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Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany

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This article deals with territories annexed into Nazi Germany. For territories occupied in 1939 but not annexed, see General Government.

Fourth Partition of Poland - The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Territorial evolution of Germany
in the 20th century
Pre-World War II
World War II
Post-World War II
Areas and issues
Adjacent countries
Borders of Poland

At the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed under German civil administration. All of territories were annexed straight into the already existing Gaus, with Warthegau being the only exception . Both the Jewish and Polish population in the territories was subject of mass murder and expulsion by German authorities as part of the plan to have them exterminated and various represive means were introduced against them. Additionally a large number of Germans were settled to Germanize those territories. The annexation was part of the partition of Poland by the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as per the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Background

Invading Poland in September 1939, the Third Reich in October annexed an area of 92,500 km² (23.7% of pre-war Poland) with a population of about 10,000,000 people (30% of the pre-war Polish population).]]. The remainder of the Polish territory was either annexed by the Soviet Union (201,000 km² or 51.6% of pre-war Poland as per the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) or made into the German-controlled General Government occupation zone (95,500 km² or 24.5% of pre-war Poland). A tiny portion of pre-war Poland (700 km²) was annexed by Nazi Slovakia.

Since 1935, Nazi Germany was divided into provinces (Gaue) which had replaced the former German states and Prussian provinces. Of the territories annexed, all were attached to already existing Gaue, with the Reichsgau Posen being the only gau made up of solely Polish territories annexed . The occupied Generalgouvernement remained outside the Third Reich ‘s internal administrative structure. The annexation violated international law.

Administration

Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions, the Gaue and Reichsgaue and Polish-German border in 1939
Arthur Greiser in German occupied Poznań, 2 October 1939

A decree issued by Adolf Hitler on 8 October 1939 provided for the annexation of former western Polish areas and the former Free City of Danzig, and a separate by-law stipulated the inclusion of the Suwalki county. The first two paragraphs of the decree established "Reichsgau Posen" in Greater Poland with the government regions made in Inowrocław area called (Regierungsbezirk Hohensalza, in Poznań area called Regierungsbezirk Posen, and in Kalisz area called Regierungsbezirk Kalisch, as well as "Reichsgau West Prussia" (Template:Lang-de) in Pomerelia with the government regions Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Regierungsbezirk Danzig, and Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder., except for the eastern half of the Hohensalza(Inowrocław) government region and nearly all of the Kalisch(Kalisz) government region, which had been part of Congress Poland during the partitions of Poland. The remaining annexed areas were not made separate provinces but included in the existing provinces of East Prussia and Upper Silesia per §4 of Hitler's decree. Arthur Greiser was made Gauleiter of Reichsgau Posen, and Albert Forster of Reichsgau West Prussia.

On 29 January 1940, Reichsgau Posen was renamed "Reichsgau Wartheland" (Warthegau). . The German state used old Prussian propaganda during annexation, although only 43.942 sq. km only 23,933 were actually part of Prussia before 1918 . Reichsgau West Prussia was renamed "Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia". The final structure of annexed territories and their distribution into German administritive units was made after disputes between local Nazi officials as well as Wehrmacht with all sides seeking to boost their influence and possesions. The overall dispute was settled by Hitler, neverthless throughout the war both military and officials continued with onesided attempts to change borders to their benefit


Polish administrative units annexed Territories they were merged into and Nazi German administrative units
Polish province Counties German province German government region
Poznań Voivodeship all counties Reichsgau Posen later renamed to Reichsgau Wartheland Regierungsbezirk Posen
Regierungsbezirk Hohensalza
Regierungsbezirk Litzmannstadt
Łódź Voivodeship most counties
Pomeranian Voivodeship five counties
Warsaw Voivodeship one county
Pomeranian Voivodeship most counties initially Reichsgau West Prussia later renamed to Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussiaafter incorporation of the state of Free City of Danzig Regierungsbezirk Bromberg
Regierungsbezirk Danzig
Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder
East Prussiasouthernmost part
Warsaw Voivodeship Ciechanów

Działdowo

Maków

Mława

Płock

Płońsk

Przasnysz

Sierpc;

parts of Łomża

Ostrołęka

Pułtusk

Sochaczew
Regierungsbezirk Zichenau
Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen
Białystok Voivodeship Suwałki and part of Augustów in 1939;

after 1941:

