WWII: The Staged Attack that Started It All

Get to know the staged attack that started the nearly six-year war, which involved or affected over 104 countries throughout the world — the Second World War.

Joachim Fulczyk was only eight years old when Hitler staged the attack that gave him the excuse to invade Poland which caused the outbreak of WWII.

The now 83-year-old man recounted how he, along with his sister and mother, heard the radio broadcast about the attack on the Gleiwitz radio station by alleged Poles or rebels.

Truth was, it was a staged attack that the Germans did to their own radio station the evening of the 31st of August, 1939.

The following day – on the 1st of September – Hitler, in his speech, alluded to the attack and several others, which were apparently orchestrated, too, to legitimize his decision to lash out and invade Poland.

Two days after that, in the 3rd of September in 1939, Britain and France declared war against Germany. The Second World War officially started.

The war, triggered by that staged attack, lasted for nearly six years and wiped out over 45 million people.

Last September 1, the Germans and Poles marked the 75th anniversary of the Second World War.

And like the changing times, the scenes between the two countries have also been altered.

The German town of Gleiwitz is now already part of Poland. It was renamed Gliwice, its name was changed ever since the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945.

Furthermore, Poland and Germany are now economic partners as both of them are members of the European Union (EU). They are also military allies in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXYIBn07n0

Heziel Pitogo

Heziel Pitogo is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE