WHAT ALL HAPPENED JULY TO DECEMBER 1939
Find out what all happened July to December 1939

Joint victory parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest-Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland. (22. September 1939)

HMS Duchess sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men. (12. December 1939)

World War II: Nazi Germany and Slovakia invade Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II. (1. September 1939)

New York City's La Guardia Airport opens. (2. December 1939)

World War II: Sonderaktion Krakau takes place. (6. November 1939)

The Nazi propaganda broadcaster known as Lord Haw-Haw begins transmitting. (18. September 1939)

Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities are shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic. (17. November 1939)

The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power. (25. August 1939)

13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors. (15. August 1939)

Holocaust: the last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed. (6. July 1939)

Gone with the Wind receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. (15. December 1939)

World War II: The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the first major air battle of the war, takes place. (18. December 1939)

World War II: HMS Nelson is struck by a mine (laid by U-31) off the Scottish coast and is laid up for repairs until August 1940. (4. December 1939)

Indian Muslims observe a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with the United Kingdom. (22. December 1939)

Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people. (1. September 1939)

In Washington, D.C., US President Franklin D. Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial. (15. November 1939)

World War II: Battle of the River Plate – Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German Deutschland class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles. (13. December 1939)

World War II: The Soviet Union joins Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland during the Polish Defensive War of 1939. (17. September 1939)

World War II: First attack on British territory by the German Luftwaffe. (16. October 1939)

World War II: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations. (23. August 1939)