Ceremonies are being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. This comes at a time of heightened concerns about security among the European Union's eastern states in particular, reports GHN based on dw.de
German President Joachim Gauck is to join his Polish counterpart, Bronislaw Komorowski , on the Westerplatte peninsula in Gdansk on Monday, for the main ceremony to mark the beginning of World War II.
The two heads of state are to place candles at the graves of soldiers who lost their lives in the battle that marked the outbreak of the war, before laying a wreath at the memorial to the defenders of the Polish coast at Westerplatte.
In keeping with the spirit of friendship between the two former foes, Gauck and Koromoski are also to take part in discussion session with a group of students.
Fighting breaks out
The fighting began in the early hours of September 1, 1939, when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on the Polish fort of Westerplatte. The first battle of the Second World War quickly ensued.
The attack on Poland by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime led Britain and France to declare war on Germany two days later.
The fewer than 200 Polish soldiers posted to Westerplatte fought bravely, holding out for a full week before their commander surrendered to the German forces.
Prior to the attack on Westerplatte, the Nazi's had staged a number of operations aimed at creating the illusion of Polish aggression on Germany as a pretext for attack. The best know of this was the "Gleiwitz incident," an operation by Nazis posing as Poles on the German radio station "Sender Gleiwitz" in Gliwice, which was then part of Germany.