Poland 1939

The Outbreak of World War II

By: Roger Moorhouse

Narrated by: Roger Moorhouse

A "chilling" and "expertly" written history of the 1939 September Campaign and the onset of World War II (Times of London).

For Americans, World War II began in December of 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor; but for Poland, the war began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's soldiers invaded, followed later that month by Stalin's Red Army. The conflict that followed saw the debut of many of the features that would come to define the later war-blitzkrieg, the targeting of civilians, ethnic cleansing, and indiscriminate aerial bombing-yet it is routinely overlooked by historians.

In Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse reexamines the least understood campaign of World War II, using original archival sources to provide a harrowing and very human account of the events that set the bloody tone for the conflict to come.

©2020 Roger Moorhouse (P)2020 Basic Books

Critic reviews

"Moorhouse's book remedies that gap [in the history of the Polish War], weaving together archival material, first-hand accounts, perceptive analysis and heartbreaking descriptions of Poland's betrayal, defeat and dismemberment." (Economist)

"Timely and authoritative.... [Moorhouse] has trawled through an impressive quantity of unpublished Polish and German sources, as well as a wealth of eyewitness testimonies from both sides, to produce a balanced account of this much neglected yet important episode of the second world war which is both harrowing and inspiring." (The Spectator)

"There remain a number of myths about the invasion of Poland in 1939. Moorhouse seeks to use modern historiography to correct these falsehoods. A solid analysis of World War II's first major operation...." (Library Journal)

Russian Early Involvement

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t realize that when the Nazis invaded from the west, Russia saw this as the perfect excuse to invade the east. This book does a beautiful job of listing the names of heroes that may be lost to history otherwise.

I also enjoyed the way the author/ narrator was able to describe the action as if one was actually there.

Well read and most interesting

It helps to understand the complexity of the era and the start of the war to see how it happened in Poland and foreshadowed so much to come. Well worth a Covid-19 week of listening.

A really important addition

I love books read by their authors. There is clearly so much emotion behind the reading.

Excellent history of a misunderstood and under appreciated Polish effort and campaign

Poland received little credit for its effort against German and then Soviet forces. This book corrects myths and gives voice to Poland’s strong fight against overpowering odds in September 1939. A must read for anyone interested in WWII’s European Theater.

Remarkable look into Poland 1939

Extraordinary work on the events in 1949 Poland. Mr. Morehouse does an exceptional job with his own content. His voice, tone, pace, and delivery are very pleasing. Do not listen to the other reviewer‘s as they were listening to some other book. Exceptional job. Highly recommended.

Very interesting

Eye opening to hear the Poles side in more details, i enjoyed it. Thank you.

Informative and expanding

fantastic information on Polands fight for independance. much context has been added in comparison to other books about the same subject including personal al accounts and examples not referenced in other materials. This is a significantly well researched and executed book. The narrator was easy to listen too although I sped mine up to 1.3 and it helped shorten the listening time and worked well for me.

It’s about time!

History may have been originally written by the victors but in this case it has been corrected! Thank you to Roger Moorhouse for painting a more accurate portrait of what actually happened in Poland in 1939. Hopefully this book will lead to many more true stories of how valiantly the Poles fought for their homeland. Being attacked by not only one barbaric regime but two at the same time, who attacked innocent citizens first before an opposing army in many cases just showed their true cowardice.

The Truth Finally Told Of What September 1939

Great Book to listen to and finally someone took the time to write about the Rape and Destruction of Poland and the Polish Citizens. The enormity of cruelty and wanton killing of innocent Polish people by both Germany and Russia is unforgivable. The supposed Allies of France , England and America just watched.

Wow

I am so glad this book was written. I was always told that the Poles rolled over and gave up. im so glad to find out that is all lies. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to know the truth about WW2.