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Siege
In September 1939, American filmmaker Julien Bryan spent two weeks in and around Warsaw documenting the devastating impact that the German invasion of September 1 had on Poland. His short film Siege was released in 1940. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Julien Bryan Archive
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Digging Anti-Tank Ditches
In August 1939, Catholic and Jewish youth took a break from digging anti-tank ditches to pose for a photographer in Oswiecim, Poland. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau w Oświęcimiu
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Dawid Sierakowiak Diary Entry
Entry dated August 31, 1939, from the diary of Dawid Sierakowiak. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Anna Wajcblum Heilman Interview
Anna Wajcblum Heilman remembers the beginning of World War II. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Chaim Kaplan Diary Entry
Entry dated September 1, 1939, from the diary of Chaim Kaplan. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Leo Schneiderman Interview
Leo Schneiderman remembers the beginning of World War II. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Marjan Glass’s Pants
On September 7, 1939, Marjan Glass was wearing these pants while digging ditches in Warsaw to defend the city against the German invasion. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Wanda Glass
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George Salton Interview
George Salton remembers the Germans’ arrival in his hometown. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Warsaw Residents Dig Defenses
Residents of Warsaw dug ditches to slow the advance of German tanks in September 1939. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Julien Bryan Archive
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Leonard Zawacki Interview
Leonard Zawacki remembers his capture by an ethnic German “Self-Defense” unit. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Damaged Family Photo
Masza Swislocki (back, left) retrieved this charred photo, along with other belongings, from her home in Warsaw after it was destroyed during the German bombing. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Norbert Swislocki
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Refugee’s Knapsack
In October 1939, Rys Berkowicz used this knapsack to carry her belongings as she left Warsaw. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Ruth Berkowicz Segal
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Execution of Father Piotr Sosnowski
Under SS command, ethnic Germans—members of a Selbstchutz (“Self-Defense”) unit—executed Piotr Sosnowski, a priest, in the Tuchola forest on October 27, 1939. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Instytut Pamięci Narodowej