On this day, 1 September 1939, the first fighting of World War II in Europe took place, as 56 workers of the post office in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) took up arms and attempted to repel the Nazi takeover. The workers repelled the first two attacks by German troops, which were backed up by police, SS and SA volunteers and pro-Nazi German locals. After 15 hours of fighting, the surviving workers surrendered to escape the now-burning building. As none of them were soldiers, they were tried as bandits and executed. The workers who died and the ones who were executed afterward were posthumously relieved of their charges of banditry and rehabilitated. A monument was built in 1979 in Gdańsk in their honor.
Pictured: the workers surrendering.
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