Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II Hardcover – Illustrated, 14 July 2020

For those interested in a more detailed account of the start of the Second World War, and, of course, the invasion of Poland this book is ideal. Without getting heavy this is a detailed account of those events in September 1939 using official documents, diary entries and post-war accounts from some who were there. Although clearly biased towards the suffering Poles, Mr. Moorhouse does a great job of defining events, pooling information from all the nations involved. Some great linked (Kindle version) photographs illustrate key individuals, forces, and iconic events. Personally I would have liked more maps and illustrations for key points of action. None the less, a great read.

I came across this book (one of a number of 'tangential to the beaten track books' through the history book related -fiction and non fiction -podcast 'Aspects of History').Well laid out, easy to follow, and obviously written with passion (for Poland), this book seeks to highlight the very much overlooked/'reduced to a footnote' destruction of Poland by the Germans and Soviets in September 1939. It covers a lot of ground, including the limited responses by the Western Allies, and highlights the brutality of the campaign, much of it as a forerunner of what was to come - particularly the racial aspects of the German invasion. It does not really lay out the battles or give details of much of the fighting (although perhaps not the authors intention). It does include a reasonable cross section of eyewitness accounts from various levels. It seems to move from resolute defence at the border by the Poles, to them being on their last legs, without really explaining what happened in the interim. Whets one's appetite rather than slakes a thirst. And, of course! .. the almost obligatory lack of useful maps -for a country one is not familiar with, which no longer exists in its 1939 form, and many place names were altered in the Post 1945 'settlement'. A very useful introduction and overview.

Being of Polish extract on my father's side, I am always drawn to books on the modern history of Poland. Mostly it seems to be about the victims of the holocaust. This tragic side of the history of Poland is a very important part of the story. However, the author of this book has brought to life the tragedy and heroism of the Polish Army and Air Force during September 1939. This needed to be told and brings to light what the Poles, especially civilians, endured at the hands of the invading forces, both German and Russian (Soviet). The Poles never stood a chance. The only gratification in the story was the punishment that was inflicted on German soldiers. It's a shame to have these sentiments, but I am of an age where I have known people who went through this trauma including members of my own family sent off to Germany to work. Apologists might loosely call this a Nazi invasion and put all the atrocities down to the Nazis. However, it is my contention that the mind set of the Wehrmacht is that they were invading Poland and as they had been instructed by the party and the Nazi elite, Poland was fair game and an inferior race. Even Goebbels had stated that Asia began at the Polish border. These were ordinary German soldiers and pilots willing to kill civilians. It was pointed out to me by a young Polish man in Poland during the 1980s that it was not just a Nazi phenomenon but it was Germans who did the killing. Obviously a difficult wound to heal, but nevertheless a statement containing a kernel of truth. Other books will highlight some other aspects of the story such as "Revolution from Abroad" by Jan T Gross about the invasion by the Soviets and how the Poles in Byelorussia and the Ukraine were deposed from any positions of authority - this is mentioned in the author's bibliography. Also another book not mentioned, but a propos, is Forgotten Holocaust - The Poles under German Occupation 1939-1944 - by Richard C Lukas. What I read in this book really brought home to me the suffering of the Poles during those tumultuous weeks in September 1939 when the country was torn apart. This should become an essential part of any curriculum of the history of the Second World War. My parting shot would be that given the terror and murder perpetrated by Germans and Russians and the long fight for Poland to gain a real sovereignty post Soviet Bloc, the first thing that the younger Poles did was to skip the country and head to Germany and the UK. Why? Was not the suffering of your forebears enough to stimulate your desire to rebuild your country once again?

This is an excellent book on Poland in 1939.There aren’t many books that talk about Poland at the start of WW2 but this one gives a wonderful insight in to the plight of Poland and how the Poles stood alone to fight not just the Nazis but the Soviets & how from here they would continue to fight alone throughout WW2.