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In Pictures
Gallery
Poland remembers start of second world war
European leaders gather in Westerplatte, Gdansk, Poland to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the second world war on 1st September, 1939
Published On 1 Sep 2009
1 Sep 2009
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However in August 1939, Hitler offered Poland the chance to surrender
Poland refused, so on September 1, 1939, a Nazi battleship bombarded a Polish military garrison marking the start of the war
This staged picture shows German troops crossing the German-Polish border shortly after the actual invasion
Following continued bombardment from land, sea and air German troops were able to enter the empty seaport town of Gdynia on Septemebr 23, 1939
German air-raids left the Polish desperate and homeless
Warsaw was devastated, leaving much of it flattened and in ruins
However, between August and October 1944 the Polish Home Army resisted with what became known as the Warsaw Uprising
But the largely Jewish army was eventually overpowered and its members arrested
After the uprising, Jews from the infamous Warsaw Ghetto surrendered or were rounded up and sent to concentration camps
Many people became sick or died from disease and hunger while living in the sewers and basements of the city during the siege
Seventy years on, a Polish veteran looks on at the Westerplatte Memorial and remembers those who lost their lives