Białystok

Bielsk Podlaski

Grajewo

Łomża

Sokółka

Volkovysk

Grodno

Bezirk Bialystok
(attached in 1941)
Silesian Voivodeship Sosnowiec, Będzin, Chrzanów, Oświęcim, Zawiercie Provinz Oberschlesien]easternmost part Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz
Kielce Voivodeship Olkusz Regierungsbezirk Oppeln
Kraków Voivodeship Żywiec
Gau or Regierungsbezirk only partially comprised annexed territory

the annexed parts are also referred to as "South East Prussia" (Template:Lang-de)
Gau Upper Silesia was created in 1941, before it was part of Gau Silesia
the annexed parts are also referred to as "East Upper Silesia" (Template:Lang-de)
named after the chief city, Template:Lang-pl. The German equivalent Lodz was rendered to Litzmannstadt in 1940, thus the Regierungsbezirk's name was changed accordingly.
not incorporated into, but administered by Gau East Prussia, attached after the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941

Administrative changes following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union

After the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, the district of Białystok, which included the Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Grajewo, Łomża, Sokółka, Volkovysk, and Grodno Counties, was attached to (not incorporated into) East Prussia. Other Polish territories, first annexed by Soviet Union and then by Germany, was incorporated into Reichskommissariat Ostland (in the north), Reichskommissariat Ukraine (in the south) and the General Government (Distrikt Galizien in the utmost south).

Population

Prior to the Nazi German invasion in September 1939 and the subsequent annexation in October, the territories consisted a total of 10,568,000 people or some 30% of pre-1939 Poland's population., with the overall majority being Poles. The Jewish population is estimated at around says 560,000-586,628 people . While around 600,000 people were Germans. The German authorities classified people based on racial criteria with Poles and Jews being considered untermenschen as opposed to Germans who according to the German state’s ideology at the time were “herrenvolk”-that is a “master race”. This classification had not only ideological meaning but was expressed in all aspects of practical daily life and treatment of population.


Nazi Germany published in November 1939 a document called “Die Frage der Behandlung der Bevölkerung der ehemaligen polnischen Gebiete nach rassenpolitischen Gesichtspunkten”” containing the main guidelines regarding treatment of Polish and Jewish population as well as tables with population estimates and indication how much territory of Poland was annexed. The annexed territories were attached to German provinces forming new administrative units. Additionally Germans merged former Free City of Danzig(Gdańsk). According to estimates by this Nazi German document within the annexed territories of Poland they were 86% Poles, 5% of Jews and 7 % of Germans .

Area and population data according to Nazi German sources regarding German administrative units and annexed territories of Poland

East Prussia Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Posen Province of Upper Silesia Four provinces together Within the territory annexed from Poland located in the provinces
Area (sq.km) 52.099 25.705 40.309 46.908 165.021 86.295
Population(1000) 3.113 2.156 4.203 7.258 16.729 9.082
Population density(sq.km) 61 84 104 155 101 105
Germans 2004768(71%) 817.474(38%) 309.002(7%) 3.8139.30(66%) 8.145.174(49%) 597.784(7%)
Poles 810.834(26%) 1.310.099(61%) 3.558.489(85%) 2.184.329(30%) 7.863.751(47%) 7.817.377(86%)
Jews 79.198(3%) 23.302(1%) 32.2947(8%) 123.202(2%) 548.649(3%) 494.913(5%)
Other nationalities 17.773 4.666 11.984 136.578 171.001 171.001


Nazi population census in 1939

Census data was compiled by the Nazi Germany in Danzig-West Prussia on 3 December, and in Warthegau and Upper Silesia on 17 December. After annexation The Nazis performed a census in 3 December 1939 in occupied Pomerania and on 17th December 1939 in Upper Silesia and the Warthe region.

It should be noted that Reichsgaue do not represent annexed territories of Poland; while they contained them, besides Warthegau all were made up of previously existing German regions which acquired certain part of annexed territories of Poland. A number of Poles tried to present themself as Germans, keeping in mind the German terror and mass murder of Poles during Invasion of Poland, by doing so they hoped to avoid being targeted in any future masscres of Poles by Germans Isabel Heinemann in "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neurdnung Europas” gives the results for Reichsgaue from the December census, warning that problems exist with the Nazi-gathered data and other resources should be consulted to accurately view the results

Expulsion and extermination of Poles and Jews

Further information: ], ], and ]
Expulsion of Polish civilians, fall 1939
Poles deported for forced labour in a camp in Germany proper

The Jewish and Polish population since September 1939 was subject to mass murder and expulsions, and engaged in mass flight in face of Nazi German terror. This was according to long range German plans which envisioned the Polish nation to disappear through extermination and slave labour. The Jewish population was to be exterminated immediately during the Holocaust, only a few survived. Major concentration camps and extermination camps set up within the annexed territories were Auschwitz (consisting of several subcamps), Chelmno (Kulmhof), Potulice (Potulitz), Stutthof, and Soldau.


