France and Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding the immediate withdrawal of the German forces from Poland. When Hitler accused Britain of encouraging the Poles to pursue a policy of provocation, Britain, France, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa declared war on Germany.
On September 17, when it was clear that the German invasion had succeeded, the Red Army entered the eastern part of Poland in accordance with the secret agreements between Germany and the USSR in the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. September 21, 1939, it was announced that the Germans would divide the Polish areas that it had occupied into two sectors: One sector was annexed to Germany and became part of the Reich; the other was named the Generalgouvernement and placed under a
Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Security Police, briefed the commanders of the Einsatzgruppen, and Adolf Eichmann, ordering: the formation of Judenraete (“Jewish Councils”) in Polish towns, the deportation of Jews from the areas of northwestern Poland that were earmarked for annexation to the Reich, and the concentration of Jews in large towns situated near railroad junctions. He also ordered a census of Polish Jewry and a survey of Jewish property. Heydrich’s edicts made Jewish councils subordinate to his organization and
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