The speech followed Hitler's usual pattern, starting out slowly and even haltingly, then proceeding in stages to a crescendo of shouted vituperation. Although some statements in the speech were true. Hitler misrepresented in detail the course of diplomatic events preceding the invasion: Hitler then spoke of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which had been signed just ten days before, on August 23. Although news of the pact had been published in the
Soviet Union and had by then widely spread throughout the world, this speech included Hitler's first formal declaration of the Pact: Hitler justified the German attack by claiming Polish culpability based on (invented) Polish atrocities at
Pitschen and other places, including
Gleiwitz and
Hochlinden, both of these being part of the culmination of
Operation Himmler, a
false flag operation intended to demonstrate that the Poles had attacked first, the
Gleiwitz incident being the most notable. Hitler then declared himself as the "First soldier of the German Reich" (
Erster Soldat des Deutschen Reiches), a self-claimed rank, effectively equivalent of
Generalissimo. This was a further step in cementing Hitler's position as supreme commander of the German Armed Forces (
Oberbefehlshaber der Deutschen Wehrmacht): == Reactions ==