WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:24.520 The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company brings you the sound of war. 00:24.520 --> 00:31.520 The actual sound record of World War II. 2,191 days from the time Hitler's Panzer divisions 00:31.520 --> 00:36.200 moved across the Polish borders to the ceremony of the Japanese surrender aboard the United 00:36.200 --> 00:39.320 States Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. 00:39.320 --> 00:44.440 World War II, the most terrible period of death and destruction in the long history 00:44.440 --> 00:46.120 of man. 00:46.120 --> 00:51.320 World War II, a drama preserved for all time through the medium of radio. 00:51.320 --> 00:53.320 An era never to be forgotten. 00:53.320 --> 00:56.680 Tonight, Poland in misery. 00:56.680 --> 01:03.120 I am speaking to you from the cabinet room of 10 Downing Street. 01:03.120 --> 01:10.520 This morning, the British ambassador in Berlin handed the German government. 01:10.520 --> 01:13.520 It is September 3rd, 1939. 01:13.520 --> 01:17.560 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is broadcasting to the British Empire and the world. 01:17.560 --> 01:22.240 It is the climax of three days of drama that will have its conclusion exactly six years 01:22.240 --> 01:23.960 later. 01:23.960 --> 01:37.280 This is the beginning of World War II. 01:37.280 --> 01:40.880 A brief recapitulation of the events leading up to this moment. 01:40.880 --> 01:46.800 Two days earlier on September 1st at 5.45 a.m., German armies moved across the Polish borders 01:46.800 --> 01:49.720 from the north, south, and west. 01:49.720 --> 01:54.920 Four hours and 15 minutes after the attack, Chancellor Adolf Hitler spoke to the Council 01:54.920 --> 01:56.400 of Ministers of the Reichstag. 01:56.400 --> 02:03.840 If Poland should try to destroy Gdansk economically on the path of the great political measures, 02:03.840 --> 02:11.200 then Germany could no longer see it as idle. 02:11.200 --> 02:16.000 I told the Polish ambassador three weeks ago that if the situation continued as it was, 02:16.000 --> 02:21.640 Gdansk would be persecuted and it would be attempted by Poland to ruin Gdansk economically. 02:21.640 --> 02:44.160 The situation could not be tolerated. 02:44.160 --> 02:47.360 German armies moved quickly through Poland. 02:47.360 --> 02:52.160 Throughout September 1st, France and Great Britain did not move. 02:52.160 --> 02:55.640 Emergency sessions were being held in Paris and London. 02:55.640 --> 03:00.560 The two allies would march unless Germany withdrew its troops from Poland. 03:00.560 --> 03:04.240 And now here's a special bulletin from the Associated Press. 03:04.240 --> 03:05.680 Paris. 03:05.680 --> 03:10.000 The French government announced today that Robert Colander, French ambassador to Berlin, 03:10.000 --> 03:15.400 would call on Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German foreign minister, at noon, 6 a.m. Eastern 03:15.400 --> 03:20.400 Standard Time, 7 a.m. New York Time, today to demand a reply to France's ultimatum for 03:20.400 --> 03:23.120 the withdrawal of German troops from Poland. 03:23.120 --> 03:26.800 This French action was ordered taken just three hours after Sir Neville Henderson, the 03:26.800 --> 03:31.800 British ambassador to Berlin, had informed the German government at 4 a.m. New York Time 03:31.800 --> 03:37.280 that a state of war would exist between Britain and Germany as of 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight 03:37.280 --> 03:44.640 Saving Time unless Germany gave a satisfactory reply. 03:44.640 --> 03:48.200 It is Sunday, September 3rd, 1939. 03:48.200 --> 03:53.400 The day is cool and clear in London, and the citizens of the city and the island would 03:53.400 --> 03:56.860 normally be quietly returning from church. 03:56.860 --> 03:59.560 There is more movement than usual. 03:59.560 --> 04:06.320 At 11.15 a.m., Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain will speak to the Empire and the world. 04:06.320 --> 04:12.240 It is now two days, five and a half hours, since the German attack on Poland. 04:12.240 --> 04:15.920 Many Polish soldiers and civilians have been killed. 04:15.920 --> 04:19.160 Much territory has been captured by the Germans. 