Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression [Page 1023]
The Nazi conspirators had made plans for the Germanization
and spoliation of their conquered territories. Plans to
Germanize meant plans to assimilate conquered territories
politically, culturally, socially, and economically into the
German Reich. Germanization meant the obliteration of the
former national character of the conquered territories and
the extermination of all elements which could not be
reconciled with the Nazi ideology. Plans for spoliation
meant. plans to plunder public and private property and, in
general, to exploit the people and natural resources of
occupied countries.
1. POLAND
Poland was, in a sense, the testing ground for the
conspirators' theories of "lebensraum." The four western
provinces of Poland were purportedly incorporated into
Germany by an order of 8 October 1939. This order, which was
signed by Hitler, Lammers, Goering, Frick, and Hess, is set
forth in 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2042. These
areas of Poland are frequently referred to in correspondence
between the conspirators as the "incorporated Eastern
territories". The remainder of Poland which was seized by
the Nazi invaders was established as the Government-General
of Poland by an order of Hitler, dated 12 October 1939. By
that same order, Hans Frank was named Governor-General of
the newly-created Government-General, and Seyss-Inquart was
named Deputy Governor General. This order is set forth in
1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2077.
The plans with respect to Poland, which will appear
gradually from the individual documents hereafter discussed,
followed a broad pattern, as follows:
[Page 1024]
To that end, the conspirators planned:
(a) To permit the retention of the productive facilities in
the incorporated area, all of which were to be dedicated to
the Nazi war machine.
(b) They planned to deport to the Government-General many
hundreds of thousands of Jews, members of the Polish
intelligentsia, and other non-compliant elements. The Jews
deported to the Government-General were doomed to speedy
annihilation. Moreover, since the conspirators felt that
members of the Polish intelligentsia could not be Germanized
and might serve as a center of resistance against their "new
order", they too were to be eliminated.
(c) They planned to deport all able-bodied Polish workers to
Germany for work in the Nazi war machine. This was to serve
the two-fold purpose of helping to satisfy the labor
requirements of the Nazi war machine and preventing the
propagation of a new generation of Poles.
(d) They planned to mold all persons in the incorporated are
who were deemed to possess German blood, into German
subjects who would religiously adhere to the principles of
National Socialism. To that end, the conspirators set up an
elaborate racial register. Those who resisted or refused to
cooperate in this program were sent to concentration camps.
(e) They planned to bring thousands of German subjects into
the incorporated area for purposes of settlement.
(f) They planned to confiscate the property -- particularly
the farms -- of the Poles, the Jews, and all dissident
elements. The confiscation of the property of Jews was part
of the conspirators' larger program of extermination of the
Jews. Confiscation likewise served three additional
purposes: (1) it provided land for the new German settlers
and enabled the conspirators to reward their adherents; (2)
dispossessed Polish property owners could be shipped to
Germany for work in the production of implements of war; and
(3) the separation of Polish farmers from their wives
furthered the plan to prevent the growth of a new generation
of Poles.
These plans are developed in the specific documents which
follow.
A. The Program in the Incorporated Area.
(1) Economic Spoliation. A report of an interview with Frank
on 3 October 1939, which was included in a large report
prepared in the OKW by one Captain Varain at the direction
of General
[Page 1025]
Thomas, then Chief of the Military Economic Staff of the
OKW, states:
"In the first interview which the chief of the Central
Division and the liaison officer between the Armament
Department Upper East and the Chief Administrative
Officer (subsequently called Governor General) had with
Minister Frank on 3 October 1939 in Posen, Frank
explained the directive, and the economic and political
responsibilities which had been conferred upon him by
the Fuehrer and according to which he intended to
administer Poland. According to these directives,
Poland can only be administered by utilizing the
country through means of ruthless exploitation,
deportation of all supplies, raw materials, machines,
factory installations, etc., which are important for
the German war economy, availability of all workers for
work within Germany, reduction of the entire Polish
economy to absolute minimum necessary for bare
existence of the population, closing of all educational
institutions, especially technical schools and colleges
in order to prevent the growth of the new Polish
intelligentsia. 'Poland shall be treated as a colony;
the Poles shall be the slaves of the Greater German
World Empire'.
"By destroying Polish industry, its subsequent
reconstruction after the war would become more
difficult, if not impossible, so that Poland would be
reduced to its proper position as an agrarian country
which would have to depend upon Germany for importation
of industrial products." (EC-344-16 & 17)
The conspirators planned a difference in treatment for the
incorporated area of Poland, and for the Government-General.
A directive issued and signed by Goering on 19 October 1939,
which was found among captured files of the OKW, stated,
inter alia:
"In the meeting of October 13th, I have given detailed
instructions for the economical administration of the
occupied territories. I will repeat them here in short:
1. The task for the economic treatment of the various
administrative regions is different depending on
whether a country is involved which will be
incorporated politically into the German Reich or
whether we deal with the Government-General, which, in
all probability, will not be made a part of Germany.
"In the first mentioned territories the reconstruction
and expansion of the economy, the safeguarding of all
their production facilities and supplies must be aimed
at, as well as
[Page 1026]
a complete incorporation into the Greater German
economic system at the earliest possible time. On the
other hand, there must be removed from the territories
of the Government-General all raw materials, scrap
materials, machines etc., which are of use for the
German war economy. Enterprises which are not
absolutely necessary for the meager maintenance of the
naked existence of the population must be transferred
to Germany, unless such transfer would require an
unreasonably long period of time and would make it more
practical to exploit these enterprises by giving them
German orders to be executed at their present
location." (EC-410)
Once the Government-General had been stripped of its
industrial potential, the conspirators planned to leave the
country desolate. Not even the war damage was to be
repaired. This is the clear import of an order dated 20
November 1939, issued by Hess in his capacity as Deputy
Fuehrer, and found in captured OKW files. Hess stated:
"I hear from Party members who came from the-Government-
General that various agencies, as, for instance, the
Military Economic Staff, the Reich Ministry for Labor,
etc., intend to reconstruct certain industrial
enterprises in Warsaw. However, in accordance with a
decision by Minister Dr. Frank, as approved by the
Fuehrer, Warsaw shall not be rebuilt nor is it the
intention of the Fuehrer to rebuild or reconstruct any
industry in the Government-General." (EC-411)
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
[
Index |
Next ]
Home ·
Site Map ·
What's New? ·
Search
Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.
Volume
I Chapter XIII
Germanization & Spoliation
Poland
(Part 1 of 4)