* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Nazi Germany Invades Poland On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany
Survey
Document related concepts
Collaboration with the Axis Powers wikipedia , lookup
Allies of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Diplomatic history of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Reorganization of occupied dioceses during World War II wikipedia , lookup
End of World War II in Europe wikipedia , lookup
Consequences of Nazism wikipedia , lookup
Economy of Nazi Germany wikipedia , lookup
Anti-Jewish violence in Poland, 1944–1946 wikipedia , lookup
Causes of World War II wikipedia , lookup
European theatre of World War II wikipedia , lookup
German evacuation from Central and Eastern Europe wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
Nazi Germany Invades Poland On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the act that started World War II. The day before, Nazi operatives had posed as Polish military officers to stage an attack on the radio station in the Silesian city of Gleiwitz. Germany used the event as the pretext for its invasion of Poland. The New York Times article about the invasion included a report of the Gleiwitz episode as well as Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s proclamation to the German army, which portrayed Germany’s action as one of self-defense: “In order to put an end to this frantic activity no other means is left to me now than to meet force with force.” France and England declared war against Germany on Sept. 3, but neither country was prepared to fight and would not deploy a significant number of military forces until the next year, leaving Poland alone in its defense. Although it had an army of more than 700,000, Poland was unprepared for Germany’s blitzkrieg tactics. The German attack n Poland was quick and fierce. German planes bombed and machine-gunned targets while blasting holes in Polish defenses. Its army could not deploy its troops quickly enough to defend against the more powerful German forces. As a result, many civilians lost their lives. Any hopes of repelling the invasion were dashed on Sept. 17, when the Soviet Red Army invaded from east. By the end of September, Germany and the Soviet Union had control of the country. The last organized Polish resistance was defeated on Oct. 6. After the initial rapid attacks on Poland, things appeared to quickly quiet down. News was sparse from the front lines, and the American press started referring to the situation as the “Phony War.” During this time, however, German forces steadily occupied Poland and continued to focus on civilians, imprisoning and murdering thousands of the country’s residents. 1. How did Germany begin their attack on Poland? 2. How did Hitler justify invading Poland? 3. Why was France & Britain’s declaration of war ineffective in helping Poland? 4. Why do you think Hitler targeted Poland? Explain! 5. Who helped the German forces occupy Poland? Why? Connect to Today For nearly a year, many Americans considered the “War in Europe” to be a “phony war,” because there were few significant military engagements reported in the news media, in light of the Nazi tactics of quietly arresting or killing Polish citizens. Similarly, it wasn’t until after World War II that the details of the invasion came to light. Foreign perceptions of conflicts, both at the time occur and from a historical perspective, have long been shaped by the news media, as Richard Pérez-Peña noted in a 2008 New York Times article about the waning media image of Iraq. On the other hand, journalists covering the conflict that led to the Spanish American War in 1898 frequently published inaccurate or fabricated articles caused in part by pressure to sell newspapers. Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “What then is, generally speaking, the truth of history? A fable agreed upon.” 1. Why did Americans think WWII was a “phony war” at first? 2. What are the best steps people can take to help them form their own views of the “truth of history” and of today’s current events?