Merciful and loving Father, Who knowest the misfortune of our nation, with eyes of mercy look Thou down upon us; pardon our sins, make straight our ways, watch over a guide us amid the confusion of the world, that serving Thee in truth and righteousness, we may behold at length Thine everlasting light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. — A Prayer for the Polish Nation from A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Zakazane piosenki – Dnia pierwszego września
Forbidden songs – On the First of September

Dnia pierwszego września, roku pamiętnego
Wróg napadł na Polskę z kraju sąsiedniego

Najwięcej się uwziął na naszą Warszawę
Warszawo kochana tyś jest miasto krwawe

Kiedyś byłaś piękna bogata wspaniała
Teraz tylko kupa gruzów pozostała

Domy popalone, szpitale zburzone
Gdzie się mają podziać ludzie poranione

Lecą bomby z nieba brak jest ludziom chleba
Nie tylko od bomby umrzeć będzie trzeba

Gdy biedna Warszawa w gruzach pozostała
To biedna Warszawa poddać się musiała

I tak się broniła całe trzy tygodnie
Jeszcze Pan Bóg pomści taką straszną zbrodnie.

From the Wikipedia list of events in September 1939:

• September 1 —“ World War II: At 0445 Central European Time, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens bombardment on the Westerplatte, a Polish military base outside Danzig, firing what are, according to many sources, the first shots of World War II. At the same time, regular Wehrmacht troops begin crossing the border into Poland.
• September 15 —“ World War II: Diverse elements of the German Wehrmacht surround Warsaw and demand its surrender. The Poles refuse and the siege begins in earnest.
• September 17 —“ World War II: The Soviet Union invades Poland and then occupies eastern Polish territories.
• September 22 —“ World War II: Joint victory parade of the [German] Wehrmacht and [Russian] Red Army in Brest-Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland.
• September 28 —“ World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion.
• September 28 —“ World War II: Warsaw surrenders to Germany; Modlin surrenders a day later; the last Polish large operational unit surrenders near Kock 8 days later.

A link to memories of the beginning of the war and the mass deportation of Poles to Russian slave labor camps from three Roman Catholic sisters courtesy of the Young Fogey.

From the Guardian, a video of the dawn memorial service at Westerplatte where the first shots of the war were fired.

Dr. John Guzlowski will be speaking on Saturday, September 5, 2009 between 10 and 11:30am at Michigan’s commemoration service held in conjunction with the Polish Roman Catholic Mission at the Orchard Lake Schools.

Russian revisionist history, setting the stage for the next conflict by excusing the crimes of the past: “…but it wasn’t all our fault that we deported 1.7 million Poles to Siberia, killing 1.3 million in the process including the 25,000 unarmed Polish military officers, police and intellectuals we shot to death in Katyn over a few days.”