General Government
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The General Government (German: Generalgouvernement, Polish: Generalne Gubernatorstwo), fully titled the General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories (German: Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) from 1939 to 1940, and also called Restpolen colloquially, refers to a part of the territories of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II that were a separate region of the Greater German Reich (Großdeutsches Reich).[1] After Operation Barbarossa in August 1941, the former Polish voivodeships (districts) of Eastern Galicia (with a majority of Ukrainians) were added to the General Government under a decree issued by Adolf Hitler.[2]
According to section III of the Fourth Hague Convention (1907),[3] accepted by Germany, all these acts were illegal from their inception, in terms of international and civil law. The area was not a puppet state and had no goal of collaborating with Poles throughout the war, regardless of their political orientation. The Nazi authorities made a determined effort to avoid mentioning even the name Poland in each and every document or administrative naming regarding the region. the only exception to this were the German-backed banknotes and coins (called 'zloty' and 'grosz') printed in 1940 where that word was used for propaganda purposes. The government and administration of the General Government was composed entirely of Germans and the area was eventually to become a German province.[4] The only locals remaining were to be those of German descent.
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History
On 26 October 1939, Hans Frank was appointed Governor-General of the occupied territories. In March 1941 Hitler made the decision to "turn this region into a purely German area within 15-20 years." He explained that "Where 12 million Poles now live, is to be populated by 4 to 5 million Germans. The Generalgouvernement must become as German as the Rhineland."[4] In 1943, the government selected the Zamojskie area for further German colonisation. German settlements were planned, and the Polish population expelled amid great brutality, but few Germans were settled in the area before 1944. See Generalplan Ost for more information about this.
Overall, 4 million of the 1939 population of the General Government area had lost their lives by the time the Soviet armed forces had entered the area in late 1944. If the Polish underground killed a German, 50–100 Poles were executed as a punishment and warning.[5]
Final solution
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 favor was that there were no transportation problems here.[6]
In 1942, the Germans began the systematic extermination of the Jewish population. The General Government was the location of four of the six extermination camps in which the most extreme measures of the Holocaust, the genocide by gassing of undesired "races", chiefly millions of Jews from Poland and other countries, was carried out between 1942 and 1944.
German plans for the future
It was German policy that a small number of (non-Jewish) Poles, like other Slavic peoples, were to be reduced to the status of serfs, while the rest would be deported or otherwise eliminated and eventually replaced by German colonists of the "master race." The annexation of large parts of western Poland already provided for the incorporation into the Greater German Reich of these parts of pre-war Poland. The remainder of central Poland located within the borders of the General Government was to be newly organized into a Vandalengau (Gau of the Vandals) as a new eastern march of the Reich.[7]
Various plans regarding the future of the original population were drawn, with one calling for deportation of about 20 million Poles to Western Siberia, and Germanisation of 4 to 5 million; although deportation in reality meant that the population wouldn't be removed but all of its members put to death as happened to other groups in execution of similar plans.[8] In the General Government, all secondary education was abolished and all Polish cultural institutions closed.
Resistance
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 Party. By 1944 the AK had some 380,000 men, although few arms. During the occupation, the various Polish resistance organizations killed about 150,000 Axis soldiers. The AL was about 15% of the size of the AK.
In April 1943 the Germans began deporting the remaining Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, provoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April 19 to May 16. That was the first armed uprising against the Germans in Poland, and prefigured the larger and longer Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
In July 1944, as the Soviet armed forces approached Warsaw, the government in exile called for an uprising in the city, so that they could return to a liberated Warsaw and try to prevent a Communist take-over. The AK, led by Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, launched the Warsaw Rising on 1 August in response both to their government and to Soviet and Allied promises of help. However Soviet help was never forthcoming, despite the Soviet army being only 18 miles (30 km) away, and Soviet denial of their airbases to British and American planes prevented any effective resupply or air support of the insurgents by the Western allies. After 63 days of fighting the leaders of the rising agreed a conditional surrender with the Wehrmacht. The 15,000 remaining Home Army soldiers were granted POW status (prior to the agreement, captured rebels were shot), and the remaining civilian population of 180,000 expelled.
End
As the Soviets advanced through Poland in late 1944 the General Government collapsed. 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 October 1, 1946, he was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on October 16.
Government
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The General Government was administered by a General-Governor (German: Generalgouverneur) aided by the Office of the General-Governor (Amt des Generalgouverneurs), changed on 9 December 1940 to the Government of the General Government (Regierung des Generalgouvernements). For the entire period of its history, there was only one General-Governor (Dr. Hans Frank) and the Office (later, the Government) was headed by Chief of the Government (Regierung, title translated also as the State Secretary or Deputy Governor) Josef Bühler. Several other individuals had powers to issue legislative decrees in addition to the General Governor, most notably the Higher SS and Police Leader of General Government (Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger, later Wilhelm Koppe).
