How 'Operation Himmler' sparked WWII: Disguised as Polish saboteurs, the Nazis attacked a GERMAN radio station to give them an excuse to invade Poland on this day 82 years ago… leading to Britain declaring war on Germany 48 hours later

UK Daily Mail ^ | 09/01/2021 | Ed Wight and Harry Howard

[rfreedom4u]

At the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the start of the war Polish man asked me: If a Polish soldier comes upon both a German and Russian soldier at the same time, which one does he shoot first?

The German because business before pleasure!

[dfwgator]

Yes, I’ve heard that one many times.

[dfwgator]

The Soviets would have made a deal with the French and British, but basically the Soviets demanded at least half of Poland for the deal. The Poles wouldn’t bite, and that’s why Stalin made the deal with Hitler, Hitler let him have half of Poland (well at least for a few years).

[pierrem15]

When 1 out of every 5 inhabitants of the country was murdered by either the Germans or the Russians, it’s hard to forget.

[dfwgator]

“With the Germans, we lose our lives, with the Russians, we lose our souls.” - General Anders

[ProtectOurFreedom]

My great-grandparents had lived in the Langfuhr district of Danzig since the late 1890s. Their house was only about 5 km from the Westerplatte peninsula and fort. The house still stands today and looks a lot like it did in 1930 except it was converted to multi-family housing.

My great-grandfather was fairly prosperous in the new battery business and owned factories in Langfuhr. On September 1-7, they had a ring-side seat to the opening of WW II. I'm sure they could hear the SMS Schleswig-Holstein bombardment of Westerplatte and later could see and hear the Stuka dive bombers attacking Westerplatte.

It must have been a horribly frightening experience. Of course, that brief battle in Danzig was nothing compared to what was to come via the Soviet invasion from the east in late 1944 and early 1945.

[rxh4n1]

After that, the Western Allies allowed Stalin to keep his ill-gotten gains. Poland was thrown under the bus again.

[rmlew]

Why isn’t East Prussia German in that map?

[nutmeg]

.