Eighty-five years ago today, Nazi Germany launched an invasion of Poland.
Within days, England and France would declare war on Germany. What would become World War II had begun.
Invasion
The Road to War
Despite desperate attempts by the Allied powers of Western Europe to avoid another World War, it came anyway — thanks to a determined effort by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to regain territory and prestige lost at the end of World War I.
Sept. 7, 1937
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler declares his country is “too small to guarantee an undisturbed, assured and permanent food supply.” He wishes to gain “Lebensraum,” or “living space” at the expense of Poland, Russia and Ukraine. He orders production of munitions ramped up
March 12, 1938
On the eve of a referendum asking Austrians whether or not they want to become part of Germany, German troops march into Austria as the Anschluss — the annexation of Austria — begins. Many Austrians welcome the German soldiers.
Sept. 29-30, 1939
Leaders of Britain and France meet with German and Italian officials in Munich and agree to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland — a region of Czecho-slovakia with a large German population. This appeasement will create “peace in our time,” proclaims British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.
Nov. 9-10
Nazi-led mobs conduct a night of terror against the Jewish population in Germany and Austria, ransacking synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses and homes and graveyards. About 30,000 Jews are arrested and more than 90 killed. The incident becomes known as “Kristallnacht” — the Night of Broken Glass.
March 15,1939
German troops occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia: Bohemia and Moravia. A week later, Germany bullies Lithuania into returning the Memel district to Germany.
March 25
The Polish government refuses Hitler’s demand to cede the city of Danzig and to open a corridor to Prussia from Germany. Hitler orders his generals to develop a plan for war.
August
As Poland prepares for what appears to be an inevitable attack by Germany, Polish Gen. Edward Rydz-Smigly says allowing the Soviet army passage through Poland would be a mistake. Once the USSR enters Poland, he says, “they will never leave it.”
Aug. 22
Hitler tells his military leadership he intends to “kill without pity or mercy all men, women and children of the Polish race.” The next day, Germany signs a nonaggression pact with the USSR, in which the two countries agree to carve Poland in half.
Aug. 25
Poland and Britain sign a treaty in which they promise mutual assistance. Two days later, Britain calls for the enlistment of all men ages 20 and 21.
Aug. 31
With Hitler already planning to invade Poland on Sept. 1, German SS members dressed in Polish uniforms, take over the German radio station at Gleiwitz, near the Polish border, murder a few civilians known to be Polish sympathizers, and broadcast an anti-German message. It's one of dozens of “false flag” incidents staged by Germany.
Sept. 1, 1939
Germany sends 1.5 million troops across the Polish border.
Sept. 3
Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Germany
Sept. 5
Germany occupies the Polish city of Kraków. That same day, South Africa declares war on Germany and the U.S. reaffirms its neutrality.
Sept. 17
Russia invades Poland from the east.
Sept. 27
After a brutal bombing by the German Luftwaffe, Warsaw surrenders.
Oct. 5
The last of the Polish army surrenders. Of the half-million Polish troops that faced Germany, a fifth died in the fighting or fled the country. The rest are taken prisoner.
Sources:
World War II: The Definitive History” by Dorling Kindersley, “Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill and the Road to War” by Tim Bouverie, “Poland 1939: Germany’s ‘Lightning Strike’ by Steven J. Zaloga, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the New York Times, the Daily Mail, the BBC, the Atlantic, How Stuff Works, History.com
This edition of Further Review was adapted for the web by Zak Curley.