The Gleiwitz incident was a staged Nazi false flag operation used as a fabricated pretext to justify Germany's invasion of Poland, triggering World War II in Europe.
Key Facts
- Date
- 31 August 1939
- Operation
- Operation Himmler
- Target
- Radio station Sender Gleiwitz
- Perpetrators
- German SS officers in Polish uniforms
- Key witness
- Alfred Naujocks, testified in 1945
- Similar incidents
- Approximately 24 other staged provocations
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Nazi Germany sought a manufactured justification for invading Poland. The SS devised Operation Himmler, a series of staged provocations designed to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, providing Hitler with a publicly presentable casus belli for military action.
On the night of 31 August 1939, German SS officers dressed in Polish uniforms attacked the Sender Gleiwitz radio station in Gleiwitz, Germany. The incident was the most prominent of roughly two dozen similar staged operations. Alfred Naujocks, an SS officer, later confirmed in 1945 that the attack was entirely fabricated.
Hitler grouped the staged provocations as justification for the invasion of Poland, which began on 1 September 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, formally initiating the European theatre of World War II. The incident later became a documented example of state-sponsored false flag warfare.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Alfred Naujocks.
Side B
1 belligerent