A remembrance thread. September 1, 1939, from Wikipedia, "Nazi Germany and Slovakia invade Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II." "Switzerland mobilizes its forces and the Swiss Parliament elects Henri Guisan to head the Swiss Armed Forces (an event that can happen only during war or mobilization)." "Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people."
i think this is a helpful thread. Because I didn't even know that about Switzerland mobilizing, or anything. The bit about Hitler there... well. I live with schizophrenia. It kind of hits home.
Switzerland didn't want to be overrun with refugees. So they guarded their borders and stayed neutral by force. They were mobilized to keep the war from spilling into their country. The best anyone could hope for was to be allowed in for a period of time needed to stash the family's wealth in a safe deposit box. It must have been an intense time.
My dads uncle was a British sniper since around the start of WW2, apparently he gathered intel for the combined allied forces that led to the strategy invasion of Normandy that went on to liberate Europe and the world. My dad still has all his uncles meddles, our family will never sell those meddles for as long as I live.
What the history books won’t tell you is that the government was forcefully sterilizing the mentally ill here in the USA in the pre-WWII era.
At least we learned a lot from WWII. It made it pretty darn hard for that sort of tyranny to form in other parts of the world.
WWI was the direct result of the steam engine and the mastery of electricity, WWII was the direct result of the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, still responsible to this day for maybe 70% of the technology we use. What is to come will take all of our strength, and our heroes must once again come from among the common ranks, for the meek must inherit the earth, now or never people, and these are the days that make heroes of the plain spoken. Do your forefathers proud, and become the warriors for peace we once were.
September 2, 1939, from Wikipedia, "Following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany."
September 3, 1939, from Wikipedia, "France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies." "The United Kingdom and France begin a naval blockade of Germany that lasts until the end of the war. This also marks the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic."
September 4, 1939, from Wikipedia, "William J. Murphy commands the first Royal Air Force attack on Germany."
September 6, 1939, from Wikipedia, "Britain suffers its first fighter pilot casualty of the Second World War at the Battle of Barking Creek as a result of friendly fire." "South Africa declares war on Nazi Germany."
September 9, 1939, from Wikipedia, "The Battle of Hel begins, the longest-defended pocket of Polish Army resistance during the German invasion of Poland."
September 10, 1939, from Wikipedia, "The submarine HMS Oxley is mistakenly sunk by the submarine HMS Triton near Norway and becomes the Royal Navy's first loss of a submarine in the war." "Canada declares war on Germany, joining the Allies: Poland, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia."
