WWII started in Poland.
Officials from across the Europe and the U.S. gathered in northern Poland on Tuesday to mark the outbreak of World War II 70 years ago, in a ceremony bringing together former foes and friends to pay tribute to the tens of millions killed in the conflict.
Ahead of the international commemoration, Polish leaders came together at dawn on Gdansk's Westerplatte peninsula for a ceremony marking the exact time the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein shelled a tiny Polish military outpost where the Polish navy's arsenal was housed in the war's opening salvo.
Red and white Polish flags fluttered in the breeze as the officials at 4:45 a.m. (0245GMT) placed wreaths at the foot of the monument to the defenders of Westerplatte as an honor guard looked on.
