Cause of WWII - Lessons learned from the issues between Nazi Germany and Poland and from the issues between King Ahab and Naboth

Sometimes a story has a moral to be learned that another story's development confirms

I would like to relate the history of the 1 Kings 21 biblical account of Naboth's vineyard being coveted by King Ahab and show how its moral can apply to the account of prewar negotiations between Poland and Nazi Germany concerning the Polish Corridor before Nazi Germany invaded on September 1, 1939. 

Beginning of the Biblical Account

¹And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
² And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
³ And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
⁴ And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Analysis of Beginning of Biblical Account's Moral

According to the beginning of this account, Naboth had a vineyard that he inherited from his family, his forefathers and he was totally entitled to enjoy it and use it as he pleased.  The property had been in his family for generations and it should have remained his and he should have been left in peace to enjoy it.  

Unfortunately, he wound up having a covetous next door neighbor who now wanted it and this next door neighbor was in a powerful position to do something about his refusal: the guy, Ahab, was king of the whole country who was married to psychopathic and probably demonic wife Jezebel.

This king was willing to pay off Naboth well for the property. Yes, it's understandable that Naboth would want to keep the vineyard inherited if only for sentimental value.  However, entitled as he was to keep the property, angering the powerful king was unwise and his wife, Jezebel did something about him for that refusal.

She set up poor ole Naboth to be celebrated at a banquet and then she had him framed for offending the King, which was a capital offense. She ended up getting this poor, innocent neighbor stoned to death and the vineyard was confiscated and given to the king by right. 

I remember having attended a pastoral message given by my former pastor, David Stocker, Sr. at my church, Central Bible Assemblies of God Church in Miami, Florida. The pastor did bring up the faulty decision made by Naboth and the cost of that decision. Moreover, the pastor added that it is very likely that all of Naboth's relatives and descendants were killed to ensure that there would be no one to lay claim to that vineyard.

So, added the Pastor, Naboth made a decision to exercise his right to hang on to his inheritance but look at the cost paid, his and the lives of all his family members at the hands of Jezebel.  

The pastor then added an alternative reply that could have spared Naboth his own life and the lives of his kin. He could have asked the King to give him another estate or vineyard as far away from the King as he could get so that the King would simply forget about him.

According to the story in the Bible, Jezebel had not been present when King Ahab met with Naboth and tried to negotiate the vineyard. She found out about it later that day.

Climax of the Biblical Account of King Ahab with Jezebel Destroying Naboth to Seize his Vineyard

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
⁶ And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
⁷ And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
¹⁰ And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
¹¹ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
¹² They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
¹³ And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
¹⁶ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Next -  Let's see this Biblical account's moral applies to the issue between Nazi Germany and Poland 

The Nazi Foreign Minister Joaquim von Ribbentrop had met with Polish Ambassador to Germany, Joseph Lipski about recovering Danzig. Danzig was a mostly German city in the area of the Polish Corridor which Germany wanted back and which Ribbentrop was now demanding on Hitler's behalf. Moreover, Ribbentrop also mentioned that Poland had acquired a strip of Czech territory when Nazi Germany took over that entire country.  

Furthermore, as well as recovering Danzig, Germany wanted to build a double line railway line across the Polish Corridor and a superhighway as well.

Then, Nazi Germany wanted Poland to sign an Anti Comintern Agreement with Nazi Germany as well.

Ribbentrop didn't demand an answer right away. He suggested to the ambassador that he discuss the proposals with Polish Foreign Minister Beck. The ambassador was hesitant and pessimistic that his government would oblige. He took the proposals to his Foreign Minister and of course, the answer was no.

William L. Shirer (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (3rd Edition ed.). New York: Simon & Ag Schuster, pg 407.


This conflicting situation between Nazi Germany and Poland continued until Germany finally invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.  Two days later, Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany.

So far, nothing has been revealed that most history books have not already brought up ad nauseum

Now, in order to fully reveal how and why King Ahab and Naboth's account can apply to the story of the conflict between Nazi Germany and Poland, it's necessary to go to another historical source, Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley for a deeper look at the scene behind the scenes in the relationship between Nazi Germany and Poland.

Moreover, in the Quigley book, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech about Poland to his armed forces on May 23, 1939 and admitted that his intentions really didn't center around Danzig at all.

Text of the Treacherous and Secret Hitler Speech

"Danzig is not the subject of this dispute at all. It is a question of expanding 

our living space in the East and of securing our food supplies, and the settlement

of the Baltic problems. Food supplies can be expected only from thinly populated 

areas. Over and above the natural fertility, thoroughgoing German exploitation 

will increase production enormously. There is no other possibility in Europe. 

Beware of gifts of colonial territory. These do not solve the food problem. 

Remember — blockade. If fate brings us into conflict with the West, possession 

of extensive areas in the East will be advantageous. We shall be able to expect 

excellent harvests even less in wartime than in time of 

peace.  The population of these non-German areas will perform no military service 

and will be available as a source of labor. The Polish problem is inseparable from conflict 

with the West.... Poland sees danger in a German victory in the West and will 

attempt to rob us of a victory there. There is, therefore, no question of sparing 

Poland, and we are left with the decision: To attack Poland at the first suitable 

opportunity. We cannot expect a repetition of the Czech affair. There will be war. 

Our job is to isolate Poland. The success of this isolation will be the decisive 

factor. Therefore, the Fuhrer must reserve the decision to give the final order to attack. 

There must be no simultaneous conflict with the Western Powers [France and England]

.... If there were an alliance of France, England, and Russia, 
I would have to attack England and France with a few annihilating blows. I doubt

the possibility of a peaceful settlement with England. We must prepare ourselves 

for the conflict. England sees in our development the foundation of a hegemony 

which would weaken England. England is therefore our enemy, and the conflict with 

England will be a life-and-death struggle." 

Carroll Quigley,(1966). Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time. New York: The Macmillan Company, pg. 649.

Analysis of the Hitler Speech

Do you see what I am getting at, my dear reader? Hitler

wanted Poland to do exactly what it did. He wanted Poland

to reject Germany's demands. He wanted Poland to say no to

to him in order to have an excuse to invade that country. 

Had Poland acquiesced and gone along with Germany, 

given Germany the city of Danzig, shared the Polish 

Corridor with Germany, and signed an Anti Commintern  

Pact with Germany, then Stalin would have been 

deprived of Eastern Europe, and Hitler would have 

been deprived of his desired war and of Lebensraum.

However principled was Poland's refusal to give in 

Hitler, it committed national suicide. Warsaw was 

destroyed. The Holocaust expanded, the world war 

made certain. 

I liken Poland to Naboth, Hitler to both King Ahab 

to Jezebel. In the same way that Naboth insisted on 

keeping his inherited vineyard despite the power of 

the King to destroy him physically and still take his

property, Poland insisted on saying no to Hitler his 

insistence on taking Danzig and sharing the Polish Cor-

ridor. Hitler admitted that he wanted all of Poland! 

Danzig was only an excuse. 

By having said yes, Poland could have saved itself. 

Too bad, Poland played into Hitler's hands and ended 

up losing itself entirely between two mortal enemies: 

Germany and Russia. Russia, the country that Poland 

could have also saved itself from, ended up signing 

an agreement, the Nazi Soviet Pact with Nazi Germany, 

and ended up invading Poland and splitting the country.