The war against Poland was from the start intended as a fulfillment of the plan described by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf. The main axis of the plan was that all of Eastern Europe should become the source of the power for Germany, so called German Lebensraum (living space). The German Army was sent, as stated by Hitler in his Armenian quote: "with orders for them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish race ...

See also:

World War II atrocities in Poland, World War II atrocities in Poland - Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, World War II atrocities in Poland - Invasion, World War II atrocities in Poland - Terror against Poles in 1939, World War II atrocities in Poland - Extermination of psychiatric patients, World War II atrocities in Poland - Terror against intelligentsia and clergy, World War II atrocities in Poland - Forced labor, World War II atrocities in Poland - Concentration Camps, World War II atrocities in Poland - Warsaw Uprising atrocities

Read more here: » World War II atrocities in Poland: Encyclopedia II - World War II atrocities in Poland - Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany

Hans Frank was appointed Governor-General of the occupied territories on 26 October 1939. Two decrees by Hitler (8 October and 12 October 1939) provided for the division of the annexed areas of Poland into the following administrative units: Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen), which included the entire Poznan Voivodship, most of the Lodz Voivodship, five counties of the Pomeranian voivodship, and one county of the Warsaw voivodship; the remaining area of Pomeranian voivodship, which was incorporated into t ...

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General Government, General Government - Creation of the General Government, General Government - Population, General Government - Genocide policies, General Government - Resistance, General Government - The end

Read more here: » General Government: Encyclopedia II - General Government - Creation of the General Government

The Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion (AB-Aktion in short, German for Extraordinary Peace-Bringing Action) was a German campaign during the World War II aimed at the Polish leaders and intelligentsia. In the spring and summer of 1940 more than 30,000 Poles were arrested by the German authorities of German-occupied Poland. Roughly 7,000 of them were murdered, while the rest was mostly sent to various German concentration camps. Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - History. The anti-P ...

Including:

• Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - History
• Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - Aftermath

Read more here: » Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion: Encyclopedia - Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion

This article details the atrocities and crimes against humanity committed in Poland during the World War II. Over 6 million Polish citizens perished during the course of the war, most of them civilians, killed by the actions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. World War II atrocities in Poland - Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany. The war against Poland was from the start intended as a fulfillment of the plan described by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf. The main axis of the plan was that all of Eas ...

Including:

• World War II atrocities in Poland - Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Invasion
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Terror against Poles in 1939
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Extermination of psychiatric patients
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Terror against intelligentsia and clergy
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Forced labor
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Concentration Camps
• World War II atrocities in Poland - Warsaw Uprising atrocities

Read more here: » World War II atrocities in Poland: Encyclopedia - World War II atrocities in Poland

Resistance to the German occupation began almost at once, although there is little terrain in Poland suitable for guerrilla operations. The main resistance force was the Home Army (in Polish: Armia Krajowa or AK), loyal to the Polish government in exile in London. It was formed mainly of the surviving remnants of the pre-War Polish army together with many volunteers. Other forces existed side-by-side, such as the communist People's Army (Armia Ludowa or AL), backed by the Soviet Union and controlled by the Polish Communist Part ...

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General Government, General Government - Creation of the General Government, General Government - Population, General Government - Genocide policies, General Government - Resistance, General Government - The end

Read more here: » General Government: Encyclopedia II - General Government - Resistance

The population in the General Government's territory was initially about 12 million, but this increased as about 860,000 Poles and Jews were expelled from the Germany-annexed areas and "resettled" in the Government General. Offsetting this was the German campaign of extermination of the Polish intelligentsia and other elements thought likely to resist. From 1941 disease and hunger also began to reduce the population. Poles were also deported in large numbers to work as forced labour in Germany: eventually about a mil ...

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General Government, General Government - Creation of the General Government, General Government - Population, General Government - Genocide policies, General Government - Resistance, General Government - The end

Read more here: » General Government: Encyclopedia II - General Government - Population

During the Wannsee conference on January 20, 1942, The State Secretary of the General Government, Dr. Josef Bühler pushed Heydrich to implement the "final solution" in the General Government. As far as he was concerned, the main problem of General Government was an overdeveloped black market that disorganised the work of the authorities. He saw a remedy in solving the "Jewish question" in the country as fast as possible. An additional point in favo ...

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General Government, General Government - Creation of the General Government, General Government - Population, General Government - Genocide policies, General Government - Resistance, General Government - The end

Read more here: » General Government: Encyclopedia II - General Government - Genocide policies

The anti-Polish campaign was planned by Hans Frank, the commander of the General Government. The mass murder of Polish leaders, politicians, artists, intelligentsia and people suspected of anti-Nazi activity was seen as a pre-emptive measure to keep the Polish resistance scattered and prevent the Poles from revolting during the planned German invasion of France. Prior to the action, in late 1939 and early 1940, most of the Polish university professors, intellectuals, writers, politicians, teachers and other members of the elite of the ...

