WORLD WAR II BEGINS AS GERMANY INVADES POLAND
Wielun, Poland (JFK+50) On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland marking the beginning of the Second World War. Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe launched a bombing raid at 4:40 a.m. on the town of Wielun*.
Minutes later a German battleship opened fire on the military transit depot located in Danzig on the Baltic Sea.
At 8:00 a.m. German troops marched on Mokra followed by attacks on the northern, southern & western borders of Poland.
Germany and France declared war on Germany two days later following by the Soviet invasion of Poland two weeks later.
*Wielun is located in south central Poland. Most of the town's center was destroyed in the German bombing raid of 1939. 127 civilians were killed. It was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan 19, 1945.
JFK+50 NOTE
The bombing of Wielun is considered by many to be the first major action of WWII. The Polish town had no anti-aircraft weapons so was defenseless against the German Luftwaffe. 46,000 kgs of bombs were dropped on civilian targets in a 9 hour period.
SOURCE
"World War II Began 75 Years Ago Today," JFK+50, September 1, 2014, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
