Hitler invades Poland
On this day in 1939, months of brown-nosing Hitler’s Nazis by the winners of World War One – Britain, France and America AKA the Western Powers – resulted not in a safer Europe but in the Invasion of Poland, when, at 4.45 am, 1.5 million German troops, ably abetted by hundreds of screaming Stuka dive-bombers, stormed across the Polish frontiers from the north, south and west, destroying from the air much of the country’s considerable air force before its pilots had time even to get airborne. In Polish towns and villages, the Nazis ensured that maximum civic disruption would be caused when all local intellectuals and authority figures – the mayor, the teachers, librarians, etc. – were rounded up and removed, later to be shot without trials. Within weeks, the equally ruthless Joseph Stalin would send into Eastern Poland his own Soviet tanks and troops, like a belligerent carrion crow determined to wrestle away his own portion of the lion’s victim.
Nazi Germany’s expansion had begun in 1938 with the annexation of Austria and continued with the occupation of the Sudetenland and then all of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Despite various allied pacts and agreements, these invasions were allowed to occur without resistance or challenge from the world’s major powers. Hitler therefore proceeded with his plan to conquer Poland – which was key to his vision of Lebensraum or “living space” for the German people. According to his plan, the “racially superior” Germans would colonise the territory and the natives would be enslaved.
Hitler gambled that his invasion of Poland would, like Czechoslovakia, be accomplished without igniting hostilities with the major powers. Two days later, Britain and France could no longer maintain their policy of appeasement and acquiescence and declared war on Germany.
World War II had begun.
HI there Dorian, have you heard of the ‘Danzig corridor massacre’ it may throw some light on the situation that occured in poland. Thanks Dave
Hi Dave. Yes, I’ve heard of it. But – like the staged events on “Bloody Sunday” two days after Germany invaded Poland – I’ve never read a credible source of the so-called Danzig Corridor Massacre to suggest it happened and/or was anything other than Nazi propaganda.
75 years ago today, so we have an anniversary at hand, and the subject is currently scarily topical to begin with! All ruthless psychopaths, enslavers, (bankers!) etc. need a reason, a false explanation/reasoning, in order to “justify” the atrocities (firstly to themselves, and then to the public, who (when we look at our history, so sadly often..) are more than willing to just lap it all up because they can’t handle the uncertainty that is life and wan’t someone to just tell them ‘how it goes’…). And generally people seem to be more confused (and wanting to) be ‘stupider’ than ever (although more and more knowledge etc. is more ‘readily’ at hand..), and it seems like a really popular trend currently to jump in to more and more reactively black & white conclusions (because it’s so ‘easy’ and gives you the illusion of control..). So taken into consideration the chaos and general setting around the globe, now all we need is a religion etc. (ie. false reasoning) of sorts for the package to be ready. But hey now wait a minute, we already have it (in the form of money)..! ‘Scattered’ seems to be THE operetaive word of the times… There’s not much unity or real community. So it’s getting progressively more challenging not to get embittered and lose completely one’s way in this increasingly chaotic madhouse we call the world today.
But we musn’t!!
So (I say), continuous (and HUGE!) appreciation for the education!
The events of the Invasion of Poland triggered massive changes in lifestyle for many young Europeans in 1939. My Uncle Alec served in the first wave of the BEF (not Glenn Gregory’s electro twiddling nerds!) and he was later evacuated at Dunkirk. He then served three years 1200 feet underground working in coal mines in Ayrshire (he hated confined spaces for the rest of his life) then was one of the first ashore at Normandy on D-Day. He fought and slaughtered Nazis all the way to Berlin.
However, the Germans were not ALL bad. Until the day he died, my Uncle Alec wore a beautiful wristwatch. I was a wee boy when he first showed me it and he explained that he got it from a “good German”. He also had a couple of exquisitely woven leather wallets with German money and photographs of those “good Geman’s” Families, a silver cigarette lighter, some medals, three SS Death’s Head badges and stuff he got from other “good Germans”.
The Russians also found lots of generous “good Germans” on their way West to Berlin. In this photo you can see a soldier wearing multiple wristwatches from the appreciative Surrender-Nazis.
http://www.museumsyndicate.com/images/6/55973.jpg
It only goes to show that the Germans might have thought they could invade Poland, but just a few short years later Hitler’s brains were dripping onto the floor of a bunker in Berlin and his best soldiers were happily giving away their trinkets and stuff to the invading Scottish Troops!