Operation Himmler
Operation Himmler, also called Operation Konserve, consisted of a group of 1939 false flag undertakings planned by Nazi Germany to give the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany. The Germans then used propaganda reports of the events to justify their invasion of Poland, which started on 1 September 1939. Operation Himmler included the Germans staging false attacks on themselves—directed at innocent people, such as civilians and concentration camp prisoners. The operation arguably became the first act of the Second World War in Europe.[1]
This article is about the 1939 German false flag operation. For its most well-known portion, see Gleiwitz incident. For the 1979 Polish film, see Operacja Himmler.Planning[edit]
Prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like Adolf Hitler carried out a national and international propaganda campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ethnic cleansing of ethnic Germans living in Poland.[2][3]
The plan, named after its originator, Heinrich Himmler,[1] was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich[4] and managed[5] by Heinrich Müller.[1][4] The goal of this false flag project was to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, which could be used to justify the German invasion of Poland. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse Poland's allies, the United Kingdom and France, into delaying or stopping their declaration of war on Germany.[6]