Execution of Polish hostage in Kóruik Warthegau; 20 October 1939

The repressions against Poles in annexed territories were of different nature as of those in General Gouvernment, as the territories were subject to faster Germanization. Three main goals were formulated by German authorities in regards to Polish population:

  • Gradual biological eradication of Polish nation in the areas
  • Expulsion out of the annexed areas and use of Poles as forced labour
  • Changing remaining Poles into obedient low-skilled workers by draconian means

Those goals were realised by ruthless Germanization, imprisonment in concentration camps, destroying marriages by sending wife and husband seperately into Reich for forced labour, lowering calory intake for Poles. Polish owned buildings were confiscated, all jewelry, furniture, money, clothing were subject to forced confiscation. All Poles from age of 14 to 65 were subject to forced labour on behalf of Nazi German state. A network of outposts was established that coordinated forced labour together with German police. In so-called łapanki, primarily young pedestrians were caught on the streets and sent to Germany for labour. Polish children were kidnapped for Germanization, forced labour and medical experiments.

To reduce the biological growth of the Polish people, a partial ban of marriage was introduced-Polish women were allowed to marry only at the age of 26 and men at the age of 28.

A ban to use Polish language was implemented in all institutions and officies in annexed territories, as well in certain public places like public transport in the cities.

Education standards for Poles were significantly lowered, so that in future Polish population would become a cheap labour force for Germans. All Polish schools and cultural institutions were closed. Teaching of history, literature and geography to Poles was prohibited. The Polish population was banned to perform or create any type of music and to own radio receivers. The Nazis seized tens of thousands of Polish enterprises, from large industrial firms to small shops, without payment to the owners. Signs posted in public places warned: "Entrance is forbidden to Poles, Jews, and dogs".

A particular form of opression was a law ordering the Poles to use German in all contacts with officials under penalty of imprisonment. Poles who didn’t knew German had to hire a translator-however such jobs were restricted by German authorities and Poles with knowledge of German who helped their countrymen for free were imprisoned. This law covered all contacts between Poles and Germans and made difficult if not impossible for Poles to pay obligatory taxes(which were higher for Poles) and various state imposed donations for German society by Poles. Distribution of Polish books was forbidden and persecuted by the German police, at the same time Polish libraries were closed and many of their possesions destroyed. A person lending Polish books would find himself in German court and possibility of concentration camp sentence.

Likewise attending cultural activities or events for non-Germans was punishable, for example in Poznań, four young Polish women who attended an opera were sentenced by German court for 4 months of penal work camp. Even well developed children playgrounds were designated German-only and access for Polish children was forbidden.

The discrimination covered religion as well, and many Polish priests were arrested, with laws forbidding Church attendance for Poles when masses were held for Germans. Historic churches were destroyed and in several cases Germans defiled icons or religious items symbolic for Polish people. Sexual contacts with Poles were forbidden, a Polish women caught in an affair with German was to be arrested, in some cases they were sent to brothel afterwards.

Other laws made it obligatory for Poles to give way to Germans in every occassion on sidewalks, all Poles were to bow down to Germans as form of greeting. Publih whiping, beatings of Poles were allowed by German authorities. Poles were forbidden to attend funerals of other Poles unless they were direct and close family of the person which died. Public phones were to be used only by Germans and Poles were not allowed to use them.

In judicial system the proceedings against Poles were shortened. In court Poles had no legal protection. This repressive system unified the Polish reaction to German occupation, which went above political and ideological differences.

Part of the population was classified as Volksdeutsche, mostly German ethnic minority, either by its own free will or by force which included death threats.