04:19.160 --> 04:23.060 Much destruction has fallen upon Polish cities. 04:23.060 --> 04:33.480 Great Britain and France are ready to march. 04:33.480 --> 04:37.920 For Prime Minister Chamberlain, it is an unbelievable nightmare. 04:37.920 --> 04:41.840 Less than one year before, upon returning from his second of three trips to Chancellor 04:41.840 --> 04:46.520 Adolf Hitler's headquarters, he was one of those mainly responsible for the destruction 04:46.520 --> 04:52.000 of the Czechoslovakian nation by adhering to the British and French policy of appeasement. 04:52.000 --> 04:58.400 We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German naval agreement as symbolic 04:58.400 --> 05:17.920 of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again. 05:17.920 --> 05:22.680 Now Germany had moved against Poland, and Great Britain must honor its ties with the 05:22.680 --> 05:24.900 Polish nation. 05:24.900 --> 05:30.560 The declaration of war speech he made has rarely been heard in its entirety. 05:30.560 --> 05:39.040 All the disillusion, humiliation, and defeat can be heard in his voice as he speaks. 05:39.040 --> 05:45.360 You will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister. 05:45.360 --> 05:51.480 I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. 05:51.480 --> 06:00.480 This morning, the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German government a final note, 06:00.480 --> 06:08.320 stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once 06:08.320 --> 06:16.120 to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. 06:16.120 --> 06:23.840 I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this 06:23.840 --> 06:27.520 country is at war with Germany. 06:27.520 --> 06:34.080 You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace 06:34.080 --> 06:35.080 has failed. 06:35.080 --> 06:42.480 Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more or anything different that I could have 06:42.480 --> 06:47.400 done if it would have been more successful. 06:47.400 --> 06:53.000 Up to the very last, it would have been quite possible to have arranged a peaceful and honorable 06:53.000 --> 06:56.920 settlement between Germany and Poland. 06:56.920 --> 07:01.040 But Hitler would not have it. 07:01.040 --> 07:06.960 He had evidently made up his mind to attack Poland whatever happened. 07:06.960 --> 07:14.160 And although he now says he put forward reasonable proposals which were rejected by the Poles, 07:14.160 --> 07:17.160 that is not a true statement. 07:17.160 --> 07:21.960 The proposals were never shown to the Poles, nor to us. 07:21.960 --> 07:27.880 And though they were announced in the German broadcast on Thursday night, Hitler did not 07:27.880 --> 07:33.760 wait to hear comments on them, but ordered his troops to cross the Polish frontier the 07:33.760 --> 07:34.760 next morning. 07:34.760 --> 07:42.120 His action shows convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that this man will 07:42.120 --> 07:47.160 ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. 07:47.160 --> 07:49.840 He can only be stopped by force. 07:49.840 --> 07:57.200 And we in France are today in fulfillment of our obligations going to the aid of Poland 07:57.200 --> 08:04.720 who is so bravely resisting this wicked and unprovoked attack upon her people. 08:04.720 --> 08:06.920 We have a clear conscience. 08:06.920 --> 08:10.560 We have done all that any country could do to establish peace. 08:10.560 --> 08:18.040 But a situation in which no word given by Germany's ruler could be trusted, and no people 08:18.040 --> 08:22.720 or country could feel itself safe, has become intolerable. 08:22.720 --> 08:28.320 And now that we have resolved to finish it, I know that you will all play your part with 08:28.320 --> 08:30.320 calmness and courage. 08:30.320 --> 08:39.680 At such a moment as this, the assurances of support which we have received from the Empire 08:39.680 --> 08:45.520 are a source of profound encouragement to us. 08:45.520 --> 08:52.120 When I finish speaking, certain detailed announcements will be made on behalf of the government. 08:52.120 --> 08:58.040 Give these your close attention. 08:58.040 --> 09:01.440 Now may God bless you all. 09:01.440 --> 09:03.440 And may he defend the right. 09:03.440 --> 09:08.760 For it is evil things that we shall be fighting against. 