Poland in World War II

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: World War II Poland

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Poland in World War II

Further reading of people affected shows the Nazi's had a bias against all of Poland as well as its Jewish population.

Newspapers from around the World

• In the early morning hours of Sept 1, 1939, the Nazi German invasion of Poland started by its battleship, "Schleswig-Holstein barbarded a Polish munitions site near Danzig (on the Westerplatte peninsula) Simultaneously Nazi German police units attacked Polish rail road. Shooting broke out along the Polish Corridor. Soldiers tore down any barriers, sweeping into Poland. As part of the lightening strike, their planes quickly dropped bombs on rail lines, roads, cities, even cities. By the end of that day Danzig was pulled into the German Reich.

Tear down barrers.

History taught in grade schools and higher here in the United States did not portray some of the true factors.

Poland was invaded Sept 1, 1939 by Nazi Germany. From the east it was invaded by Soviet Union Sept. 17, 1939. It surrendered within 1 month. The Polish government retreated in the West.

The original Polish government was in exile in the West in Great Britain. Nazi Germany did not appoint a collaborationist government for Poland. It directly governed Poland itself (a purely German administration directly called the General gouvernement. The Polish resistance called Polish Underground State, was one of the 3 largest partisan forces.

The military also began again after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The military was present to help Polish ground troops were present in the North Africa Campaign (siege of Tobruk). and was the 4th largest Allied army in Europe, after the Soviet Union, United States and Britain.

military.

Polish Cavalry.

Six Million Polish Citizens Were Killed During the Holocaust

Half of These Holocaust Victims Were Non-Jewish.

Bloody Sunday.

Close to six million Polish citizens were killed (both Christian and Jewish Polish) killed during World War II. Most were civilians killed by Nazi Germany, The Soviet Union and allies killed some. At the Nuremburg trials 3 categories were established as violations against humans against their wishes. 1) war of aggression, 2) war crimes 3) crimes against humanity. Occupied Poland suffered all of these.

Both United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on Sept. 3. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (a protocol sharing Northern & Central Europe) into "German and Soviet " spheres of control had started and continued with German and Soviet occupation of Poland during the year. Then Nazi Germany overran lands annexed by the Soviets by Nazi Germany as it attempted to attack and defeat Soviet Union in before the winter set in. Wrong. The Soviets were resistant...

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The intention of Hitler-led Nazi Germany was to Terrorize all Polish People Into Subservience. Large numbers of Polish community leaders, mayors, local officials, priests, teachers, lawyers, judges, senators, doctors were executed in public. Much of the rest of leaders were sent to concentration camps where they died or were killed. In his speech to military commanders Adolf Hitler sent the Wehrmacht (the German armed forces): "to kill without mercy and reprieve all men, women and children of the Polish race".

The Soviets also did much of the same.

Polish men were forcibly drafted into German army.

Obliteration of Polish history, culture

Polish language was forbidden- "German-only language,schools, colleges, Polish press, libraries, bookshops burned"

Polish churches, synagogues were burned, priests arrested and sent to concentration camps, Banks closed and all money was blocked

Cities, towns were renamed to German as well as street signs

Western Belarusians

• Many Polish people submitted to this terrorism.
• There are reports of other Polish turning in their neighbors as Jewish, to survive.

During the Holocaust, Poland lost the educated class as the Nazis felt this would make it easier to control the country.

45% of doctors,

57% of her attorneys

40% of her professors,

OTHERS Hitler intended to rewrite history and create the perfect race. Since the Polish press was destroyed, and libraries, even records are not available. Thus the world missed a lot of the atrocities done to Nazi-occupied Poland to Jewish and non-Jewish peope. All records of Auschwitz were not returned by the Soviets. Children looking Aryan were taken to become German. Targets were also Gypsies, Jewish, non-Jewish, Polish, mentally and physically handicapped.

REGIMENTS / DIVISIONS

Military.

Poland had the 5th largest armed forces, but was not ready for a modern war. It had an army of a million men with almost 500 tanks, but it still was using horse-mounted fighting units. It mobilized late to avoid being blamed for an outbreak of war. Only 17 of 30 mobilized divisions were fully deployed by August 31. It had well-prepared defensive positions, these were dispersed too widely to present a cohesive and viable defense against a mobile fighting force -- especially the powerful Wehrmacht.

PZL-37_Los.

After 4 weeks, 50,000 German soldiers were dead, wounded, or missing. Polish losses amounted to some 70,000 soldiers killed and 130,000 wounded. Another 90,000 Polish soldiers escaped to Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, and Latvia; many of them later made their way to Allied lines. Initially, the Wehrmacht's treatment of its 694,000 Polish prisoners was generally appropriate, although many civilians, a large proportion of them Jewish, were murdered. The SS and Sicherheitsdienst (German secret service, or SD) soon established themselves in Nazi German-occupied Poland, which was now regarded as a "nonexistent" state. Thereafter, the civilian population, especially Jews, suffered increasing oppression and persecution.

• Polish Second Army
• Polish 5th Infantry Division
• Polish 7th Infantry Division
• Polish 8th Infantry Division
• Polish 9th Infantry Division
• Polish 10th Infantry Division
• 16th Armoured Brigade,
• 2nd Artillery Division, 3rd AA-artillery Division, 3rd indep. mortar regiment
• 3 AT-artillery brigades (nos.9,11,14)
• 2nd Sapper Brigade
• 4th independent heavy tank regiment
• 28th SP-artillery regiment (21 x SU-85)
• 1st Armoured Corps: 3 armoured brigades, 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade - details below. Subordinated to the 2nd Army.
• 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade (Polish)(East)
• 2nd Armoured Brigade (2. Brygada Pancerna) - (65 x T-34/85)
• 3rd Armoured Brigade
• 4th Armoured Brigade
• 24th SP-artillery regiment (21 x SU-85)
• 25th SP-artillery regiment (21 x ISU-122)
• 27th SP-artillery regiment (21 x SU-76M)
• 2nd mortar regiment
• 26th AA-artillery regiment
• Rocket artillery battalion

Underground armies

• Polish 2nd Home Army Infantry Division (Kielce-Radom)
• Polish 8th Home Army Infantry Division (Warsaw Uprising)
• Polish 19th Home Army Infantry Division (Wilno)
• Polish 27th Home Army Infantry Division (Wołyń)
• Polish Cracovian Home Army Infantry Division
• Polish Cracovian Home Army Cavalry Brigade
• Narodowe Siły Zbrojne

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One example of atrocity is Katyn. There were huge numbers of massacres, camps, etc.

Katyn Massacre, 1940

This page endeavors to bring to mind this country, the people, and atrocities suffered by the people of Poland. One example of the atrocities is Katyn (Katyn-Kharkiv Mednoye). There were so many to list. An excellent source is the Holocaust Project. SEE:Category Holocaust,

Do you have ancestors to list there by category?

SOURCES:

• Polish Contribution
• War Crimes
• Katyn Massacre
• Poland and Holocaust
• Poland and military
• Bombing of Warsaw
• Polish people
• Polish Christians executed
• All Polish
• Beginning of World War 2
• Occupation of Poland
• Poland in World war 2
• Polish divisions