The bombing of Wieluń refers to the controversial bombing of the Polish town of Wieluń by the German Luftwaffe on 1 September 1939, five minutes before the shelling of Westerplatte, which has traditionally been considered the beginning of World War II. The nature and details of the attack is disputed: in Poland it is considered as one of the first terror bombings in history and first in this war^[1], while German^[2] and Anglo-Saxon^[3] historians consider the incident as collateral damage from missing bombs that were dropped during ground support of the army operations.^[4][5]

Events

On the eve of the war, reconnaissance reported a Polish division near Wieluń and next to it, a Polish cavarly brigade.^[6] The bombing started at 4:40 AM. At 6:00 a.m. the German forces noted that Wielun brennt (Wieluń burns), but the raids continued until 2:00 PM. Large concentrations of Polish cavarly were on the move toward Wielun where Hptm Sigel's I/St.G. 76 had earlier pounded the Polish defence works.^[7] At 1300 I/StG 2 led by Major Dinort from Nieder-Ellguth, were directed against this concentration, followed a few hours later, by Schwarzkopff with sixty operational Stukas of I/StG 77^[8] Due to the low level fog, however, both attacks in the morning and at noon missed the targets.^[9] Wheater conditions were unfavourable during the day, with a visibility of only one kilometre and practically closed layer of fog at 50 metres altitude.^[10] Fog, mist and poor visibility thwarted many of the Luftwaffe's sorties planned for the morning of the first day of the invasion.^[11] Together the dive bombers, facing intense anti aircraft fire, inflicted heavy losses on the Polish cavartly, and the advance was turned into a rout by ninety Stukas.^[12] On their return home, four of the German Junkers Ju 87 bombers were shot down by the Polish 36 Academic Legion Infantry Regiment stationed nearby. Three waves of attacks were carried out during the day. Wielun fell to the Germans on day one.^[13]

Versions of the events

The official Polish version is that is widely acknowledged that there were no military or industrial targets of note in the area,^[14][15] except for a small sugar factory in the outskirts of the town. German bombers destroyed 90% of the town center (including the historical gothic church) and killed approximately 1,200 civilians, about 8% of the town's population of 15,000. Approximately 75% of all the buildings in Wieluń were destroyed. Among the first targets bombed by the Germans was the hospital (despite a huge Red Cross sign painted on the roof). Some eyewitnesses claimed that the German planes strafed civilians who were fleeing through the streets.^{[citation needed]}

The German version is that Wielun incident was not an intentional terror attack, even if the effects were similar.^[16] Such mistaken bombings occured with all airforces during the war.^[17] Seminaries of the University of History of Hannover reached the same conclusions.^[18] Pilots reported that Polish military units were inside the town before the first air raid, a fact that would explain the choice of the city to be bombed.

Notes

• Poeppel, Hans and Prinz von Preußen, Wilhelm-Karl and von Hase, Karl-Günther. (2000) Die Soldaten der Wehrmacht. Herbig Verlag. ISBN 978-3776620573
• Smith, C. Peter. (2007). Ju 87 Stuka Volume One: Luftwaffe Ju 87 Dive-bomber Units 1939-1941. Classic Publications. ISBN 978-1903223697

References

External links

• Template:Pl icon Sylwia Słomińska, Wieluń, 1 września 1939 r. (mirror)
• Template:De icon Summary of a German TV report making the case for the bombing of Wielun as a war crime
• Reports of Luftwaffe pilots during September 1, including the attacks against WIELÚN

Further reading

• Bekker, Cajus. (1994). The Luftwaffe War Diaries. pp. 31–3. OCLC 30353222
• Bojarska B., Zniszczenie miasta Wielunia w dniu 1 września 1939 r., „Przegląd Zachodni” 1962, nr 2.
• Kulesza W., Pierwszy był Wieluń, „Rzeczpospolita” 1999, nr 211, 9 IX 1999.
• Olejnik T., Wieluń – na pięć minut przed Westerplatte. Pierwsi zginęli cywile, „Tygodnik Powszechny” nr 35, 31 VIII 2003 r.
• Olejnik T., Wieluń. Zniszczenie miasta 1 IX 1939 r., Kępno 1979.
• Olejnik T., Wieluń – polska Guernica, das polnische Guernica, Wieluń 2004.
• Pięciak W., Wieluń 1 września 1939 r., „Tygodnik Powszechny” nr 2, 12 I 2003.