677. HEINRICH HIMMLER Most important D.S. "H. Himmler" on his "der Reichsfuhrer-SS" letterhead, 1p. large 4to., Berlin, Sept. 1, 1939 to Field Marshal Hermann Goering, also in Berlin. On the very day German forces poured across the border in their surprise invasion of Poland, Himmler writes: "...Reference: Substitution of the Reichsfuhrer SS and Head of the German Police...Attached I send you copies of the arrangements re: my substitution during my absence from Berlin. I can always be reached through my Deputy Chief of the Security Police. To him please address your orders and demands. General [Kurt] Daluege and SS Group-leader [Reinhard] Heydrich have been informed by me accordingly...". Attached are Himmler's orders to Daluege and Heydrich advising them that they are to replace him whenever he leaves Berlin "in the company of the Fuhrer". Himmler would be fully occupied for several weeks to come, as he had previously been in planning the "false flag" project to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, subsequently used to justify the invasion of Poland. The plan was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich, and with one exception were carried out the day before the invasion. There were 21 separate operations, including staged attacks on: the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz, the German customs station at Hochlinden, and the forest service station in Pitschen. Prisoners from concentration camps were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed and left behind. On September 1, 1939, in a speech in the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler cited these incidents, with three of them called very serious, as justification for the "defensive" action taken against Poland the same day. In the following weeks, Himmler would personally follow-up on the performance of his Waffen-SS divisions which would help crush the unprepared Polish Army, and he would be given total control of the annexed parts of the country. 2,500 - 3,500