{"id":222,"date":"2008-09-01T18:03:53","date_gmt":"2008-09-01T22:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=219"},"modified":"2014-06-10T14:29:20","modified_gmt":"2014-06-10T14:29:20","slug":"september-1st-in-polish-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/september-1st-in-polish-history\/","title":{"rendered":"September 1st in Polish History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is September 1st and if you ask any Polish kid about its significance, they will give you a blank stare as an answer. I\u2019ve just tried it.
\nIt was a bit different in my days. Now, I don\u2019t know what they teach you about the starting date of WW2 (druga wojna \u015bwiatowa<\/strong>) in your countries, but in Poland it\u2019s generally understood that the war started on September 1, 1939.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, when I was a high school student this sad anniversary was normally overshadowed by a more immediate, also sad event, which was the beginning of a school year. Which, incidentally, also took place on September 1st.<\/p>\n

And this is what I remember from my high school history classes:
\nSomething something Czechoslovakia, Hitler, something something\u2026 stuff happened, blah blah.
\nOn September 1st, 1939 at 4:45AM the German battleship \u201cSchleswig Holstein\u201d<\/em> started to shell the Polish garrison on Westerplatte<\/strong>. It was the beginning of Hitler\u2019s invasion of Poland and the beginning of WW2.
\nWesterplatte<\/strong>, despite its very German-sounding name, was the location of a Polish Military Transit Depot (WST), sanctioned within the territory of the Free City of Danzig (now Gda\u0144sk<\/strong>). 180 Polish soldiers under the command of Major Henryk Sucharski<\/strong> defended their position for seven days against overwhelming odds. When they finally surrendered, Maj. Sucharski, as a sign of respect from the German dude in charge, was allowed to keep his officer\u2019s sword while being taken prisoner.
\nBlah blah blah, France blah blah blah England\u2026 the Soviet Army\u2026 blah\u2026 more stuff happened. WW2 was gaining momentum.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m ashamed to admit that even though I lived quite nearby Gda\u0144sk<\/strong> and Westerplatte<\/strong>, I never visited the site. These days it’s a touristy place with a museum and monuments, and that sort of thing.<\/p>\n

One September 1st my high school organized a field trip to Westerplatte<\/strong> to participate in the memorial ceremonies, which were held there annually. And here, I\u2019m again ashamed to admit that instead of going there like all good students should, together with a friend we decided to skip it. We went to a musical instrument store instead, where we played guitars and drums for most of the day. And then of course, we lied about it. What can I say? It was the 80s. We wanted to be rock stars.<\/p>\n

photo: Wikipedia. Major Sucharski surrenders.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today is September 1st and if you ask any Polish kid about its significance, they will give you a blank stare as an answer. I\u2019ve just tried it. It was a bit different in my days. Now, I don\u2019t know what they teach you about the starting date of WW2 (druga wojna \u015bwiatowa) in your…<\/p>\n

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