According to Heinemann, about 780,000 non-Jewish Poles in the annexed territories lost their homes between 1939 and 1944. Of these, at least 250,000 were deported to the Generalgouvernement, 310,000 were displaced or forced into Polenlager camps within the respective Gau, and the others were subject to forced labour either within the annexed territories or in the Altreich. In addition, 110,000 Jews were deported to the Generalgouvernement. Another more than 400,000 Jews were later deported to Auschwitz, Treblinka or Chelmno (Kulmhof) concentration camps, and thousands had died in the ghettos. Of the deported Jews, more than 300,000 were from Warthegau, 2,000 from Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, 85,000 from East Upper Silesia, 30,000 from the Zichenau district and 200,000 from the Bialystok district both in South East Prussia.

Jews subjected to forced labour in Posen (Poznan), October 1941

Piotr Eberhardt cites numbers provided by Jastrzebski, 1968, who says that according to RKF documents, 365,000 were deported between 1939 and 1944. Jastrzebski further says that adding the numbers retrieved from documents of local authorities yields a higher total of 414,820 deported, and estimates a total of about 450,000 including unplanned and undocumented expulsions. Eberhardt says that on top of these numbers, many had fled, and cites numbers provided by Czeslaw Luczak, 1979, who estimates that between 918,000 and 928,000 were deported or evicted from the annexed territories between 1939 and 1944. A similar estimate (923,000) is also given by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.

Ghettoization of Jews, Litzmannstadt 1941
Ghetto Litzmannstadt: Children rounded up for deportation to the Chelmno death camp

Heinemann and Luszak as cited by Eberhardt detail the expulsions as follows: 81,000 Poles were displaced from their property in East Upper Silesia, 22,000 of whom were deported to the Generalgouvernement. They were replaced with 38,000 ethnic Germans primarily from Bukovina. From the Zichenau and Suwalki areas of South East Prussia, 25,000 to 28,000 Poles were "evacuated", an additional 25,000 to 28,000 from the Bialystock area attached in 1941. In Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, 123,000 to 124,000 were displaced until the end of 1942, 53,000 of whom were deported to the Generalgouvernement, the others were forced into camps where they were "racially evaluated". In the Warthegau, 630,000 were displaced between 1939 and 1944. Additionally, Luszak estimates that between 30,000 and 40,000 were subject to "wild" expulsions primarily in Pomerelia.

Auschwitz concentration camp, most infamous camp of the Holocaust, located in annexed East Upper Silesia

Poles about to be deported to the Generalgouvernement were prior to their deportation put in camps where they were subject to racial evaluation (Durchschleusung) by the UWZ similar to the Durchschleusung of ethnic Germans. Those deemed "capable of re-Germanization" (wiedereindeutschungsfähig) were not deported to the Generalgouvernement, but instead to the Altreich. A total number of 1.5 million people expelled or deported, including those deported for slave labor in Germany or concentration and extermination camps. Eberhardt says a total of 1.053 million people were deported for forced labour from the annexed territories.

Germans

The German population was immediately awarded privileged status in the annexed territories. Those covered political, cultural and economic benefits. All executive positions which were formerly occupied by Poles and Jews were given to Germans. A network of public schools engaging in various forms of education was set up across the territories. Reich University of Posen was set up in Poznań replacing the Polish founded one. Studies of Eastern Europewere conducted there, including theories on extermination of non-Germans and means to Germanize the region with chairs for race policy and Jewish history “The German dictatorship: the origins, structure, and effects of national socialism” page 272 Karl Dietrich Bracher, Jean Steinberg - 1970 Praeger Publishers, 1970</ref>.

Hundreds of cinemas were given for German only use, as well as multiple theatres and museums. Numerous cultural events were organized for German community. Hotels, inns and other locations were restricted only for Germans (Nur Fur Deutsche) with access for Poles and Jews forbidden by law. Such locations were extended to cafe’s, restaurants, parks, public transport such as first and second class train departments and best city trolleys, public bathouses, beaches, and even public benches where only Germans were allowed to sit. Germans received a right to enter any Polish home at will to perform revision and identification of people living there at any time. Public beatings of Poles by Germans were accepted by law as long as the beating didn’t “lower the productivity of Pole” .

German population in general was given a free hand to exploit economically the Polish society, and by providing a high standard of living for Germans(at the cost of Poles )the Reich ensured the loyalty of its German subjects. While certain conditions under Nazi rule were limiting the freedoms of Germans-such as abolishing certain German religious and political associations-the discontent was being offset by material benefits provided by Nazi regime. To ensure the realization of totalitarian Nazi plans a large number of people were required. This was provided by German political and social organizations which were used to spy on Polish population and helped to organize łapanki, mass revisions, and expulsions. In Warthegau alone out of 309.002 Germans, 180,000 served in various organizations that provided assistance and were vital to Nazi plans against Poles and Jews.

