Chapter LXV: 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:

_First_: The conspirators specifically planned to exploit the people and material resources of the Government-General of Poland in order to strengthen the Nazi war machine, to impoverish the Government-General, and to reduce it to a vassal state. At a later stage, plans were formulated for creating islands of German settlements in the more fertile regions of the Government-General in order to engulf the native Polish population and accelerate the process of Germanization.

_Second_: The incorporated area of Poland, which was deemed to be a part of the German Reich, was to be ruthlessly Germanized. 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 noncompliant 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 twofold 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 area 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 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 October 3, 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
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_)

(2) _Deportation and Resettlement._ The Academy of German Law in January 1940 prepared a secret report on plans for the mass migration of Poles and Jews from incorporated areas of Poland to the Government-General, and for the forcible deportation of able-bodied Poles to Germany. (The date of the report does not appear in the English translation, but it is clearly set forth on the cover page of the original document, as January 1940.) It should be recalled that the decree of 11 July 1934 (_Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, p. 605, 11 July 1934) provided that the Academy of German Law would be a public corporation of the Reich under the supervision of the Reich Ministers of Justice and the Interior, and that its task would be:

“To promote the reconstruction of German legal life, and to
realize, in constant close collaboration with the competent
legislative organizations, the National Socialist program in the
entire sphere of the law.”

It should also be stated that Frank was the president of the Academy of German Law during the period when this secret report was made (_2749-PS_). The report stated:

“For the carrying out of costly and long term measures for the
increase of agricultural production, the Government-General can
at the most absorb 1 to 1.5 million resettlers, as it is already
over-populated. * * * By further absorption of 1.6 million
resettlers, the 1925 Reich census figure of 133 inhabitants per
square kilometer would be reached, which practically because of
already existing rural over-population and lack of industry
would result in a double over-population.

“This figure of 1.6 million will barely suffice to transfer from
the Reich:

“The Jews from the liberated East (over 600,000), parts of the
remaining Jews, preferably the younger age groups from Germany
proper, Austria, Sudetengau and the Protectorate (altogether
over 1 million). * * *” (_661-PS_)

The report then goes on to say that the following groups of people should be deported:

“The Polish intelligentsia who have been politically active in
the past, and potential political leaders; the leading economic
personalities, comprising owners of large estates,
industrialists and businessmen, etc.; the peasant population, so
far as it has to be removed in order to carry out by strips of
German settlements the encirclement of Polish territories in the
East * * *.”

* * * * * *

“In order to relieve the living space of the Poles in the
Government-General as well as in the liberated East, one should
remove cheap labor temporarily by the hundreds of thousands,
employ them for a few years in the old Reich, and thereby hamper
their native biological propagation. (Their assimilation into
the old Reich must be prevented.) * * *” (_661-PS_)

Finally, the report stated:

“Strictest care is to be taken that secret circulars, memoranda
and official correspondence which contain instructions
detrimental to the Poles are kept steadily under lock and key so
that they will not some day fill the White Books printed in
Paris or the U.S.A.” (_661-PS_)

Frank made the following entry in his diary:

“The Reichsfuehrer SS (Himmler) wishes that all Jews be
evacuated from the newly gained Reich territories. Up to
February approximately 1,000,000 people are to be brought in
this way into the Government-General. The families of good
racial extraction present in the occupied Polish territory
(approximately 4,000,000 people) should be transferred into the
Reich and individually housed and thereby be uprooted as a
people.” (_2233-G-PS_)

The top secret minutes of a meeting held on 12 February 1940 on “questions concerning the East,” at which Goering was chairman and Himmler and Frank were present, stated, among other things:

“By way of introduction, the General Field Marshal (_Goering_)
explained that the strengthening of the war potential of the
Reich must be the chief aim of all measures to be taken in the
East. * * *”

* * * * * *

“_Agriculture_:

“The task consists of obtaining the greatest possible
agriculture production from the new Eastern Gaus disregarding
questions of ownership. * * *”

* * * * * *

“_Special questions concerning the Government-General_:

“The Government-General will have to receive the Jews who are
ordered to emigrate from Germany, and the New Eastern Gaus.”

