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| {{cquote|"I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us."<ref name="Hitler">; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.</ref>}} | {{cquote|"I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us."<ref name="Hitler">; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.</ref>}} | ||
| Operation Himmler - or an operation similar to it - was continued after the start of the war. German agents (including those of the ], ] and ]) who infiltrated Polish territory continued the campaign of misinformation and sabotage. One of the most infamous actions of that period was the inciting of the ] in ] (Bromberg), a Polish town with a sizable German minority, where German undercover agents organized an attack on Polish forces retreating through the town. In the resulting firefights a disputed number of German civilians were killed; Nazi propaganda would blow this event out of proportion, increasing the casualties by a hundredfold and presenting it as a prime example of "Polish atrocities against the German people".<ref name="Naziprop">For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing this event, see ''The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland'' Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German foreign office, 1940) pp. 35-54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker</ref> | Operation Himmler - or an operation similar to it - was continued after the start of the war.{{fact}} German agents (including those of the ], ] and ]) who infiltrated Polish territory continued the campaign of misinformation and sabotage.{{fact}} One of the most infamous actions of that period was the inciting of the ]{{fact}} in ] (Bromberg), a Polish town with a sizable German minority, where German undercover agents organized an attack on Polish forces retreating through the town.{{fact}} In the resulting firefights{{fact}} a disputed number of German civilians were killed; Nazi propaganda would blow this event out of proportion, increasing the casualties by a hundredfold{{fact}} and presenting it as a prime example of "Polish atrocities against the German people".<ref name="Naziprop">For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing this event, see ''The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland'' Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German foreign office, 1940) pp. 35-54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker</ref> | ||
| The Operation nonetheless failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims,<ref name="Zaloga"/> but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself. | The Operation nonetheless failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims,<ref name="Zaloga"/> but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself. | ||
Revision as of 22:33, 27 March 2008
Operation Himmler (less often known as Operation Konserve or Operation Canned Goods) was a Nazi Germany false flag project to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used by Nazi propaganda to justify the invasion of Poland. Operation Himmler was arguably the first act of the Second World War in Europe.
The plan
For months prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like Adolf Hitler had carried out a national and international propaganda campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ethnic cleansing of ethnic Germans living in Poland. On 22 August, Adolf Hitler told his generals:
"I will provide a propagandistic casus belli. Its credibility doesn't matter. The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth."
The plan, named after its inventor, Heinrich Himmler, was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich and (primarily) by Heinrich Müller. The goal of this false flag project was to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used to justify the invasion of Poland. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse the Polish allies (Great Britain and France) to delay or prevent their declaration of war on Germany.
The execution
The operations were mostly carried out on 31 August 1939. The operation - as well as the main German offensive - was originally scheduled for 26 August; the shifting diplomatic situation resulted in delay until 31 August/1 September - but notably one of the German undercover units was not informed and carried out its attack on a German customs post; several Germans were killed before the incident ended. The operations were carried by agents of the SS and the SD. The German troops, dressed in Polish uniforms, would storm various border buildings, scare the locals with inaccurate shots, carry out acts of vandalism, and retreat, leaving behind dead bodies in Polish uniforms. The bodies were in fact prisoners from concentration camps; they were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed (often by a lethal injection of a poison, then shot for appearance) and left behind. They were described as "Konserve" i.e., canned goods, in planning documents (which also led to the more informal name of the operation, i.e. Operation Konserve).
There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on:
- the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz (Gliwice) (this was arguably the most notable of Operation Himmler operations; see Gleiwitz incident for details)
- the German customs station at Hochlinden (today part of Rybnik)
- the forest service station in Pitschen (Byczyna)
- Kreuzberg
The Gleiwitz incident
Further information: Gleiwitz incidentOn the night of 31 August 1939 a small group of German operatives, dressed in Polish uniforms and led by Alfred Naujocks, seized the Gleiwitz station and broadcast a short anti-German message in Polish (sources vary on the content on the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the Dachau concentration camp) and a local Polish-Silesian activist (arrested a day before) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.
Aftermath
On 1 September, in a speech in the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler cited the 35 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland:
"I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us."
Operation Himmler - or an operation similar to it - was continued after the start of the war. German agents (including those of the Abwehr, Gestapo and Selbstschutz) who infiltrated Polish territory continued the campaign of misinformation and sabotage. One of the most infamous actions of that period was the inciting of the Bloody Sunday in Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), a Polish town with a sizable German minority, where German undercover agents organized an attack on Polish forces retreating through the town. In the resulting firefights a disputed number of German civilians were killed; Nazi propaganda would blow this event out of proportion, increasing the casualties by a hundredfold and presenting it as a prime example of "Polish atrocities against the German people".
The Operation nonetheless failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims, but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself.
See also
References
- ^ Roger Manvell, Heinrich Fraenkel, Heinrich Himmler: The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career, Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007, ISBN 1602391785, Google Print, p.76
- ^ Address by Adolf Hitler - September 1, 1939; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.
- German newspaper editor outlining the claims of Polish atrocities against minorities
- ^ James J. Wirtz, Roy Godson, Strategic Denial and Deception: The Twenty-First Century Challenge, Transaction Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0765808986, Google Print, p.100
- Bradley Lightbody, The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415224055, Google Print, p.39
- ^ 20 Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Volume 4; Thursday, 20 December 1945. The Avalon Project. Retrieved on 4 August, 2007.
- Gerald Reitlinger, The SS, Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945, Da Capo Press, 1989, ISBN 0306803518, Print, p.122
- ^ Steven J. Zaloga, Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg, Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1841764086, Google Print, p.39
- Jack Weidner, A Question of Honor, Buy Books on the web, 2002, ISBN 0741409534, Google Print, p.61
- ^ Martin Allen, Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0786717084, Google Print, p.51
- ^ Christopher J. Ailsby, The Third Reich Day by Day, Zenith Imprint, 2001, ISBN 0760311676, Google Print, p.112
- John S. Craig, Peculiar Liaisons in War, Espionage, and Terrorism of the Twentieth Century, Algora Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0875863310, Google Print, p.180
- Museum in Gliwice: WHAT HAPPENED HERE?
- For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing this event, see The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German foreign office, 1940) pp. 35-54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker