Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse
Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse
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Poland 1939
The Outbreak of World War II

Author: Roger Moorhouse

Narrator: Roger Moorhouse

Unabridged: 12 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 07/14/2020

Synopsis

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.

About Roger Moorhouse

Roger Moorhouse is the award-winning author of The Wolf's Lair, Berlin at War, and Killing Hitler. With Norman Davies, he is coauthor of Microcosm. He studied history at the University of London and is a regular contributor to BBC History Magazine. Roger lives in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Liam

As the outbreak of WWII has receded almost completely into before living memory history it is amazing how much we have still to learn. For a war more documented then any other it is extraordinary how much of it we are casually ignorant of. Poland's war against Hitler, conducted while it's allies (Br......more

Goodreads review by Ionia

Finally, a book that actually explains Poland's attempted defense against Germany, rather than just glossing over it. I really enjoyed this book. It was thoughtfully-written, well-researched, and presented in a manner that made it interesting for the reader. I've read a good few WWII histories, and......more

Quotes

"Exemplary.... About as good as military history can be. Moorhouse has visited the places he writes about, and understands weaponry, tactics and the structures of the German and Polish armed forces.... Like all good histories, Moorhouse's answers an old question and raises a new one."—New York Times

“As Roger Moorhouse relates in Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II, the short, savage campaign to crush the Poles, who fought against hopeless odds, proved to be ‘a five-week struggle that prefaced nearly 300 weeks of slaughter’… He tells a tale of Polish gallantry, German brutality, and what he sees as Anglo-French perfidy.”—New York Review of Books

"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

"Chilling... All Poles know that their September war -- and of course the many subsequent years of occupation, resistance and exile -- was no side-show. Now Moorhouse has expertly laid bare this simple truth: that when two totalitarian regimes make common cause, everyone in their immediate neighbourhood is likely to be trampled underfoot."—Times (UK)

"Excellent... a harrowing, but very needed, account of the first engagement of the Second World War."—Telegraph

"A fascinating book.... There are moments of heroism and defiance here that will put a catch in your throat and a shiver down your spine."—Sunday Telegraph

"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."—Spectator

"Moorhouse...admirably achieves his aim of putting the Polish-German war back onto the broader canvas of the Second World War."—Richard Overy, History Today

“Readers will be fascinated by this well-written, carefully researched study of the beginning of World War II. Polish Americans, in particular, will be proud of the heroism and determination displayed by the Polish people throughout that devastating ordeal.”—The Am-Pol Eagle

"We tend to overlook 'the war Hitler won' but Roger Moorhouse brilliantly underlines its crucial importance for the future course of the Second World War. This deeply researched, very well-written, and penetrating book will be the standard work on the subject for many years to come."—Andrew Roberts , author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

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