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The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses primarily the period from the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to the end of World War II.Following the German–Soviet non-aggression pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1 September 1939 and by the Soviet Union on 17 September.
The occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II (1939–1945) began with the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945.
Ruined Warsaw in January 1945. As the German army retreated during the later stages of the Second World War, many of the urban areas of what is now Poland were severely damaged as a result of military action between the retreating forces of the German Wehrmacht and advancing ones of the Soviet Red Army.
The European Theatre of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on Friday September 1, 1939, followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939. On 6 October, following the Polish defeat at the Battle of Kock , German and Soviet forces gained full control over Poland.
Around 6 million Polish citizens perished during World War II: about one fifth of the entire pre-war population of Poland. [1] Most of them were civilian victims of the war crimes and the crimes against humanity which Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union committed during their occupation of Poland.
The Invasion of Poland, [e] also known as the September Campaign, [f] Polish Campaign, [g] and Polish Defensive War of 1939 [h] [13] (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union, which marked the beginning of World War II. [14]
Polish prisoners of war captured by the Red Army during the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 In October 1939, Molotov reported to the Supreme Soviet that the Red Army had suffered 737 deaths and 1,862 wounded men during the campaign, a casualty rate that widely contradicted Polish specialist's claims of up to 3,000 deaths and 8,000 to 10,000 ...
Polish soldiers during the Battle of Kock. The final clashes of the campaign erupt in the Battle of Kock. [18]: 119 Adolf Hitler issues a general armistice for any war crimes committed by German troops during the campaign against Poland. [81]: 58 German massacres of Poles in Paterek, committed as part of the Intelligenzaktion campaign begin. [82]