If anyone remembers the good ol' Foetus song "I'll meet you in Poland, Baby", and the rest of that album (Scraping Foetus off the Wheel, album HOLE) you have my internal mental soundtrack.
"Campaign in Poland" came to Philadelphia on loan from MoMa -- BUT this version contained English voice-overs instead of subtitles. Here's a summary of the events around the German invasion of Poland. This version is a mere 34 minutes long, but the German Government made other versions of different lengths for different languages (German, French, Italian, etc.).
According to the film, Germany was forced to invade Poland because the Poles were responsible for atrocities against Germans living in the free city of Danzig and surrounding area. Germany tried to settle the disputes peacefully, but Poland would not be reasonable. German troops take the city, and are met by thankful citizens waving, offering flowers, and saluting their liberators. There is some great footage of an air battle, and another with a camera in bomber that descends towards a rail line before releasing its payload. The narration tells us that civilian targets were "carefully avoided" while the screen shows a fly over of a bombed out rail line between unscathed pastures. This is followed by commanders walking through the twisted metal of the rails that now jut in upward twists from the ground.
We see the friendly yet strong German troops. We're shown them acting as police for a line of captured people we're told are accused of torturing Germans. Civilians walk past them and point out the men they claim are responsible. We're seen footage of a church that European news sources claim was destroyed, and the narration tells us the images are proof that the other sources are wrong, and that these shots are more recent than the claims. We see men in plain clothes being marched off, and are told the prisoners are members of the Polish garrison who hid in civilian clothes (but were found by the liberating German troops).
We see a massive barrage from a gunship's battery onto a land target. The smoke from the guns hangs thicker than fog and obscures much of the image from view. It is impressive in its power, and terrifying in its potential. We see images of artillery, and aftermath. None of it contains images of any dead or wounded. The battles are depicted in animations overlaying a map of the area. As the think lines denoting German troops encircle the dark blobs that represent the Polish troops, the German circle constricts around the Polish, and the dark blob dissolves to show the map underneath. For the battles leading to the siege of Warsaw, the dark blob shatters violently into triangular shards before dissolving.
This must have been around September 16th (when the Germans demanded the surrender of the garrison in Warsaw), but the date mentioned here is September 21st (which happens to be the date the "Schnellbrief" came out). We're then told how the Germans asked the officials of Warsaw to surrender, but their request went unanswered. The Germans ask again, but again, there is no response. The Germans approve one road as an exit so noncombatants could leave before the siege, and we see some folks going through the German check point. Then, after Warsaw has failed to capitulate, the narration tells us the German guns "must have their say". The siege begins. Massive guns are stationed miles from Warsaw. Huge shells are fired across the outlying buildings and into the heart of Warsaw. More explosions. More thick, coiling smoke obscures most the city from view. Warsaw surrenders on September 27th and we see the army first enter, then parade through the city. Zeig Heil!!!
Okay, that last exclamation was mine, but the pomp of the parade, the music, and Hitler made the film feel like that was the sort of thing the makers wanted you to think right then.
Compare to Polanski's, "The Pianist".