Additionally paramilitary organization formed out of local Germans called Selbstschutz was active in hunting down and murdering Jews and Poles and had overseen the expulsions of Polish and Jewish population Overall the great majority of Germans supported both the Nazi rule and remained indifferent to opression of Poles and Jews. A part of them joined Nazi efforts of extermination and expulsions. They provided invaluable due to their knowledge of local conditions and society. Motives for cooperation ranged from ideological support for Nazism to material opportunism.

Most Germans working against Poles and Jews could count on gaining their material possessions with little effort and mostly for free or at low price. A German could easily request a Polish house or apartment from the government, even if the Poles were still inhabitants there.

Germans who did not solidarize with the anti-Polish and anti-Jewish policies in annexed regions existed, but were a tiny minority. Any support or friendly contacts to Poles and Jews by Germans were dealt with quickly and harshly by authorities by imprisonment in concentration camps, confiscation of property or even death. However the overwhelming majority of Germans in annexed authorities supported Nazi authorities and their policies, which gave the Nazi policians a degree of self-confidence based on popular support.


Nazi Germanization plans by expulsion, resettlement and genocide

Further information: ] and ]

The overall German plans regarding Central and Eastern Europe during Second World War were envisioned eventual elimination of all Jews and around 50 million Slavs. In their place Germans would be settled. The annexed territories of Poland were to be Germanised in rural areas within 5 years and in urban areas within 10 years . The occupied Polish areas in General Gouvernment were to be Germanised in 15 years

Nazis assemble in Posen (Poznan) on 4 November 1939
Photo from Nazi-occupied Łódź just after its renaming for "Litzmannstadt" (1940). A board announcing a new name for a city.

On October 7, 1939 Adolf Hitler appointed Heinrich Himmler as his settlement commissioner, responsible for all resettlement measures in the Altreich and the annexed territories as well as the Nazi-Soviet population exchanges. For his new office, Himmler chose the title Reichskommissar für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums ("Reich's commissioner for strengthening Germandom", RKF). The RKF staff (Stabshauptamt RKF) in concert with the 'Main Department of Race and Settlement' (Rasse- und Siedlungs-Hauptamt, RuSHA) of the SS planned and executed the war-time resettlement and extermination process in the annexed territories. In October 1939, Himmler ordered the immediate expulsion of all Jews from the annexed territories, all "Congress Poles" from Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, and all "Reich's enemies" from the Warthegau, South East Prussia and East Upper Silesia. The expellees were to be deported to the Generalgouvernement.

This directive was superceded by another RKF-directive of early 1940, ordering the replacement of 3,4 million Poles with Germans settlers in the long run, and the immediate expulsion of the remaining Jews. This RKF szenario envisioned as a first step the settlement of 100,000 German families within the next three years, in this early stage planners believed the settlers would be relocated from the Altreich. "Racially valueable" Poles were to be exempted from deportion and "racially valueable" ethnic Germans were also to be settled. Himmler said he wanted to "create a blonde province here". Responsible for "racial evaluation" were 'Central Bureau for Immigration' (Einwandererzentralstelle, EWZ) and 'Central Bureau for Resettlement' (Umwandererzentralstelle, UWZ) of the SS' RuSHA.

As war plans of Germany failed and it experienced loses to Allies, the plans of population changes in annexed territories did not take on its planned extend, neither in regard to the number of expelled Poles and the resettled Germans, nor in regard to the origin of the settled Germans which was in the Soviet Union. However, plans for a resettlement of Germans from the Third Reich were upheld in the Generalplan Ost but postponed to after the war. In addition, other Germanic settlers such as Dutch, Danes and Swedes were envisioned to settle. Small Dutch artisan colony was already established in Poznań in 1941.


German colonization and settlement

Further information: ] and ]
German Wehrmacht soldiers remove Polish signs in Gdynia, renamed Gotenhafen, September 1939.

Throughout the war the annexed Polish territories were subject to German colonization. The Nazis' goal was complete "Germanization" to assimilate the territories politically, culturally, socially, and economically into the German Reich. Because of the lack of settlers from the Altreich, the colonists were primarily ethnic Germans from areas further East.

