On This Day: The Outbreak of World War II

Exactly four years after the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Germany on the 17th of Elul, which defined who was considered Jewish by law and restricted Jews in various areas, the most pivotal step in what became a world war unfolded.

On the 17th of Elul, 5699, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. For five weeks, the Nazis fought against the Poles, with the cooperation of the Soviet Union, until Poland was completely occupied. This was the opening move in Germany's expansion over additional European countries and, of course, the systematic war against the Jews. Approximately 3 million Polish Jews were confined to ghettos, subjected to humiliation, hunger, and suffering. Thus began the full force of the destruction of European Jewry.

World War II continued until the 25th of Iyar, 5705, when Germany was defeated by the Allies and signed a final surrender agreement.