Courage and
reconciliation
The Beginning of World War II
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When did the Second World War start?
On the morning of September 1, 1939, the German Reich attacked Poland. For Poland and Germany this attack marks the beginning of the Second World War. Until this moment the expansions of the National Socialists were tolerated by other European great powers, but now this started to change. In March 1939, France and Great Britain had assured Poland their support. After the attack on Poland, both countries declared war on the German Reich. On September 17, the Soviet Union started the occupation of Eastern Poland, which was agreed with the German Reich. However, for most Russians the Second World War began on 22 June 1941, which is the day of the German attack on the Soviet Union. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 marks the beginning of the Second World War for the USA.
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What are further key dates of the outbreak of the Second World War?
In addition to the in the exhibition mentioned dates, there are further crucial dates concerning the beginning of the Second World War. On 12 March 1938, the Wehrmacht (Nazi German armed forces) marched into Austria and claim the territory without a battle. Only a few days later, Austria was declared by law as a part of the German Reich. Although many, probably the majority of the people in Austria, welcomed this change, 12 March nevertheless remains the first invasion of the Wehrmacht into another country. On 24 August 1939, the Hitler-Stalin Pact or, according to its signatories, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was signed. This agreement between the German Reich and the Soviet Union practically eliminated the risk of a two-front war, which made the decision to attack Poland easier, especially because a secret additional protocol eliminated a potential conflict over the territories of influence of the Soviet Union and for Germany in Eastern Central Europe. For the Asia-Pacific area the Second World War began in July 1937, when Japan invaded China.
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Who knows about Wieluń?
The German attack on the Westerplatte near Gdańsk/Danzig is generally regarded as the first act of war. The fact that the small town Wielun located 100 km east of Breslau/Wrocław, was bombed by the Germans at the same time, is little-known. In September 1939, 29 dive bombers attack the still sleeping town in three waves. They dropped 380 bombs and killed 1200 people. The town was completely unarmed and therefore the attack is regarded as a war crime. This attack revealed the cruelty the Germans waged this war right from the start. For a long time Wielun was not wanted as a place of Polish remembrance, because it is not a place of the heroic fight of Polish soldiers. Wielun does not have a place in the German collective memory and is waiting in vain for an official visit by a German politician until today.
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