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

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

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

The Nazis established six extermination camps (Vernichtungslager) in Poland. The primary intention of these camps was the extermination of the Jews from all the countries occupied by the Germans, except the Soviet Union (Soviet Jews were generally killed on the spot). Many non-Jewish Poles and other Nazi prisoners were also killed in these camps. These camps were as follows: Belzec (near the current Ukrainian border north-west of L'viv) Chełmno (known as Kulmhof in German, between Warsaw and Poznań) ...

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German camps in occupied Poland during World War II, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Extermination camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Concentration camps adjoining extermination camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Concentration camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Labour camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Prisoner of war camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Relief for victims, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - External references

Read more here: » German camps in occupied Poland during World War II: Encyclopedia II - German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Extermination camps

The Polish armed forces resisted the German invasion, but their strategic position was hopeless since Poland was surrounded on three sides by Germany and German-controlled Czechoslovakia. It was in Poland that the Germans first used the tactics of Blitzkrieg ("lightning war"): rapid advance of Panzer (armored) divisions, dive bombing to break up troop concentrations, and aerial bombing of undefended cities to sap civilian morale. The Polish Army and Air Force had little modern equipment to match the onslaught. German forces wer ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion

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

After the occupation of Poland in 1939, the Einsatzgruppen killed Poles belonging to the intelligentsia, such as priests and teachers. The Nazis considered all Slavic people Untermenschen, or subhumans, and wanted to use the Polish lower classes as servants and slaves. The mission of the Einsatzgruppen was therefore the forceful depoliticisation of the Polish people and the elimination of the groups most clearly ...

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Einsatzgruppen, Einsatzgruppen - History, Einsatzgruppen - The Jager Report, Einsatzgruppen - After the war, Einsatzgruppen - Organization, Einsatzgruppen - Secondary sources

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

The origins of the Einsatzgruppen can be traced back to the ad hoc Einsatzkommando formed by Reinhard Heydrich to secure government buildings and documents following the Anschluss in Austria in March 1938. The task of securing government buildings, the accompanying documention and questioning senior civil servants in lands occupied by Germany was the Einsatzgruppen's original mission. In the summer of 1938, when Germany was preparing an invasion of Czechoslovakia scheduled for October 1, 1938, the Einsatzgruppe ...

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Einsatzgruppen, Einsatzgruppen - History, Einsatzgruppen - Methods of murder, Einsatzgruppen - The Jager Report, Einsatzgruppen - After the war, Einsatzgruppen - Organization, Einsatzgruppen - Secondary sources

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

See also special article about Polish government in exile during Second World War. The Polish government re-assembled in Paris and formed a government in exile. Władysław Raczkiewicz was sworn in as President and chose General Władysław Sikorski as Prime Minister. Most of the Polish Navy escaped to the United Kingdom, and thousands of other Poles escaped through Romania or across the Baltic Sea to continue the fight. Many Poles took part in defence of France, in the Battle of Britain and other opera ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile

Persecution of the Jews by the occupation government, particularly in the urban areas, began immediately after the occupation. In the first year and a half, however, the Germans confined themselves to stripping the Jews of their property and herding them into ghettoes and putting them into forced labor in war-related industries. During this period the Jewish community leadership, which, unlike Polish authorities, had an official recognition by the Germans, was able to some extent to bargain with the Germans. After the German attack on the So ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland

Resistance to the German occupation began almost at once, although there is little terrain in Poland suitable for guerilla operations. The Home Army (in Polish Armia Krajowa or AK), loyal to the Polish government in exile in London, was formed from a number of smaller groups in 1942. From 1943 the AK was in competition with the People's Army (Armia Ludowa or AL), backed by the Soviet Union and controlled by the Polish Communist Party. By 1944 the AK had some 380,000 men, although few arms: the AL was much smaller. The Polish resistance or ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance

Hans Frank was captured by American troops in May 1945 and was one of the defendants at the Nuremberg Trials. During his trial he converted to Catholicism. Frank surrendered forty volumes of his diaries to the Tribunal and much evidence against him and others was gathered from them. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and on 1 October 1946 he was sentenced to death by hanging. In 1945 Poland's borders were redrawn, following the decision taken at the Teheran Conference of 1943 at the insistence of the Soviet ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War

It was German policy that the (non-Jewish) Poles were to be reduced to the status of serfs, and eventually replaced by German colonists. In the General Government all education but primary education was abolished and so was all Polish cultural, scientific, artistic life. Universities were closed and many university professors, along with teachers, lawyers, intellectuals and other members of the Polish elite, were arrested and executed. In 1943, the government selected the Zamojskie area for further German colonisation. German settlements were planned, and the Polish population expelled ami ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles

