September 1 - World War Two begins

At 10�o clock in the morning on September 1, 1939 German radio broadcasted live from an emergency session of the German �parliament� in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin.
Adolf Hitler had summoned the members to make a special announcement:
�Last night, Polish regular soldiers have fired at us on our own territory for the first time. Since 05:45 were firing back. Since then, every bomb will be repaid with bombs.�

Hitler was wrong on two accounts, firstly it had been 04:47 when the first shots fell, as German destroyers began with the bombardment of a small Polish harbour fortress in the Bay of Gdansk, and secondly, the claim that Germany had been attacked by Poland was a blatant lie.
During the night from August 31 to September 1, a handful of SS dressed in regular Polish uniforms under the command of SS Obersturmbannf�hrer Alfred Naujocks had stormed the tiny radio station of Gleiwitz, a small provincial town in Silesia on the German/Polish border. Naujocks later described the event: �We took the radio station as commanded, broadcasted a three or four minute long speech via an emergency transmitter, fired a few gun shots, and left the place.� Not without leaving behind three previously murdered Concentration Camp inmates, also clad in Polish uniforms.



Radio Gleiwitz


It seems difficult to comprehend, that Hitler staged such a theatrical farce to give him the excuse finally to implement his plans for an invasion of Poland that had been lying on his desk for years. In full knowledge that England and France would honour their treaties with Poland, Nazi-Germany started a war that inevitably would engulf the whole of Europe and the World.

Looking through some books, I found the original text of the "Directive No.1", which I found speaks more than any comment about the full intentions of Hitler.(My translation)

In the early hours of the morning, this order to start the war was issued to the German army. Hitler had written and signed it the night before.

�Directive No. 1 for the conduct of the war� 1.)     After all political possibilities, to achieve a for Germany acceptable situation on its Eastern borders have been exhausted, I have decided to reach a solution by force. 2.)     The attack on Poland is to be conducted according to the preparations for �Fall Weiss�, including the modifications with regards to the almost fully completed deployment of the army. Allocations of tasks and aim of the operation remain unchanged. Day of attack: September, 1, 1939 Time of attack: 04:45 This time applies also for the operations Gdingen - Bay of Danzig and the Dirschau Bridge. 3.)     In the West it is important to leave the responsibility for the initiating of hostilities exclusively to England and France. Minor border infringements have to be dealt with on a local basis. The neutrality of The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland, as confirmed by us, has to be scrupulously respected. Under no circumstances can the western border of Germany be crossed on land without my explicit permission. The same applies to all military actions at sea, or those that appear to be so. The defensive measures of the Luftwaffe are initially to be restricted to the consequent defense of air attacks on our borders, whereby during the defense against single aircrafts or smaller units, the borders of the neutral states have to be respected as long as possible. Only if the deployment of stronger English or French attacking forces in neutral air space does endanger the effective air defense in the West, can air defense over neutral states be employed. Intelligence about any breach of neutrality of third party states by the enemy in the West has to be passed on to the General Staff immediately. 4.)     When England and France open hostilities against Germany, it will be the task of the divisions of the Wehrmacht that operate in the West, under the highest possible protection of our own resources, to guarantee the preconditions for a victorious completion of operations against Poland. In line with this task, the enemies� forces and their economic resources are to be dealt the highest possible damage. I reserve the right to order the start of offensive actions in any possible case. Signed, Adolf Hitler

Hitler's order started World War Two on September 1.
England and France declared war on Germany on September 3.



The German attack on Poland, September 1939



What else happened on this day?

5509 BC The world was created, according to the Byzantines

1928 Albania became a kingdom. Ahmed Zogu proclaimed Albania to be a monarchy and established himself as �His Majesty King Zog I., King of the Albanians�

1969 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi seizes power in Libya, overthrowing the regime of King Idris I.

Full list:

Wikipedia



Edited by Komnenos

Yes, according to them it was also meant to end in..... guess what year....... 1492!

Komnenos:

About Gleiwitz:

Was Gleiwitz a simbol of the beginning of the war? Is it true that in Gleiwitz was a concentration camp for Germans after the war? Or it is a 'set-off' the Holocaust? The guards were Polish or Russian? It was a chance that this camp was in Gleiwitz?

Komnenos warum sagen manche lehrer / bucher das WWII im 41 angefangen hat 

TJK:

Thank you very much the information!