German invasion of Poland: Start of World War II
German invasion of Poland: Start of World War II
Overview of the German invasion of Poland (1939), which marked the beginning of World War II.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Transcript
NARRATOR: The 1st of September, 1939 - the Second World War begins with German air raids on Poland. Soon after, the German battleship Schleswig Holstein fires at Fort Westerplatte near Gdansk.
JOACHIM SCHOLZ: "At 4:45 a.m. our postbox was shaking, the windows were rattling, and I knew immediately this is the war. In front of the house, somebody shouted "The war-ship is shooting.'"
NARRATOR: The Nazi propaganda cameras make sure to capture the moment. Inside Gdansk, there is fighting between Germans and Poles. Many are killed.
ELZBIETA MARCINKOWSKA-SZUCA: "We were very sad. Many of our friends were killed. It's appalling that one man can do such a thing to another. It's inhuman, but the war transcends all boundaries."
NARRATOR: For Hitler, it is about more than annexing the areas separated from the German Reich after World War I. He wants to see Poland destroyed, and begins the war with a lie.
ADOLPH HITLER: "Tonight Poland has now attacked for the first time on our own territory - also with regular units."
NARRATOR: Two German army divisions of around 1.5 million men are set to roll over Poland. Britain and France have declared war on Germany, as envisaged in the alliance agreement with Poland. But there is no military assistance for the struggling nation. So the German army quickly penetrates the Polish defenses. Their superiority in tanks and aircraft is crushing. The Polish soldiers fight with desperate bravery.
ALBERT SEFRANEK: "In some cases, columns of Polish horse riders ran against machine gun positions. I even remember a cavalry charge that ran over our first line, but came up directly against tanks. Of course, it was all over."
NARRATOR: After two weeks of war, the Poles know it is a hopeless situation. But they continue to fight and declare Warsaw a fortress. The German Luftwaffe releases its bombs on this city of millions. On September 17, the Red Army invades. Shortly before the war, Hitler and the Soviet dictator Stalin had agreed to divide Poland between themselves. Behind the front, a different war begins. Thousands of Jews, Polish intelligentsia, and other supposed enemies are arrested, deported and executed. After four weeks of war, Warsaw capitulates. The 120,000 Polish defenders surrender the city to the German General von Blaskowitz.
STEFAN CISAK: "We were all broken-hearted, we asked 'What will happen to us? Families will be destroyed, we'll be taken away. We do not know if we will ever return to Poland.'"
NARRATOR: Neither the majority of German soldiers nor the defeated Poles can know what lies ahead.
SEFRANEK: "On the day of the ceasefire, our commander told us 'The war is over, we've won the war.' We did not suspect that the war had only really just begun in earnest."
NARRATOR: Not least the crimes of the occupation, to which millions of Poles, above all Jews, would fall victim.
JOACHIM SCHOLZ: "At 4:45 a.m. our postbox was shaking, the windows were rattling, and I knew immediately this is the war. In front of the house, somebody shouted "The war-ship is shooting.'"
NARRATOR: The Nazi propaganda cameras make sure to capture the moment. Inside Gdansk, there is fighting between Germans and Poles. Many are killed.
ELZBIETA MARCINKOWSKA-SZUCA: "We were very sad. Many of our friends were killed. It's appalling that one man can do such a thing to another. It's inhuman, but the war transcends all boundaries."
NARRATOR: For Hitler, it is about more than annexing the areas separated from the German Reich after World War I. He wants to see Poland destroyed, and begins the war with a lie.
ADOLPH HITLER: "Tonight Poland has now attacked for the first time on our own territory - also with regular units."
NARRATOR: Two German army divisions of around 1.5 million men are set to roll over Poland. Britain and France have declared war on Germany, as envisaged in the alliance agreement with Poland. But there is no military assistance for the struggling nation. So the German army quickly penetrates the Polish defenses. Their superiority in tanks and aircraft is crushing. The Polish soldiers fight with desperate bravery.
ALBERT SEFRANEK: "In some cases, columns of Polish horse riders ran against machine gun positions. I even remember a cavalry charge that ran over our first line, but came up directly against tanks. Of course, it was all over."
NARRATOR: After two weeks of war, the Poles know it is a hopeless situation. But they continue to fight and declare Warsaw a fortress. The German Luftwaffe releases its bombs on this city of millions. On September 17, the Red Army invades. Shortly before the war, Hitler and the Soviet dictator Stalin had agreed to divide Poland between themselves. Behind the front, a different war begins. Thousands of Jews, Polish intelligentsia, and other supposed enemies are arrested, deported and executed. After four weeks of war, Warsaw capitulates. The 120,000 Polish defenders surrender the city to the German General von Blaskowitz.
STEFAN CISAK: "We were all broken-hearted, we asked 'What will happen to us? Families will be destroyed, we'll be taken away. We do not know if we will ever return to Poland.'"
NARRATOR: Neither the majority of German soldiers nor the defeated Poles can know what lies ahead.
SEFRANEK: "On the day of the ceasefire, our commander told us 'The war is over, we've won the war.' We did not suspect that the war had only really just begun in earnest."
NARRATOR: Not least the crimes of the occupation, to which millions of Poles, above all Jews, would fall victim.