Seventy years ago today, German troops crossed the Polish frontier, starting the Second World War in Europe. Poland held a memorial to that event this morning:
The first ceremony took place at dawn on Westerplatte peninsula near Gdansk, where a German battleship fired the first shots on a Polish fort in 1939.
Poland’s president and prime minister led a sombre ceremony at the fort.
President Lech Kaczynski added to a row with Russia over responsibility for the war, saying his country had received a “stab in the back”.
Foreign leaders from 20 countries including Germany and Russia are expected in Gdansk during the day as ceremonies continue.
