Background: This is the beginning of what may become a larger project: Tracing the history of World War II from the German perspective, using the front pages of the Völkischer Beobachter, the Nazi Party’s daily newspaper. The full newspapers are available on ANNO, the Austrian project to digitize the country’s newspapers.
September 1939 was the first month of the war, and the tone of the VB throughout is unrelentingly optimistic.
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1 September 1939
Germany’s 16 PointsPoland Refuses NegotiationsOur Demand:
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2 September 1939 The German Counterattack Has BegunOur Troops Advancing SuccessfullyThe Powerful Führer Speech to the Reichstag |
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3 September 1939 Further Rapid Successes on All FrontsPolish Army Units Cut Off in the North of the CorridorNew Powerful Blows by the German Luftwaffe — German Navy Bombards Military Harbor at Hela |
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4 September 1939 The Führer Appeals to the NationBritish War Criminals Face a Determined Greater GermanyThe Führer calls to the People, Party, Western Front, and the Eastern Army |
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5 September 1939 The Führer Is with the Troops on the Front LineWeichsel Crossed at Kulm as the Führer ObservesTumultuous Applause as Adolf Hitler Visits the Front and the West Prussians |
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6 September 1939 Total Failure in the First Action:10 English Bombers Destroyed in an Attack on the North Sea CoastPolish Corridor Army in a Hopeless Situation |
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7 September 1939 Order of the day to Soldiers on the Eastern Front:“Keep on the Enemy’s Heels!”Krakau, Bromberg, and Kielce captured by German Troops |
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8 September 1939 Chamberlain’s Allies:Inhuman Crimes by Polish PartisansMany Germans Kidnapped and Slaughtered |
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9 September 1939 Successful Advances on the Eastern FrontGerman Troops Reach WarsawShattering Report by a Foreign Correspondent on Bloody Sunday in Bromberg |
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10 September 1939 Hermann Göring’s Passionate Speech to the German People“We Will Accept Any Privation, But Never Again Will We Be Dictated To!”Note: Göring’s reference is to the Treaty of Versailles, which the Germans called the “Diktat of Versailles.” |
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11 September 1939 Chaos in LublinPolish Government Flees to LembergThe Warmongers Decline ResponsibilityStocks and Gold Bars More Important Than Honor |
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12 September 1939 The Führer Observes the Decisive BattleThe Führer Present for the EncirclementAll German Military Units Fighting Successfully |
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13 September 1939 Encirclement Operation Ends SuccessfullyPolish Army Captured near RadomHuge Number of Prisoners and Vast Quantities of Captured MatérielRapid Advance toward Lemberg |
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14 September 1939 England Declares Hunger War on the Women and Children of EuropeImmediate German Revenge Measures |
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15 September 1939 The Responsible Men Leave the Front in the LurchPolish Government Fleeing to Romania66,000 Prisoners and 173 Artillery Pieces Captured by Rodon and Ostrow |
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16 September 1939 Splendid Achievements by Ostmark [Austrian] RegimentsThe Führer is with the Ostmarkers in GaliciaAdvance across the San River — German Troops Enter the Forts at Brest-Litovsk |
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17 September 1939 Millions of Leaflets Inform the PopulationLast Demand to Surrender WarsawEvacuation of Civilian Population RejectedCity Commandant Refuses to Meet an Emissary |
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18 September 1939 The War Criminals Give UpPolish Government Flees to Romania190,000 BRT of English Shipping Sunk by German U-Boats |
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19 September 1939 The World Press Evaluates the Consequences for the Western Powers“More than a Lost War”German-Soviet Cooperation Has Fundamentally Changed the World Situation |
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20 September 1939 The Führer Spoke in Danzig, Which Has Returned Home“Poland Will Never Again Take the Form of Versailles!”No One Gives an Ultimatum to Today’s Germany — Thanks to the Wehrmacht and People — The Whole Nation is Determined to Make No Compromises |
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21 September 1939 General von Brauchitsch to the SoldiersThe War in the East is OverThe Battle of Kutno — The Greatest Battle of Annihilation in History |
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22 September 1939 Mussolini Warns:“Negus, Bensch, Negrin — Beck is the Last of the Series” |
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23 September 1939 “VB” Conversation with Rescued DiplomatsCriminal Regiment in WarsawSpread throughout the City — Food Supplies Exhausted |
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24 September 1939 450,000 Prisoners, 1200 Artillery, 800 Aircraft:Poland’s Fate was Sealed after Eight DaysWehrmacht Report on the Background, Plan, Course, and Conclusion of the Polish Campaign |
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25 September 1939
A Great Day for our TroopsThe Führer at the Warsaw FrontAdolf Hitler Observes the Effects of German Artillery |
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26 September 1939 Churchill’s Lies RevealedProof of the “Athenia” CrimeGerman U-Boat Sinks English DestroyerA German submarine torpedoed the Athenia on 2 September. Since it was a passenger ship, that was against the laws of war. The Germans, initially in good faith, denied their involvement and accused the British of staging the event. It wasn't until 27 September when the submarine returned to base, that the Germans realized the facts, which they covered up. |
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27 September 1939 For a Discussion of the SituationRibbentrop Travels to Moscow Today62 Members of the Soviet-Russian Embassy in Warsaw Freed |
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28 September 1939 After Successful German AttacksWarsaw Capitulates UnconditionallySuccessful Air Attack on the British High Seas Fleet — Aircraft Carrier Destroyed Battleship Severely Damaged |
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29 September 1939
Ribbentrop’s Several Hour Discussion with Stalin and MolotovCeremonial Reception in the Kremlin —Exchange of Toasts |
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30 September 1939 The Moscow AgreementsMilitary Defeat Follows the PoliticalGreat Impact of the German-Soviet Agreements |
[Page copyright © 2022 by Randall Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction. My email address is available on the FAQ page.]
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