Poland commemorates World War II

Poland is to mark the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, which started with Nazi Germany's invasion of its eastern neighbour.

The main commemorations will start before dawn on Tuesday in Gdansk, where a Polish military post on the Westerplatte peninsula was attacked by German forces on September 1, 1939, and in Wielun, the first city to be bombed during the war on that same day.

Polish President Andrzej Duda is scheduled to give an anniversary speech at Westerplatte.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will participate in commemorations in Wielun, which was bombed by the German Luftwaffe.

The city, at the time located just 20 kilometres from the German border, had no military garrison, air defence or industry. The first target of the Luftwaffe was the Wielun city hospital.

Some 1200 people are estimated to have perished in that attack, which Duda dubbed a war crime that started World War II.

Poland defended itself for over a month against the German invaders and from September 17, 1939 also against Soviet forces.

Polish allies France and Britain declared war on Hitler's Germany two days after the initial attack but did not launch military operations in Poland's support.

Poland lost some six million citizens in World War II, roughly half of them Polish Jews.

Following the war, the country did not recover full sovereignty, having fallen into the Soviet sphere of influence.