1939 propaganda map showing the "most generous resettlement in world history".
"Baltenlager" (transit camp for Baltic Germans), Posen (Poznan), 1940

Piotr Eberhardt cites estimates for the ethnic German influx provided by Szobak, Luczak, and a collective report, ranging from 404,612 (Szobak) to 631,500 (Luczak). Anna Bramwell says 591,000 ethnic Germans moved into the annexed territories, and details the areas of colonists' origin as follows: 93,000 were from Bessarabia, 21,000 from Dobruja, 98,000 from Bukovina, 68,000 from Volhynia, 58,000 from Galicia, 130,000 from the Baltic states, 38,000 from eastern Poland, 72,000 from Sudetenland, and 13,000 from Slovenia.

Additionally some 400,000 German officials, technical staff, and clerks were sent to those areas in order to administrate them, according to "Atlas Ziem Polski". Eberhardt estimates that the total influx from the Altreich was about 500,000 people.

Gitta Sereny says 200,000 Germans had settled by 1941. William J. Duiker says that up to two million Germans had been settled in pre-war Poland by 1942. Piotr Eberhardt gives a total of two million Germans present in the area of all pre-war Poland by the end of the war, 1.3 million of whom moved in during the war, adding to a pre-war population of 700,000. According to Eberhardt, 536,951 were settled in Warthegau, 50,204 in Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, 36,870 in East Upper Silesia, and 7,460 in Regierungsbezirk Zichenau.

The increase of German population was most visible in the towns, in Poznań the German population increased from ~6,000 in 1939 to 93,589 in 1944, in Łódż from ~60,000 to 140,721, and in Inowroclaw from 956 to 10,713. In Warthegau, where most Germans were settled, the share of the German population increased from 6.6% in 1939 to 21.2% in 1943.

An official assignes a house in Warthegau to Baltic German resettlers

Only those Germans deemed "racially valuable" were allowed to settle. People were "evaluated" and classified in the Durchschleusung process in which they were assigned to the categories RuS I ("most valuable") to IV ("not valuable"). Only RuS I to III were allowed to settle, those who found themselves in RuSIV were either classified as "A"-cases and brought to the Altreich for "non-selfdetermined work and re-education", or classified as "S"-cases who were either sent back to their original Eastern European homelands or "evacuated" to the Generalgouvernement. Initially, people classified as RuS III were to be deported to the Altreich for forced labour, yet since January 1940 were allowed to settle on smaller farms (20 hectar compared to 50 hectar farms for RuS I and II). This change was based on a personal order by Himmler and led to a more restrictive categorization by the classifying officials. About one million ethnic Germans were subject to Durchschleusung until the end of 1944. RuS I and II were assigned to between 60% aand 70% of the Baltic Germans and 44% of the Volhynian Germans, while many ethnic Germans from the Soviet Union were put in the lower categories.

