The Silver Sword

The beginning of World War II dates to the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Soviet Union joined the invasion about two weeks later. The Germans used the strategy of blitzkrieg, or lightning war, in the invasion. Sixty divisions totaling 1.5 million German soldiers entered Poland, with support from 2,000 tanks, 900 bombers, and 400 fighter planes. The world was shocked by the rapid progress of German forces through Poland, as well as by the ruthlessness of the German advance. Hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers and civilians were killed or injured as the country’s army was overwhelmed by the German forces. While Poland managed to mobilize around 1 million troops, they had no tanks, outdated weaponry, and only a very small air force. On October 8, 1939, Germany officially annexed western Poland. The Soviet Union took control of the eastern regions of the country.

After annexation, Germany began to carry out its policy of lebensraum, in which native Poles were removed from their homes under various pretenses to make way for German settlers. One way the Nazis enacted lebensraum was by arresting and imprisoning Poles who resisted its policies, as in the case of