Siege of Warsaw (1939)

28 September 1939, 13:15, Rakowiec

At 13:15 on 28 September 1939, at the former Skoda aircraft-engine factory in Rakowiec, General Tadeusz Kutrzeba and German General Johannes Blaskowitz signed Warsaw's capitulation agreement. Kutrzeba signed for the commander of Army Warsaw; Blaskowitz signed as commander of the German 8th Army.

The bombardment of 25 September had wrecked water and power infrastructure. Shortages and mounting casualties made continued defence untenable, and the capital's military and civic leaders opened ceasefire negotiations on 27 September.

More than 6,000 Polish soldiers and about 25,000 civilians died during the siege.

The terms, and the curfew

Polish officers went into captivity under honour terms while conscripted enlisted men were to be released. Polish forces had to surrender their weapons by noon on 30 September.

Artillery fire ceased and Warsaw began its transition from defended capital to German-occupied city.

Mayor Stefan Starzyński, who had stayed in the city and joined the expanded Polish delegation, issued a 19:00–05:00 curfew under German direction.

The fighting did not stop that day

Modlin surrendered on 29 September, sending about 35,000 soldiers into captivity. General Franciszek Kleeberg's Independent Operational Group Polesie began laying down its arms near Kock at 10:00 on 6 October, with roughly 17,000 Polish soldiers and officers entering German captivity.

Nor did resistance end with the regular campaign. The underground Service for Poland's Victory had been organised in Warsaw on 27 September, the day before the capitulation was signed.