Philip Schreier

History records that World War II began on Sept. 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and the subsequent declarations of war on Germany from Britain and France. However, it was not until April the following year that Hitler turned his attention west and invaded Denmark and Norway. On May 10, the day Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, Hitler invaded France.

On the internet, there is a popular meme of Sean Bean as Ned Stark from “Game of Thrones” facing a fierce wind, clad in a wolf–skin cloak and saying, “Brace yourselves…” and then an endless number of witty closures follow, warning the reader that your news feed is about to be populated with dozens of mentions of anything from Marine Corps birthday notices to election-result conspiracies.