Poland 1939 – 75 Years
This day in 1939 (75 years ago), the Second World War began with the German invasion of Poland. When done, the war would redefine the world and still reverberates today.
A common misconception about the war’s beginning was the so-called “Polish Corridor” was imposed on Germany in 1918; in reality, the German-Polish border was drawn to nearly match the 1772 frontier.
Poland fell after six weeks of fighting, but did not surrender; the government and many soldiers escaped to the West – most never to return. Others fell into the hands of the USSR, and many died or were executed.
An excellent précis can be found here: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070
The picture above (taken 11 June 2014) shows 45 unknown graves of Polish soldiers from the 1939 campaign in the community cemetery in Ciechanow, Poland. The author’s great-grandparents are buried yards away.
That old canard about repeating history is bunk. Humans make history, and humans seem to be just about as capable of avoiding war now as they were when they were living in caves, mesa dwellings, or on the savannahs. We learn nothing that avoids war. I think perhaps war is simply a very unpleasant part of the human condition. It makes for interesting study, though. Interesting indeed.