The General Government had no international recognition. The territories it administered were never either in whole or part intended as any future Polish state within a German-dominated Europe. According to the Nazi government the Polish state had effectively ceased to exist, in spite of the existence of a Polish government-in-exile.[9] Its character could be compared to a type of colonial state, combined with many characteristics of a police state. It cannot be seen as a Polish puppet government, as there were no Polish representatives on anything but the local levels.
The government seat of the General Government was located in Cracow rather than the traditional Polish capital Warsaw for security reasons. The official state language was German, although Polish continued to be used to a large decree as well, especially on the local levels. Several institutions of the old Polish state were retained in some form for the ease of administration. The Polish police, with no high-ranking Polish officers (who were arrested or demoted), was renamed the Blue Police and became subordinated to the Ordnungspolizei. The Polish educational system was similarly kept, but most higher institutions were closed. The Polish local administration was kept, subordinated to new German bosses. The Polish fiscal system, including the złoty currency, was kept, but with revenues now going to the German state. A new bank was created, and was issuing new banknotes.
After the war, the Polish Supreme National Tribunal declared that the government of the General Government was a criminal institution.
Judicial system
Other than summary German military tribunals, no courts operated in Poland between the German invasion and early 1940. At that time, the Polish court system was reinstated and was allowed to continue decision making in cases not concerning German interests or citizens, for which a parallel German court system was created. The German system was given priority in cases of overlapping jurisdiction.
New laws were passed, discriminating against the Poles, and in particular, the Jews. In 1941 a new criminal law was introduced, introducing many new crimes, and making the death penalty very common. A death penalty was introduced for, among other things:
- on 31 October 1939, for any acts against the German government;
- on 21 January 1940, for economic speculation;
- on 20 February 1940, for spreading sexually transmitted diseases;
- on 31 July 1940, for any Polish officers who did not register immediately with the German administration (to be taken to prisoner of war camps);
- on 10 November 1941, for aiding the Jews (including providing food);
- on 11 July 1942, for farmers who failed to provide requested contingents of crops;
- on 24 July 1943, for not joining the forced labor battalions (Baudienst) when required;
- on 2 October 1943, for impeding the "German Reconstruction Plan";
Police system
The police in the General Government was divided into:
- Ordnungspolizei (OrPo) (German)
- Blue Police (Polish under German control)
- Sicherheitspolizei (German)
- Kriminalpolizei (German)
- Gestapo (German)
Military occupation forces
Through the occupation Germany diverted a significant number of its military forces to keep control over Polish territories.
| Timeperiod | Wehrmacht | Police and SS
(includes German forces only) |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1939 | 550,000 | 80,000 | 630,000 |
| April 1940 | 400,000 | 70,000 | 470,000 |
| June 1941 | 2,000,000
(high number due to imminent invasion of Soviet Union) |
50,000 | 2,050,000 |
| February 1942 | 300,000 | 50,000 | 350,000 |
| April 1943 | 450,000 | 60,000 | 510,000 |
| November 1943 | 550,000 | 70,000 | 620,000 |
| April 1944 | 500,000 | 70,000 | 570,000 |
| September 1944 | 1,000,000 | 80,000 | 1,080,000 |
Administrative divisions
Two decrees by Hitler (8 October and 12 October 1939) provided for the annexation of western and northern areas of Poland into the Third Reich. The remaining block of territory occupied by Germany was placed under an administration called Das Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete (The General Government for the occupied Polish territories). Its capital was at Krakau (Cracow) and it was subdivided into four Distrikten (districts). These were the Distrikt Warschau, the Distrikt Lublin, the Distrikt Radom, and the Distrikt Krakau. After the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, East Galicia, at that point part of the Ukrainian SSR, was incorporated into the General Government and became its fifth district, the Distrikt Galizien.
These five districts were further sub-divided into Stadtkreise (urban counties) and Kreishauptmannschaften (rural counties). Following a decree on 15 September 1941, the names of most of the major cities (and so respective counties) reverted to their historical German names, or were given germanified versions of their Polish or Ukrainian names if none existed. At the same time the previous names remained valid as well. As of 1 October 1941, the districts and counties were as follows:
| Distrikt Galizien | |
| Stadtkreise | Lemberg |
| Kreishauptmannschaften | Breschan, Tschortkau, Drohobycz, Kamionka-Strumilowa, Kolomea, Lemberg-Land, Rawa-Ruska, Stanislau, Sambor Stryj, Tarnopol, Solotschiw, Kallusch |
| Distrikt Krakau | |
| Stadtkreise | Krakau |
| Kreishauptmannschaften | Dembitz, Jaroslau, Jassel, Krakau-Land, Krosno, Meekow, Neumarkt, Neu-Sandez, Prömsel, Reichshof, Saanig, Tarnau |
| Distrikt Lublin | |
| Stadtkreise | Lublin |
| Kreishauptmannschaften | Biala-Podlaska, Bilgoraj, Cholm, Grubeschow, Janow Lubelski, Krasnystaw, Lublin-Land, Pulawy,
Rehden, Pflugstadt (briefly called Himmlerstadt i.e. "Himmler city") |
| Distrikt Radom | |
| Stadtkreise | Kielce, Radom, Tschenstochau |
| Kreishauptmannschaften | Busko, Jedrzejow, Kielce-Land, Konskie, Opatau, Petrikau, Radom-Land, Radomsko, Starachowitz, Tomaschow Mazowiecki |
| Distrikt Warschau | |
| Stadtkreise | Warschau |
| Kreishauptmannschaften | Garwolin, Grojec, Lowitsch, Minsk, Ostrau, Siedlce, Sochaczew, Sokolow-Wengrow, Warschau-Land |
Population
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 General Government. 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.