See also:

Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion, Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - History, Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - Aftermath

Read more here: » Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion: Encyclopedia II - Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion - History

The term "ethnic cleansing" has come to mean the displacement or expulsion from a territory of one ethnic group by another. The displacement is usually forcible, though there are examples of voluntary or compensated ethnic cleansing. The 20th century has seen numerous cases, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. During more recent times, ethnic cleansing has often been used during colonisation projects. In North America, British and American settlers ethnically cleansed millions [citation needed] of Native Amer ...

See also:

Ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Origins of the term, Ethnic cleansing - Early examples of ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Modern-age ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - 20th-century instances, Ethnic cleansing - Ethnic cleansing as a military and political tactic, Ethnic cleansing - Ethnic cleansing as international law crime, Ethnic cleansing - Comparison of events in the Bible with ethnic cleansing

Read more here: » Ethnic cleansing: Encyclopedia II - Ethnic cleansing - Modern-age ethnic cleansing

History of the Jews in Poland - Early history: 966–1385. Main article: History of Poland (966-1385) The first Jews arrived in the territory of modern Poland in the 10th century. Travelling along the trade routes leading eastwards to Kiev and Bukhara, the Jewish merchants also crossed the areas of Silesia. One of them, a diplomat and merchant from the Moorish town of Tortosa in Al-Andalus, known under his Arabic name of Ibrahim ibn Jakub, was the first chronicler to mention the Polish ...

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History of the Jews in Poland, History of the Jews in Poland - Early history to Golden Age: 966–1572, History of the Jews in Poland - Early history: 966–1385, History of the Jews in Poland - The early Jagiellon era: 1385–1505, History of the Jews in Poland - Center of the Jewish world: 1505–72, History of the Jews in Poland - The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: 1572–1795, History of the Jews in Poland - The Warsaw Confederation, History of the Jews in Poland - Increasing isolation, History of the Jews in Poland - The Cossack Uprising and the Deluge, History of the Jews in Poland - Decline under the Saxon Dynasty, History of the Jews in Poland - The Partitions, History of the Jews in Poland - The development of Judaism in Poland and the Commonwealth, History of the Jews in Poland - Jewish learning, History of the Jews in Poland - The rise of Hasidism, History of the Jews in Poland - Jews of Poland within the Russian Empire 1795–1918, History of the Jews in Poland - Pogroms, History of the Jews in Poland - Haskalah and Halakha, History of the Jews in Poland - Politics in Polish Territory, History of the Jews in Poland - Interwar period 1918–39, History of the Jews in Poland - Independence and Polish Jews, History of the Jews in Poland - Jewish and Polish culture, History of the Jews in Poland - Growing anti-Semitism, History of the Jews in Poland - WWII and the destruction of Polish Jewry 1939–45, History of the Jews in Poland - The Polish September campaign, History of the Jews in Poland - Soviet-occupied Poland, History of the Jews in Poland - The Holocaust: German-occupied Poland, History of the Jews in Poland - Communist rule: 1945–89, History of the Jews in Poland - Postwar, History of the Jews in Poland - 1967–1989, History of the Jews in Poland - Since 1989, History of the Jews in Poland - Notes

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The ancient city of Halicz (Halych) first appears in history in 981 when taken over by Kievan Rus'. Volhynia's early history coincides with that of the duchies or principalities of Halych and Volodymyr Volynskyi (Vladimir-Volynsky, Włodzimierz Wołyński). These two successor states of Kievan Rus' formed Halych-Volhynia between the 12th and the 14th centuries. After the disintegration of the Grand Duchy of Halych-Volodymyr (also called Galich-Vladimir Rus') circa 1340, Poland and Lithuania divided up the region between them, P ...

See also:

Volhynia, Volhynia - History

Read more here: » Volhynia: Encyclopedia II - Volhynia - History

In the Wartheland, the Nazis' goal was complete "Germanization", the political, cultural, social, and economic assimilation of the territory into the German Reich. In pursuit of this goal, the installed bureaucracy renamed streets and cities and seized tens of thousands of Polish enterprises, from large industrial firms to small shops, without payment to the owners. The Germanization of the annexed lands also included an ambitious program to resettle Germans from the Baltic and other regions on farms and other homes formerly occupied ...

