Outbreak! September 1st 1939.

Today marks the outbreak of World War Two when Germany invaded Poland 77 years ago. War was not officially declared until the 3rd September however as the allies took two days to decide on what action would be taken to meet the German invasion.

Germany engineered an incident to begin the war which took place on the evening of August 31st at a radio station at Gleiwitz on the border between Germany and Poland.

Concentration camp inmates were murdered and then taken to the border where their bodies were clothed in Polish army uniforms and strategically placed to appear as though they had been part of an invasion into German territory. This served as a pretext for German aggression.

Poland was defeated in five weeks and subjected to six years of horrendous treatment at the hands of the German occupiers. It then faced a further forty plus years under occupation from Soviet forces.