3. Chapter 3: 1939–1940
On September 1, 1939, for Hitler and the high command of the Third Reich the questions were still unanswered: what would be the reaction of England and France? What decision would American President Roosevelt take? While waiting for an answer to these questions, the Führer went to the opera house where the parliamentary meetings were taking place. From the rostrum, with a vibrant voice, he announced that, given the intransigence of the Polish position, he had ordered the army to invade Poland. He ended by saying that we will be chivalrous in battle, so that women and children will not be targeted. However, one of the first operations of the Luftwaffe in the bombing of Warsaw was to destroy the hospital for mentally handicapped children that was in the city.
