TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP (1893)

Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893)

Ribbentrop was Nazi Germany’s foreign minister from 1938 until 1945, during which time he helped negotiate the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939, which set the stage for Germany‘s attack on Poland that touched off World War II. He, like so many other Nazi officials, was an active participant in the “Final Solution” and various other atrocities and was one of the few who paid with his life at Nuremberg, where he was tried, convicted, and hanged for his war crimes. What were his last words? More…Discuss

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This Day in the Yesteryear: THE GLEIWITZ INCIDENT (1939)

The Gleiwitz Incident (1939)

In 1939, Nazi forces staged an attack on a German radio station. They shot a well-known Polish sympathizer and planted his body at the scene, reporting the attack as the work of Polish saboteurs. The attack was part of a Nazi propaganda campaign called Operation Himmler, which involved a series of staged incidents intended to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany and provide a basis for the invasion of Poland. What did the Nazis broadcast from the radio station? More… Discuss

 

This Day in History: Germany Invades Poland (1939)

Germany Invades Poland (1939)

After staging Polish attacks on German forces to create the appearance of Polish aggression, Germany invaded Poland, beginning WWII. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, and all the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, with the exception of Ireland, rapidly followed suit. The German blitzkrieg crushed the Polish defenses. Within a month all of Poland was occupied by German forces as well as the forces of what state with whom Germany had just signed a non-aggression pact? More… Discuss