See also:

Reichsgau Wartheland, Reichsgau Wartheland - Invasion, Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation, Reichsgau Wartheland - End of war

Read more here: » Reichsgau Wartheland: Encyclopedia II - Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation

In the Wartheland, the Nazis' goal was complete "Germanization"; to assimilate the territory politically, culturally, socially, and economically into the German Reich, renamed streets and cities, and seized tens of thousands of Polish enterprises, from large industrial firms to small shops, without payment to the owners. The Germanization of the annexed lands also included an ambitious program to resettle Germans from the Baltic and other regions on farms and other homes formerly occupied by Poles and Jews. This policy was pursued by ...

See also:

Reichsgau Wartheland, Reichsgau Wartheland - Invasion, Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation, Reichsgau Wartheland - End of war

Read more here: » Reichsgau Wartheland: Encyclopedia II - Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation

Main article: Nazi-Soviet population transfers. Following the Nazi-Soviet pact, Soviet leader Josef Stalin permitted the departure of Germans from territories occupied by Soviet Union, notably Bessarabia and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, which traditionally had a large German minority. The Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) were then resettled in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, but also in Zamosc County as decided by Generalplan Ost. In ...

See also:

German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Read more here: » German exodus from Eastern Europe: Encyclopedia II - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers

In the Wartheland, the Nazis' goal was complete "Germanization"; to assimilate the territory politically, culturally, socially, and economically into the German Reich. Germans closed elementary schools where Polish was the language of instruction. They renamed streets and cities - for example Lodz was renamed not to Lodsch (the name used for Lodz under Prussian rule), but to Litzmannstadt, after General Litzmann, who had tried to capture the city during World War I. They also seized tens of thousands of Polish enterprises, from ...

See also:

Reichsgau Wartheland, Reichsgau Wartheland - Invasion, Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation, Reichsgau Wartheland - End of war

Read more here: » Reichsgau Wartheland: Encyclopedia II - Reichsgau Wartheland - Occupation

Along with the rest of Prussia, East Prussia became part of the German Empire at its creation in 1871. In 1875 the ethnic make-up of East Prussia was 73.48% German, 18.39% Polish, and 8.11% Lithuanian (according to "Slownik geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego"). The population of the province in 1900 was 1,996,626 people, with a religious make up of 1,698,465 Protestants, 269,196 Roman Catholics, and 13,877 Jews. The numbers of Poles (Masurians) and Lithuanians (Lietuvininks) were decreasing over the time due to the process of Germanisation. Th ...

See also:

East Prussia, East Prussia - The Kingdom of Prussia, East Prussia - German Empire, East Prussia - Population of East Prussia in 1890, East Prussia - Weimar Republic, East Prussia - Nazi reign, East Prussia - World War II

Read more here: » East Prussia: Encyclopedia II - East Prussia - German Empire

The term "ethnic cleansing" has come to mean the displacement or expulsion from a territory of one ethnic group by another. The displacement is usually forcible, though there are examples of voluntary or compensated ethnic cleansing. The 20th century has seen numerous cases, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Ethnic cleansing - Older examples. In Canada the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755 from their ancestral lands in Nova Scotia or Acadia by the British military because of the Fren ...

See also:

Ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Origins of the term, Ethnic cleansing - Early examples of ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Colonization-related ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Modern-age ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing - Older examples, Ethnic cleansing - 20th-century instances, Ethnic cleansing - Ethnic cleansing as a military and political tactic, Ethnic cleansing - Ethnic cleansing as international law crime, Ethnic cleansing - Comparison of events in the Bible with ethnic cleansing

Read more here: » Ethnic cleansing: Encyclopedia II - Ethnic cleansing - Modern-age ethnic cleansing

Main article: Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe. Between 1950 and 1990, 1.4 million people emigrated from Poland to Germany claiming German ancestry (770 000 of them in the 1980s). With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, large numbers of Russian Germans (Volgadeutsch) took advantage of Germany's liberal law of return to leave the harsh conditions of the Soviet successor states. By 1999 about 1.7 million former Soviet citizens of German ori ...

See also:

German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Read more here: » German exodus from Eastern Europe: Encyclopedia II - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Main article: Expulsion of Germans after World War II. The remaining ethnic German residents, some of whom had become German citizens during the world war, were expelled or fled from present-day Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Kaliningrad Oblast, and other East European countries. Up to 16.5 million Germans of the post-war population were forced to leave. Some fled in fear of the Red Army, and others were persecuted because of their activities during the war or for other reasons. They were sent to makeshift camps or cities ...

See also:

German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Read more here: » German exodus from Eastern Europe: Encyclopedia II - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion

Main article: World War II evacuation and expulsion. Late towards the end of the war German authorities ordered the evacuation of areas close to the advancing front. Not only people who had been citizens of Nazi Germany (Reichsdeutsche) but also ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) were successfully evacuated (around 5 million people) before the rest were overrun by the Red Army. ...

See also:

German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Read more here: » German exodus from Eastern Europe: Encyclopedia II - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation