The Invasion of Poland, 1939

This was the beginning of the Second World War. Adolf Hitler wanted to get back the German territories lost to Poland following the First World War. He secured the friendship of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, Poland's eastern neighbour, with an agreement that neither of them would attack the other: the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939. Then Hitler pounced. He sent his troops into Poland on September 1, 1939. Two days later, France and Britain, having guaranteed Poland's borders, declared war on Germany. On September 10, Canada went to war against Germany.

The Luftwaffe largely destroyed the Polish air force on the first day of the attack, and Germany's armies captured much of the Polish army. Warsaw, the Polish capital, was encircled by September 17 and surrendered ten days later after heavy bombing raids. Meanwhile, the Soviet Red Army advanced into eastern Poland. Nearly a million Poles were captured by the Germans and Russians and many died before they could see freedom again.

Related Newspaper Articles

English Articles

• Men, Mud, Mountains Are Barriers of Poland Against Nazi Invasion
  The Globe and Mail, 04/09/1939
   
• Chamberlain Tells Germans War is Forced
  The Globe and Mail, 05/09/1939
   
• Allies' Resolution Confirmed By Chamberlain and Daladier at Secret Council in France
  The Globe and Mail, 13/09/1939
   
• Six-Point Plan to Split State is agreed upon
  The Hamilton Spectator, 18/09/1939
   
• The War Reviewed
  Toronto Daily Star, 19/09/1939

French Articles

• Les causes de la défaite de la Pologne
  Le Devoir, 20/04/1940
   
• "2,000,000 à 5,000,000 de victimes chez les civils polonais"
  Le Devoir, 03/02/1940
   
• La Pologne sous la domination étrangère
  Le Devoir, 09/03/1940
   
• Premier anniversaire de l'invasion russe de la Pologne
  Le Devoir, 17/09/1940
   
• Huit millions de Polonais tués ou maltraités par les nazis
  Le Devoir, 11/05/1943
   
• La garantie anglaise donnée à la Pologne en 1939. Pologne et Angleterre
  Le Devoir, 10/04/1945