09:08.760 --> 09:17.280 Drink force, bad faith, injustice, oppression, and persecution. 09:17.280 --> 09:29.960 And against them I am certain that the right will prevail. 09:29.960 --> 09:37.040 It shall ever be to Prime Minister Chamberlain's credit that he did his duty as he saw fit. 09:37.040 --> 09:42.760 Winston Churchill would say fourteen months later in memoriam, the only guide to a man 09:42.760 --> 09:44.800 is his conscience. 09:44.800 --> 09:51.080 The only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. 09:51.080 --> 09:57.040 Whatever else history may or may not say about these terrible, tremendous years, we can be 09:57.040 --> 10:02.160 sure that Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity and authority. 10:02.160 --> 10:07.360 And we here assembled this morning, members of all parties without single exception, feel 10:07.360 --> 10:12.560 that we do ourselves and our country honor in saluting the memory of one whom Disraeli 10:12.560 --> 10:30.640 would have called an English worthy. 10:30.640 --> 10:33.200 The war is on. 10:33.200 --> 10:36.560 The British monarch George VI speaks to the empire. 10:36.560 --> 10:45.880 For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war. 10:45.880 --> 10:59.520 Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between 10:59.520 --> 11:08.640 ourselves and those who are now our enemies. 11:08.640 --> 11:13.160 But it has been in vain. 11:13.160 --> 11:17.640 We have been forced into a conflict. 11:17.640 --> 11:29.000 For we are called with our allies to meet the challenge of a principle which if it were 11:29.000 --> 11:38.200 to prevail, it would be fatal to any civilized order in the world. 11:59.000 --> 12:22.720 We are called with our allies to meet the challenge of a principle which if it were to prevail, 12:22.720 --> 12:31.240 it would be fatal to any civilized order in the world. 12:31.240 --> 12:32.240 The war was underway. 12:32.240 --> 12:59.520 With 12:59.520 --> 13:02.800 its beginning came a new form of communication. 13:02.800 --> 13:05.640 The radio war corresponded. 13:05.640 --> 13:10.440 In all previous history, war was reported by writers and the history of the conflict 13:10.440 --> 13:14.640 as we know it was left for us in the written word. 13:14.640 --> 13:19.520 Now through radio came the spoken word and news as it happened was communicated to every 13:19.520 --> 13:21.120 home. 13:21.120 --> 13:24.680 One of the best known news commentators was later to become head of the United States 13:24.680 --> 13:26.960 Office of War Information. 13:26.960 --> 13:29.720 His name was Elmer Davis. 13:29.720 --> 13:33.640 He was at his post as Prime Minister Chamberlain and King George spoke. 13:33.640 --> 13:40.080 We have Hitler's statement that it strongly implies that he intends to stand on the defense 13:40.080 --> 13:42.400 in the West. 13:42.400 --> 13:44.680 His troops are invading Poland. 13:44.680 --> 13:48.680 It would be very difficult at present as our military experts have told you for the French 13:48.680 --> 13:54.600 and British to give any effective aid to Poland except possibly by air. 13:54.600 --> 13:59.640 And there Hitler has announced that he will bomb only military objectives although dispatches 13:59.640 --> 14:05.120 from Poland indicate that many civilians have been killed and wounded in the air operations 14:05.120 --> 14:11.480 and it will be difficult for the British and French to make any attacks on Germany without 14:11.480 --> 14:16.920 immediately provoking reprisals and which each side will undoubtedly accuse the other 14:16.920 --> 14:20.640 of having been the first to attack women and children. 14:20.640 --> 14:26.680 The tone of Mr. Chamberlain was that of a very tired and very saddened man. 14:26.680 --> 14:31.320 Clear up till yesterday it looked as if he might make greater sacrifices for the sake 14:31.320 --> 14:36.440 of peace, as if there might be some possible concession this time as there had been the 14:36.440 --> 14:37.440 time before. 14:37.440 --> 14:41.680 And you will remember that yesterday it was Mr. Greenwood, the leader of the opposition, 14:41.680 --> 14:46.540 who got the cheers in the House of Commons when he rose to speak and cries of, Speak 14:46.540 --> 14:51.160 for England. 