Attack on Gleiwitz radio station
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The Gleiwitz incident refers to a staged attack against a German radio station in Gleiwitz (nowadays Gliwice) on the night of August 31, 1939 . There were other staged Polish-German border incidents (such as house torching in the Polish Corridor) and spurious propaganda output. Together the Nazis claimed these incidents as the pretext for operation Fall Weiss, the invasion of Poland the following day.
The border incidents were collectively dubbed 'Operation Himmler'.
The Gleiwitz incident was organised by Alfred Helmut Naujocks under orders from Reinhard Heydrich and accompanied by Heinrich Müller, the chief of Gestapo (according to the sworn affidavit of Naujocks at Nuremberg Trials). Naujocks stated that a small group seized the station and a message was broadcast that urged the Poles resident in Silesia to strike against Germans. After receiving a lethal injection a convict, Franciszek Honiok, was given gunshot wounds and left dead at the scene of the incident as evidence that he had been killed while attacking. This was presented as proof of the attack to the invited press and police officials.
Other convicts were available for use but ultimately only Honiok was used. The Germans referred to them by a code word Canned Goods. Therefore some sources (incorrectly) refer to this incident as "Operation 'Canned Goods'".
The facts relating to the Gleiwitz radio station attack are often confused with other actions performed on 31 August. As the attack was supposed to represent an attack by Polish insurgents, the "attackers" (including Honiok) did not wear Polish military uniforms.
On 1 September, Hitler announced in the Reichstag that there were 21 border incidents in total, including three very serious ones. These were used as the excuse for the "defensive" attack that had been launched earlier that morning against Poland, thus starting the Second World War.
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In film
- Der Fall Gleiwitz, direction: Gerhard Klein (1961), DEFA studios (The Gleiwitz Case; English subtitles), an East German film that reconstructs the events, pronounced in West Germany the best DEFA film.
- Operacja Himmler - Polart (Polish)
See also:
External link:
- Radio Tower Museum in Gliwice (http://www.radiostacjagliwicka.republika.pl/)
References
- John Toland, Adolf Hitler : The Definitive Biography, ISBN 0385420536.de:Sender Gleiwitz
fr:opération Himmler it:Incidente di Gleiwitz pl:Prowokacja gliwicka