Post-war changes

None of these territorial changes were recognized by the Allies of World War II, thus the annexed territories were returned to re-established Poland after World War II. Germans living east of the Oder-Neisse Line were expelled to post-war Germany. In post-war Poland, some captured German Nazi’s and collaborators were put on trial, however a great number avoided justice by escaping to West Germany where courts were unwelcoming to cooperation with socialist Poland during the Cold World and halted their extradition.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Maly Rocznik Statystyczny (wrzesien 1939 - czerwiec 1941), Ministerstwo Informacji i Documentacji, London 1941, p.5, as cited in Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.4
  2. ^ "Położenie ludności polskiej w Kraju Warty 1939-1945. Dokumenty niemieckie", Poznań 1987, pages V-XIII
  3. ^ Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Warszawa 2004 page 149 volume 6
  4. ^ Andreas Toppe, Militär und Kriegsvölkerrecht: Rechtsnorm, Fachdiskurs und Kriegspraxis in Deutschland 1899-1940, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008, p.399, ISBN 3486582062
  5. Hague IV SECTION III MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER THE TERRITORY OF THE HOSTILE STATE (Art. 42. and later)
  6. Andreas Toppe, Militär und Kriegsvölkerrecht: Rechtsnorm, Fachdiskurs und Kriegspraxis in Deutschland 1899-1940, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008, p.409, ISBN 3486582062
  7. "Erlaß des Führers und Reichskanzlers über die Gliederung und Verwaltung der Ostgebiete"
  8. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.4
  9. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, : 10,568,000 people Cite error: The named reference "Eberhardt" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. Ryszard Kaczmarek Górnoślązacy i górnośląscy gauleiterzy Biuletyn IPN NR 6–7 (41–42) 2004 page 46
  11. ^ Zaglembie at jewishgen.org
  12. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.193, ISBN 3892446237
  13. E. Wetzel, G. Hecht, Die Frage der Behandlung der Bevölkerung der ehemaligen polnischen Gebiete nach rassenpolitischen Gesichtspunkten. Hrsg. von der Reichsleitung, Rassenpoltisches Amt, Berlin 25.11. 1939
  14. Bundesarchiv R 49/75, page 10
  15. Stutthof museum website
  16. Temple University presenting Götz Aly, The Nazi Census, commented by Edwin Black,
  17. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.229, ISBN 3892446237
  18. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.228, ISBN 3892446237
  19. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.225, ISBN 3892446237
  20. Wojciech Roszkowski Historia Polski 1914-1998
  21. http://www.holocaust-trc.org/poles.htm
  22. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.230, ISBN 3892446237. Heinemann also refers to the number given by Madajczyk: 987,217 displaced in the annexed territories and the Zamosc region, including Jews.
  23. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.231, ISBN 3892446237
  24. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.16
  25. Zygmunt Mańkowski; Tadeusz Pieronek; Andrzej Friszke; Thomas Urban (panel discussion), "Polacy wypędzeni", Biuletyn IPN, nr5 (40) May 2004 / Bulletin of the Institute of National Remembrance (Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej), issue: 05 / 2004, pages: 628,
  26. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.227, ISBN 3892446237
  27. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, pp.252,253, ISBN 3892446237
  28. Historia Encyklopedia Szkolna Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne Warszawa 1993 page 357
  29. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.21
  30. ”Biologists under Hitler” Ute Deichmann, Thomas Dunlap Harvard University Press, 1999
  31. The Origins of the Final Solution Christopher R. Browning, Jürgen Matthäus page 49 University of Nebraska Press, 2007
  32. HITLER'S PLANS FOR EASTERN EUROPE (Selections from Janusz Gumkowkski and Kazimierz Leszczynski POLAND UNDER NAZI OCCUPATION)
  33. dr hab. Bogdan Chrzanowski GŁÓWNE ZAŁOŻENIA HITLEROWSKIEJ POLITYKI GERMANIZACYJNEJ
  34. "Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences" by Keith Bullivant, Geoffrey J. Giles, Walter Pape, Rodopi 1999 page 32
  35. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.190, ISBN 3892446237
  36. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.191, ISBN 3892446237
  37. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.192, ISBN 3892446237
  38. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.195, ISBN 3892446237
  39. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.195, ISBN 3892446237: Himmler: Ich möchte hier eine blonde Provinz schaffen
  40. ^ Michael G. Esch in Ulf Brunnbauer, Michael G. Esch, Definitionsmacht, Utopie, Vergeltung: "ethnische Säuberungen" im östlichen Europa des 20. Jahrhunderts, LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 2006, p.111, ISBN 3825880338
  41. Simone C. De Santiago Ramos, M.S., DEM SCHWERTE MUSS DER PFLUG FOLGEN: ŰBER-PEASANTS AND NATIONAL SOCIALIST SETTLEMENTS IN THE OCCUPIED EASTERN TERRITORIES DURING WORLD WAR TWO, p.57
  42. ^ Anna Bramwell citing the ILO study, Refugees in the age of total war, Routledge, 1988, p.123, ISBN 0044451946
  43. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.24
  44. Wysiedlenia, wypędzenia i ucieczki 1939-1959: atlas ziem Polski: Polacy, Żydzi, Niemcy, Ukraińcy.Warszawa Demart 2008
  45. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.22
  46. Gitta Sereny, The Healing Wound: Experiences and Reflections, Germany, 1938-2001‎, 2002 Page 38 At the end of 1939 by which time Hitler had conquered Poland in a two-week ...and settled with 2.oo,ooo ethnic Germans, it would by the summer of 1941
  47. William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History‎, 1997: By 1942, two million ethnic Germans had been settled in Poland. page 794
  48. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.25
  49. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.26 Eberhardt refers to Polska Zachodnia..., 1961, p.294
  50. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939-1948, Warsaw 2006, p.26
  51. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, pp.233ff, ISBN 3892446237
  52. ^ Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.236, ISBN 3892446237
  53. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.244, ISBN 3892446237
  54. Isabel Heinemann, "Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut": das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, p.244-246, ISBN 3892446237

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