September 1, 1939 – World War II Begins

Today is the 85th anniversary of the beginning of World War II on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland.

In her award-winning book The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt, Rulka Langer, a young working mother of two educated at Vassar College in the U.S., writes about the first day of war in Warsaw. She begins the book in August 1939, when she is on a long-delayed vacation in the country. Everyone seems to know that war is imminent — the Polish government has been preparing its citizens for months, with civil defense activities and mobilization orders.

On September 1, Rulka is late to her job in the Economic Research Department of the Bank of Poland because the buses were no longer running: they had been commandeered for the army. When finally she gets to work:

CHAPTER 6
September 1: WAR!

(pp. 75–76)

A strange silence hung over the office. Yet, I could see through a door left ajar that there were people in the boss’s room. Curiosity getting the better of my embarrassment at being late, I walked in.

All that was left of the Economic Research Department sat there in a wide circle, still and silent. All eyes turned towards me as I entered, but no one smiled. All faces had a solemn, strained look.

And the head of the department said in a level voice: “The German army has crossed our frontiers at almost every point early this morning.”

So it had come. War was on. I was conscious of a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something like a contraction….