Polish re-enactors in Gdansk take part in a scene marking the start of World War II 71 years ago today. A narrator at a ceremony attended by President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the story of the Polish forces' struggle to defend their nation. The Nazis subjected Poland to a brutal occupation — killing 6 million residents.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is marking the 71st anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion, which started World War II.

A Polish navy corvette fired blank shots off the Westerplatte peninsula on the Baltic coast at 4:40 a.m. Wednesday.

That was when the German warship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on a Polish military post on Sept. 1, 1939, opening one of the first battles of the war.

A narrator at the ceremony attended by President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the story of Polish forces' failed weeklong defense of the outpost.

The Nazis subjected Poland to a brutal occupation — killing 6 million residents, half of them Jewish.