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World War II

September 1, 2009

Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, precipitated the beginning of World War II. Soon after, Great Britain and France declared war on Hitler's regime, plunging the continent into chaos.

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Image: picture-alliance / akg

Following the signing of a pact between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, German troops tore through the old tollgates on the border with Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, to launch what would be the first assault of World War II. The attack had come without warning or declaration of war. Europe remembers, and mourns, the assault 70 years on.

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Reports & Analysis

Gdansk, a city marked by a unique identity created by both Germans and Poles

One city, pehaps more than any other, illustrates how closely intertwined the joint histories of Poland and Germany were before the outbreak of the Second World War -- Gdansk. Long known under its German name of Danzig, during the Middle Ages, it was a prosperous Baltic port trading with other members of the Hanseatic League - as far a way as London. For centuries it was marked by a unique identity - one created by both Germans and Poles.
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German warship "Schleswig-Holstein"

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Poland commemorates the battle of Westerplatte, which marked the start of World War II.
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The German ship Schleswig-Holstein attacked the Westerplatte peninsula on Sept. 1, 1939; historical photograph

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A new WWII museum planned in Gdansk, where the war began, takes an unpopular approach.
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Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact in Moscow

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It was 70 years ago on Aug. 23 1939 that the Molotv-Ribbentrop pact was signed.
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Angela Merkel speaks to crowd during Day of the Homeland commemorations in Berlin

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German Chancellor Merkel said expellees should serve as 'ambassadors of reconciliation.'
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Patch used to identify Polish forced laborers, seen as part of the exhibit 'Germans and Poles: Abysses and Hope' in the German Historical Museum in Berlin

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Two boundary stones at the German-Polish border in Ahlbeck, northern Germany

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Archive photo of Auschwitz death camp

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