14:51.160 --> 14:57.360 The German armies moved across Poland, a combination of might and power unseen and unheard of in 14:57.360 --> 14:59.720 all previous military history. 14:59.720 --> 15:09.160 A new word entered the language of war, blitzkrieg, lightning war, gone with the static unmoving 15:09.160 --> 15:11.840 lines of trench warfare. 15:11.840 --> 15:17.760 In its stead was the awesome power of the mechanized army, tanks, motorized artillery, 15:17.760 --> 15:23.320 armored cars, and the terrible new weapon of destruction, the dive bomber. 15:23.320 --> 15:26.760 The Poles were being annihilated. 15:26.760 --> 15:32.560 It is September 17, 1939. 15:32.560 --> 15:35.800 Now more terrible news for the Poles. 15:35.800 --> 15:38.900 Russia invaded Poland from the east. 15:38.900 --> 15:41.600 Now the squeeze began. 15:41.600 --> 15:47.400 In two days the Russian armies with little opposition took over half of Poland. 15:47.400 --> 15:51.480 The Poles were of strong heart. 15:51.480 --> 15:56.760 They fought well for their homeland, but they were no match for the onrushing waves of mechanized 15:56.760 --> 15:58.800 might. 15:58.800 --> 16:02.880 France and Great Britain could not effectively come to their aid. 16:02.880 --> 16:07.320 Before one month would go by, Chancellor Adolf Hitler would make a victory speech. 16:07.320 --> 16:34.640 Today there are thousands of columns proceeding along the border which our troops have reached 16:34.640 --> 16:42.080 by Kutno, by Lemberg, and by Breslytow, and these troops are now retreating from the regions 16:42.080 --> 16:43.880 from which they have been captured. 16:43.880 --> 17:02.280 I do not know how many captives have been made, but I do know one thing, and that is 17:02.280 --> 17:07.000 that in a very few days those remaining in Poland in the army will capitulate, will lay 17:07.000 --> 17:32.880 down their weapons, and will also be taken captive. 17:32.880 --> 17:38.560 He has just said that when we succeeded in conquering a state of 36 million inhabitants 17:38.560 --> 17:47.160 in one month without any defeat, then that is not only luck, but our wonderful accomplishment 17:47.160 --> 17:55.320 in the field of military campaign. 17:55.320 --> 17:57.720 The war was a strange one. 17:57.720 --> 18:01.440 There were still signs of the chivalry of years gone by. 18:01.440 --> 18:06.480 Both German and allied gunners seemed reluctant to hit the enemy. 18:06.480 --> 18:11.520 Artillerymen in both the Maginot and Siegfried lines conspicuously avoided the pinpoint accuracy 18:11.520 --> 18:13.640 science had afforded their weapons. 18:13.640 --> 18:20.080 There was not a British casualty until three months and nine days after the war began. 18:20.080 --> 18:26.720 An ironical note, years later at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel 18:26.720 --> 18:32.000 said, if the French had attacked us during the Polish campaign, we would not have had 18:32.000 --> 18:34.080 a real defense. 18:34.080 --> 18:38.640 To attack Poland, we had to leave the western borders unattended. 18:38.640 --> 18:59.800 The French could have crossed the Rhine with no opposition. 18:59.800 --> 19:04.120 Though the military action was slow, Great Britain made preparations for the eventual 19:04.120 --> 19:07.800 death and destruction that would soon rain upon them. 19:07.800 --> 19:11.560 The children of the Empire were evacuated to the United States and other countries of 19:11.560 --> 19:13.760 the Empire. 19:13.760 --> 19:19.800 As Christmas 1939 neared, families were reunited by transatlantic telephone calls. 19:19.800 --> 19:20.800 Hello, Mom. 19:20.800 --> 19:21.800 Hello, Daddy. 19:21.800 --> 19:22.800 How are you? 19:22.800 --> 19:23.800 Fine, thanks. 19:23.800 --> 19:24.800 How are you? 19:24.800 --> 19:25.800 I hope you're having a merry Christmas. 19:25.800 --> 19:26.800 Mrs. Violet? 19:26.800 --> 19:27.800 Yes. 19:27.800 --> 19:28.800 Come on, I don't need something now. 19:28.800 --> 19:29.800 Just a moment. 19:29.800 --> 19:30.800 Mrs. Violet, just a moment. 19:30.800 --> 19:31.800 We'll have Violet for you in just a minute. 19:31.800 --> 19:32.800 Here's Ronnie. 19:32.800 --> 19:33.800 He'll come in a minute. 19:33.800 --> 19:40.800 Here's Ronnie who wants to add a word and then we'll come back to Violet. 