Wir Zogen Gegen Polen [We Moved Against Poland]

Commemorating the beginnings of World War II in Poland, from a German perspective.

This uncommon hardcover unit history was published in 1940 to commemorate the attack of the 7th German Army Corps against Poland – sparking the European tinders of World War II. A portrait of Hitler captioned with a provocative quote blaming Poland for the invasion is followed by 140+ pages of narrative text, illustrations, and black and white photographs. The content is carefully curated to depict the Nazi perspective of events, portraying the German soldiers as liberators of a backward people. While a handful of armored vehicles are included, the decorative dust jacket emphasizes the importance of horse-drawn weaponry during the attack.

The book includes a fold-out map (disbound), signed K K. St 407 in the lower right. It presents four different routes taken by German divisions on their march across Poland. Major battles are pinpointed and dated. The volume was published in Munich in 1940 by the Zentralverlag der NSDAP, the central publishing house for the Nazi Party.