(And so it all starts)
In the dawn hours of September 1, 1939, the German army and air force launched a full-scale invasion of Poland. Radio Warsaw was quick to tell the world what was happening. And Radio Berlin was quick to deny it and claim it was all Poland's fault.
Radio Warsaw newsreader: “On the first of September 1939 at dawn the Germans crossed into our territory. German air force and regular army unexpectedly invaded Polish territory without a declaration of hostilities. In the early morning the German air crews attacked a number of towns all over Poland . . . .casualties have been reported among the civilian population.”
Berlin Radio newsreader: “These reports assert that German air planes have dropped gas and incendiary bombs in the vicinity of Poznan. For the sake of history however, the fact must be nailed down that the numerous border incidents in Silesia and East Prussia, and especially the Polish bombardment of Voyten created a situation which made it incompatible with the . . . power to let that series of military transgressions go by unpunished. Germany’s action is an act of defense.”
Soon after the BBC went on the air, reporting at length what was going on.
The war, nonetheless, had started.