| Nationality | Daily calorie intake |
|---|---|
| Germans | 2310 |
| Foreigners | 1790 |
| Ukrainians | 930 |
| Poles | 654 |
| Jews | 184 |
Poles were also deported in large numbers to work as forced labor in Germany: eventually about a million were deported, of whom many died in Germany. In 1940 the population was divided into different groups. Each group had different rights, food rations, allowed strips in the cities, public transportation and restricted restaurants. Listed from the most privileged to the least:
- Germans from Germany (Reichdeutsche),
- Germans from outside, active ethnic Germans, Volksliste category 1 and 2 (see Volksdeutsche).
- Germans from outside, passive Germans and members of families (this group included also some ethnic Poles), Volksliste category 3 and 4,
- Ukrainians,
- Highlanders (Goralenvolk) - an attempt to split the Polish nation by using local collaborators
- Poles,
- Gypsies,
- Jews (eventually sentenced to extermination as a category).
Economics
Since the autumn of 1939, Poles from other regions of Poland conquered by Germany were expelled to the General Government and the area was used as a slave labour camp from which men and women taken by force to work as slave laborers in factories and farms in Germany.[4]
Former Polish state property was confiscated by the General Government (or the Third Reich on the annexed territories). Notable property of Polish individuals (ex. factories and large land estates) was often confiscated as well. Farmers were required to provide large food contingents for the Germans, and there were plans for nationalization of all but the smallest estates. Currency was managed by the newly created Bank Emisyjny w Polsce.
 The wall of the Warsaw Ghetto being built under the orders of Dr. Ludwig Fischer, Nazi governor of the Warsaw district, August 1940 |
 Announcement by the Chief of SS and Police 5.09.1942 — Death penalty for Poles for any help to Jews |
 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April 1943: Warsaw Jews being held at gunpoint by SS troops (from a report written by Jürgen Stroop for Heinrich Himmler) |
 Polish inmates of Pawiak prison hanged by Germans in Leszno Street, Warsaw, 11 February 1944 (photo taken secretly from tram by a member of the Polish Home Army) |
 Warsaw Uprising: Polish soldiers in action, 1 August 1944 |
 Polish civilians murdered by SS troops in Warsaw Uprising, August 1944 |
 Aerial view of city of Warsaw, January 1945 |
 Portrait of a Young Man (Francesco Maria della Rovere) by Raphael, stolen at the behest of Hans Frank in 1939 and never returned. One of at least 40,000 stolen works of art from collections in Poland |
 Polish hostages being blindfolded during preparations for their mass execution in Palmiry, 1940 |
 The mass execution of Poles in Bochnia, 18 December 1939 |
See also
- Ernst Lerch
- German camps in occupied Poland during World War II
- Gestapo-NKVD Conferences
- Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
- Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union
- World War II evacuation and expulsion
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Majer, Diemut: Non-Germans under the Third Reich: The Nazi Judicial and Administrative System in Germany and Occupied Eastern Europe with Special Regard to Occupied Poland, page 343. Harold Bold Verlag, 1981.
- ↑ Magocsi, Paul Robert: A History of Ukraine, page 627. University of Toronto Press, 1996.
- ↑ Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, The Avalon Project, Yale University
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences" by Keith Bullivant, Geoffrey J. Giles, Walter Pape, Rodopi 1999 page 32
- ↑ http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%206246.pdf
- ↑ Adolf Eichmann - Translator Dan Rogers. "The Wannsee Conference Protocol". University of Pennsylvania. http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/wansee-transcript.html. Retrieved 2009 1 5.
- ↑ Levine, Alan J.: Race Relations Within Western Expansion, page 106. Preager Publishers, 1996.
- ↑ HITLER'S PLANS FOR EASTERN EUROPE
- ↑ Majer, Diemut page 265.
- ↑ Czesław Madajczyk. Polityka III Rzeszy w okupowanej Polsce p.242 volume 1 , Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa, 1970
- ↑ Madajczyk 1970, p.226 volume 2
External links
- Testimony of Frank at Nuremberg
- General Government NAZI occupied Poland
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