attack. The French actually occupied a few villages in [the Saar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saar_Offensive) for a week in September 1939, but soon after withdrew. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/28 "2015-09-09T20:30:30Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > But Hitler had quite rapidly demonstrated his willingness to ignore what he publically stated in Mein Kampf and do whatever he could get away with. He never stated any intention of hostility against Denmark or Norway, for example, but they were conquered regardless. . Actually Norway was attacked as GB had shown they were going to violate Norwegian neutrality whenever they found it convenient. GB was planning to invade Norway anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/29 "2015-09-09T20:47:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Actually Norway was attacked as GB had shown they were going to violate Norwegian neutrality whenever they found it convenient. GB was planning to invade Norway anyway. Granted, but they went and invaded Denmark in the meantime for the lols. My point stands I think 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/30 "2015-09-09T21:00:27Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > Granted, but they went and invaded Denmark in the meantime for the lols. My point stands I think 🙂 True, you are 100% correct about Denmark. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/31 "2015-09-09T21:11:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Not one single thing you’ve typed in this thread indicates any degree of “ideological alignment” between Nazi Germany and the UK. > The British decision to go to war was a vastly more complicated one than is being described here, and if you want to re3ad the first quarter or so of Beevor’s “The Second World War” the politics of the Allies in commencing the war are well described. > > You are, however, in a state of total misunderstanding regarding the geopolitical reality of Nazi Germany, one that many Britons did in fact understand at the time. Peaceful coexistence with a Nazi state was not possible. It could never have been possible, because the central ideological tenet of Nazism is war and conflict. The ideological basis of the Nazi way is that all states, all societies, all factions and all people are perpetually in a state of conflict, to be decided by war sooner or later. The purpose of the apparatus of state, to a Nazi, is to make war - perpetually, forever and ever, both externally and internally. Who they went to war with at any given time was based on their perception of strategic interest and need, but they would EVENTUALLY have gone to war with the UK, because without war a Nazi state has no purpose. The Nazis were not just really right-wing. > > If the UK had not gone to war in 1939 the Nazis would have attacked them eventually, and everyone else, for that matter. If they’d conquered the whole world, then Nazi factions would commenced war against each other. The end state of a war where the Nazis keep winning is the last two men on earth strangling each other, both wearing Nazi uniforms. As cogent a statement of Nazi principles as I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/32 "2015-09-09T21:14:16Z")
The problem was simple, from what I’ve read. Hitler said he was just trying to put Germany back where it was before WWI, an equal power in Europe. then he wanted to unite the Dispersed German peoples. He took Austria - well, pretty much German anyway. He wanted to annex the mainly German areas of Czechoslovakia. To avert this crisis, Chamberlin came up with a plan - OK, here’s the German areas, take them. Germany reneged and took the whole of the country. Hitler then made noises about Poland- the need to protect the ethnically German areas. He proceeded to occupy half of Poland and dealt the other half to Stalin. So where does it stop? The Czech deal was pretty unpopular and seen as a sell-out, and was ignored by the Germans. basically, it boiled down to “at what point do we say enough is enough?” What was next? Holland? Denmark? Belgium, which started British involvement in WWI? After all, the implication of the Polish deal was that the move east was finished (for now). What to do? Keep drawing new lines in the sand, like a bad cartoon? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/33 "2015-09-09T22:33:56Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Keep drawing new lines in the sand, like a bad cartoon? That was actually a pretty good cartoon, and what’s more, [it worked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkzWyOaS8kU).🙂 ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419/34 "2015-09-09T22:48:26Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > If France wanted to pre-emptively attack Germany, why didn’t they? They declared war and sat and did nothing. They could have march to Berlin while Germany was devastating Poland because there were virtually no German troops on the French border at the time. Despite declaring war, the attitudes of the post-World War I interim were still dominating Western thought. Instead of dropping bombs, they dropped leaflets. There were some French forays across the German border, but they pulled back despite little resistance. It was all very polite and civilized. In other words, they just weren’t serious. Not invading Germany in 1939 was a huge strategic error. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-real-reasons-that-the-uk-declared-war-on-germany-in-1939/730419.md?page=1)