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View archival footage of German troops invading Poland and forcing Europe into war

View archival footage of German troops invading Poland and forcing Europe into war

In September 1939 the Germans overrun Poland, forcing all of Europe into a state of war. From “The Second World War: Prelude to Conflict” (1963), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Transcript

[Music in]

NARRATOR: On September 1, 1939--the weather perfect for mechanized warfare--Hitler unleashed his blitzkrieg. "Our strength is in our quickness and in our brutality," he screamed. "Be hard, be without mercy." Having guaranteed Polish boundaries, Britain and France were now forced into war. They would soon pay heavily for their past mistakes, their fears and their selfishness. President Benes of Czechoslovakia had said, "Freedom will never belong to those who will not die for it."

[Music out]
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