The German Invasion of Poland

The German Invasion of Poland

The Road to War • Before 1939, Hitler could achieve goals without war • April 3, 1939- Hitler issues directive for attack on Poland – Called Case White

The Road To War • Hitler plans a fake attack to start the war • “I shall give a propagandist reason for starting the war, no matter whether it is plausible or not. The victor will not be asked, later on, whether he told the truth or not. In … a war, it is not the Right that matters, but Victory.”

The Road To War • Hitler wanted Germany to appear as an innocent victim of Polish aggression • Took a prisoner from a concentration camp, dressed him in a Polish uniform, taken to town of Gleiwitz, and shot on Aug. 31, 1939 by the Gestapo in a bizarre faked “Polish attack” on the local radio station.

The Polish Invasion • Sept. 1, 1939- Hitler invades Poland – Responds to the attack by regular Polish troops on the Gleiwitz transmitter

• Without a declaration of war • 56 German divisions all across 1,250 mile frontier – spread Polish forces very thin

• Was told to withdraw by Sept. 3 or face war • Sept. 3, 11:15 a.m. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces on national radio they were at war with Germany

The Blitzkrieg

The Blitzkrieg • Germans introduced something new in the history of warfare- the blitzkrieg – Lightning war

• Based on two key weapons – Tank and airplane

• German Luftwaffe (air force) destroyed Polish air force while most of it is on the ground

The Blitzkrieg • Luftwaffe bombed bridges, roads, railways, and radio stations, and concentrated Polish troops

The Blitzkrieg • Once Polish Air Force annihilated, German tanks, called Panzer units, were to roll in • Tanks destroyed: roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, telegraph stations, and airfields

The Blitzkrieg • Poles try to stop Nazi panzers with their Calvary – Marks the end of the era of mounted Calvary

The Blitzkrieg

• After the tanks were armored cars and motorcycle troops

The Blitzkrieg • Finally foot soldiers or infantry sent in • Watch historical footage of the invasion of Poland.

The Blitzkrieg • Germans also unleash calculated terror on civilian population

• Hear personal stories of the invasion of Poland

– Use stuka dive bombers – Drove terrified civilians out into the roads – Caused mass confusion

The Blitzkrieg • Three SS Death’s Head regiments followed the infantry advance to conduct “police and security” measures behind the German lines – Whole villages burned to the ground

• Rules of War ignored by Germany

The Allies • France was thought to possess the most powerful army in Europe – Pull back behind their own defensive position, the Maginot Line

• England only had a few divisions of men to spare • Allies could not come to Poland’s aid fast enough

Poland’s Defeat • Sept. 16, 1939- Warsaw was surrounded • Sept. 17, 1939- Soviet forces invade from East • Sept. 28, 1939- Germany and U.S.S.R agree to divide Poland into spheres of influence • Oct. 5, 1939- direct Polish resistance comes to an end

Poland’s Defeat

• It was not lack of courage, but massively superior German power, that led to the defeat of Poland

Poland’s Defeat • Remained under German occupation until January, 1945

The Defeat of Poland • In Soviet Union, 1.5 million Poles were transported to labor camps • Captured Polish officers shot at secret forest sites – Katyn forest

The Defeat of Poland • Germans herded Polish Jews into ghettos • Were starved and cruelly offered hopes of survival • Most were shot or gassed • 2,000 concentration camps in Poland

Reactions of Britain and France • Shock at the fall of Warsaw • Deep sympathy with the fate of the Poles • Amazement at speed of German advance • Anger at the Soviets, who one month earlier had been independent, at their part in the partition of Poland • Shame for not having helped

Reactions of Britain and France • Fear that Germany may turn “lightening war” on the West