Poland marks 85 years since Nazi Germany invaded, sparking WWII

Poland on Sunday held a commemoration ceremony marking 85 years since Nazi Germany launched its first attacks on a Polish fort and sparked the start of World War II. Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the lessons of the world war were "not an abstraction" and drew parallels with the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Poland on Sunday marked 85 years since the outbreak of World War II during annual commemoration ceremony held at dawn to remember Nazi Germany's first attacks that triggered the deadly conflict.

Nearly six million Poles died in the conflict that killed more than 50 million people overall, including the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, half of them Polish.

The remembrance ceremony on Sunday was traditionally held in Westerplatte, on Poland's Baltic coast, where a Nazi German battleship had opened fire on a Polish fort 85 years ago to the day.

Speaking at Westerplatte, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the lessons of World War II were "not an abstraction" and drew parallels with the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

"This war is coming again from the east," he said.

(AFP)

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