This item is a pencilled notation written by President Franklin D. Roosevelt while in bed on September 1, 1939 at 3:05 a.m., and records how he received news that Germany had invaded Poland and was bombing Polish cities, thus beginning World War II.

The note documents that Roosevelt received word of the invasion from Ambassador Anthony Biddle, through Ambassador William Bullitt. The note also documents the President’s order that all Navy ships and Army commands be notified by radio of the German invasion.

FDR’s Fireside Chat On the Outbreak of War in Europe

Today’s Document from the National Archives