19:40.800 --> 19:43.800 Hello, Mom. 19:43.800 --> 19:46.800 Hello, Tom. 19:46.800 --> 19:51.800 How are you? 19:51.800 --> 20:02.920 I'm going to cry. 20:02.920 --> 20:08.560 On the home island, the royal family stood as the symbol of strength and courage. 20:08.560 --> 20:12.840 They would share the dangers that would confront all their subjects. 20:12.840 --> 20:18.680 A princess, later to become queen, spoke to the children of the Empire. 20:18.680 --> 20:19.680 Princess Elizabeth. 20:19.680 --> 20:29.160 I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. 20:29.160 --> 20:36.800 We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen. 20:36.800 --> 20:43.920 And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the 20:43.920 --> 20:47.880 world of tomorrow a better and happier place. 20:47.880 --> 20:53.920 My sister is by my side and we are both going to say good night to you. 20:53.920 --> 20:54.920 Come on, Margaret. 20:54.920 --> 20:55.920 Good night, children. 20:55.920 --> 21:07.640 Good night and good luck to you all. 21:07.640 --> 21:10.800 The year was coming to a close. 21:10.800 --> 21:15.120 Total war would soon plunge the world into terrible agony. 21:15.120 --> 21:19.520 For the conquered Poles, there was death, misery, and destruction. 21:19.520 --> 21:22.200 Poland was in torment. 21:22.200 --> 21:24.720 Winston Churchill would salute the gallant Poles. 21:24.720 --> 21:32.160 Our thoughts go out tonight, not only to those valiant exiled Poles whom we have learned 21:32.160 --> 21:37.840 to like and respect in the British islands and who stand armed in the ranks of the armies 21:37.840 --> 21:45.480 of liberation, but even more to those who are gripped at home in the merciless oppression 21:45.480 --> 21:56.520 of the Huns all over Europe, races and states whose culture and history made them a part 21:56.520 --> 22:03.400 of the general life of Christendom in centuries when the Prussians were no better than a barbarous 22:03.400 --> 22:12.040 tribe and the German Empire no more than an agglomeration of pumpernickel principalities 22:12.040 --> 22:19.840 are now prostrate under the dark cruel yoke of Hitler and his Nazi gang. 22:19.840 --> 22:26.240 The atrocities committed by Hitler upon the Poles, the ravaging of their country, the 22:26.240 --> 22:33.240 scattering of their homes, the affronts to their religion, the enslavement of their manpower, 22:33.240 --> 22:41.160 exceed in severity and in scale the villainies perpetrated by Hitler in any other conquered 22:41.160 --> 22:42.160 land. 22:42.160 --> 22:50.360 It is to you, Poles in Poland, who bear the full brunt of the Nazi oppression that the 22:50.360 --> 22:57.720 hearts of the British and American democracies go out in a full and generous tide. 22:57.720 --> 23:03.840 We send you our message of hope and encouragement tonight, knowing that the Poles will never 23:03.840 --> 23:09.320 despair and that the soul of Poland will remain unconquerable. 23:09.320 --> 23:18.920 This war against the mechanized barbarians, who slave-hearted themselves are fitted only 23:18.920 --> 23:28.720 to carry their curse to others, this war will be long and hard, but the end is sure. 23:28.720 --> 23:36.360 The end will reward all toil, all disappointment, all suffering in those who faithfully serve 23:36.360 --> 23:39.800 the cause of European and world freedom. 23:39.800 --> 23:48.480 A day will dawn, perhaps sooner than we now have a right to hope, when the insane attempt 23:48.480 --> 23:56.640 to found oppression domination on racial hatred, on the armored vehicle, on the secret police, 23:56.640 --> 24:06.120 on the alien overseer, and on still more filthy quiznings, will pass like a monstrous dream. 24:06.120 --> 24:12.280 And in that morning of hope and freedom, not only the embattled and at last well-armed 24:12.280 --> 24:19.840 democracies, but all that is noble and fearless in the new world as well as in the old, will 24:19.840 --> 24:49.480 salute the rise of Poland to be a nation once again. 24:49.840 --> 24:59.600 The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company has brought you Poland in Misery, the actual voices 24:59.600 --> 25:13.280 and sounds of the most dramatic and tragic period of our time. 25:13.280 --> 25:17.440 This program was written, produced and directed by Bud Greenspan. 25:17.440 --> 25:33.240 My name is David Perry.