As the Soviets advanced through Poland in late 1944 the German administration collapsed. The Communist-controlled Committee of National Liberation (PKWN, Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego), headed by Bolesław Bierut, was installed by the Soviet Union in Lublin, the first major Polish city to be liberated, in July, and began to take over the administration of the country as the Germans retreated. The government in exile in London had only one card to play, the forces of the AK. This was why the government in exile was determined th ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

The remaining block of territory was placed under a German administration called the General Government (in German Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete), with its capital at Kraków. The General Government was subdivided into four districts, Warsaw, Lublin, Radom, and Kraków. (For more detail on the territorial division of this area see General Government.) A German lawyer and prominent Nazi, Hans Frank, was appointed Governor-General of the occupied territories on 26 October 1939. Frank oversaw the segreg ...

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History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government

The standard method employed by the Einsatzgruppen was to post a proclamation ordering all the Jews and other condemned people in an occupied area to gather on a certain day. Once their victims were assembled, the squads led them to the place where they were to be killed, which was usually an open, isolated area where mass graves had been prepared. Sometimes, natural features of the landscape like the ravine at Babi Yar were used. The victims were forced to surrender their belongings and undress, after which they were positione ...

See also:

Einsatzgruppen, Einsatzgruppen - History, Einsatzgruppen - Methods of murder, Einsatzgruppen - The Jager Report, Einsatzgruppen - After the war, Einsatzgruppen - Organization, Einsatzgruppen - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Einsatzgruppen: Encyclopedia II - Einsatzgruppen - Methods of murder

both Attached to Army Group South. Einsatzgruppen leaders Group A: SS-Brigadeführer Dr. Franz Walter Stahlecker (until 23 March 1942) Group B: SS-Brigadeführer Artur Nebe (until Oct. 1941) Group C: SS-Gruppenführer Dr. Otto Rasch (until Oct. 1941) Group D: SS-Gruppenführer Prof. Otto Ohlendorf (until June 1942) ...

See also:

Einsatzgruppen, Einsatzgruppen - History, Einsatzgruppen - Methods of murder, Einsatzgruppen - The Jager Report, Einsatzgruppen - After the war, Einsatzgruppen - Organization, Einsatzgruppen - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Einsatzgruppen: Encyclopedia II - Einsatzgruppen - Organization

both Attached to Army Group South. Einsatzgruppen leaders Group A: SS-Brigadeführer Dr. Franz Walter Stahlecker (until 23 March 1942) Group B: SS-Brigadeführer Artur Nebe (until Oct. 1941) Group C: SS-Gruppenführer Dr. Otto Rasch (until Oct. 1941) Group D: SS-Gruppenführer Prof. Otto Ohlendorf (until June 1942) ...

See also:

Einsatzgruppen, Einsatzgruppen - History, Einsatzgruppen - The Jager Report, Einsatzgruppen - After the war, Einsatzgruppen - Organization, Einsatzgruppen - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Einsatzgruppen: Encyclopedia II - Einsatzgruppen - Organization

A concentration camp (Konzentrationslager, KL or KZ) was a camp which was designed to exploit the labour of prisoners, rather than to exterminate them, although the majority of prisoners eventually died from execution, starvation, disease or exhaustion. In Germany before 1939, concentration camps mainly housed Jews, political enemies of the Nazi regime, and other categories such as homosexual men. There were a number of concentration camps in Poland. They housed Jews, partly as transit points to the extermination camps, and par ...

See also:

German camps in occupied Poland during World War II, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Extermination camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Concentration camps adjoining extermination camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Concentration camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Labour camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Prisoner of war camps, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Relief for victims, German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - External references

Read more here: » German camps in occupied Poland during World War II: Encyclopedia II - German camps in occupied Poland during World War II - Concentration camps

Under the terms of two decrees by Hitler (8 October and 12 October 1939), large areas of western Poland were annexed to Germany. These included all the territories which Germany had lost under the 1918 Treaty of Versailles, such as the Polish Corridor, West Prussia and Upper Silesia, but also a large area of indisputably Polish territory east of these territories, including the city of Łódź. The Germans provided for the division of the annexed areas of Poland into the following administrative units: Reichsgau Warthelan ...

See also:

History of Poland 1939–1945, History of Poland 1939–1945 - German and Soviet Invasion, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The General Government, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Treatment of the Poles, History of Poland 1939–1945 - The Holocaust in Poland, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Governments in exile, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Resistance, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Aftermath of the War, History of Poland 1939–1945 - Yalta and the Soviet Occupation 1943–45

Read more here: » History of Poland 1939–1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Poland 1939–1945 - Dismemberment of Poland