* * * * * *

“The following reported on the situation in the Eastern
territories: * * *

“2. Reichsstatthalter Gauleiter Forster: The population of the
Danzig/West Prussia Gau (newly acquired territories) is 1.5
million, of whom 240,000 are Germans, 850,000 well-established
Poles and 300,000 immigrant Poles, Jews and asocials (1,800
Jews). 87,000 persons have been evacuated, 40,000 of these from
Gotenhafen. From there, also the numerous shirkers, who are now
looked after by welfare, will have to be deported to the
Government-General. Therefore, an evacuation of 20,000 further
persons can be counted on for the current year. * * *”
(_EC-305_)

Comparable reports were made by other Gauleiters at this meeting. These figures, it may be noted, were only as of February 1940.

These forcible deportations did not involve merely ordering the victims to leave their homes, and to take up new residences elsewhere. These deportations were accomplished, according to plan, in a brutal and inhuman manner. This is shown in a speech delivered by Himmler to officers of the SS on a day commemorating the presentation of the Nazi flag. The exact date of the speech does not appear in the document, but its contents plainly show that it was delivered sometime after Poland had been overrun. In this speech Himmler said:

“Very frequently the member of the Waffen-SS thinks about the
deportation of this people here. These thoughts came to me today
when watching the very difficult work out there performed by the
Security Police, supported by your men, who help them a great
deal. Exactly the same thing happened in Poland in weather 40
degrees below zero, where we had to haul away thousands, ten
thousands, hundred thousands; where we had to have the toughness
* * * you should hear this but also forget it again—to shoot
thousands of leading Poles.” (_1918-PS_)

Such Poles from the incorporated area as managed to survive the journey to the Government-General could look forward at best to extreme hardship, and exposure to degradation and brutality. For the Jews who were forcibly deported to the Government-General there was no hope. Frank, by his own admissions, had dedicated himself to their complete annihilation. In his diary Frank wrote:

“We must annihilate the Jews, wherever we find them, and
wherever it is possible.” (_2233-D-PS_)

(3) _Forcible Return of Racial Germans to the Reich._ The conspirators had planned the forcible Germanization of persons in the incorporated area who were deemed to possess German blood. Such persons were given the choice of the concentration camp, or submission to Germanization. Himmler was the chief executioner of this program. In a secret decree signed by Hitler, Goering, and Keitel, dated 7 October 1939, Himmler was entrusted with the task of executing the conspirators’ Germanization program. The decree provided, among other things:

“The Reichsfuehrer SS (Himmler) has the obligation in accordance
with my directives:

“1. To bring back for final return into the Reich all German
nationals, and racial Germans in the foreign countries.

“2. To eliminate the harmful influence of such alien-parts of
the population, which represent a danger to the Reich, and the
German folk community.

“3. The forming of new German settlements by re-settling, and in
particular by settling of the returning German citizens and
racial Germans from abroad.

“The Reichsfuehrer SS is authorized to take all necessary
general and administrative measures for the execution of this
obligation.” (_686-PS_)

Himmler’s conception of his tasks under this decree were plainly stated in the foreword which he wrote for the “_Deutsche Arbeit_” issue of June/July 1942. He wrote:

“It is not our task to Germanize the East in the old sense, that
is, to teach the people there the German language and German
law, but to see to it that only people of purely German,
Germanic blood live in the East.” (_2915-PS_)

The 1940 Edition of “_Der Menscheneinsatz_,” a confidential publication issued by Himmler’s Office for the Consolidation of German Nationhood, contained the following statements:

“The removal of foreign races from the incorporated Eastern
Territories is one of the most essential goals to be
accomplished in the German East. This is the chief national
political task, which has to be executed in the incorporated
Eastern Territories by the Reichsfuehrer SS, Reich Commissioner
for the strengthening of the national character of the German
people.”

* * * * * *

“* * * there are the following two primary reasons, which make
the regaining of lost German blood an urgent necessity.

“1. Prevention of a further increase of the Polish
intelligentsia, through families of German descent even if they
are Polonized.

“2. Increase of the population by racial elements desirable for
the German nation, and the acquisition of ethno-biologically
unobjectionable forces for the German reconstruction of
agriculture and industry.” (_2916-PS_)

Further light upon the goals which the conspirators had set for their Germanization program in conquered Eastern areas, is contained in a speech delivered by Himmler on 14 October 1943. This speech was published by the National Socialist Leadership staff of the OKW. The following are excerpts from this speech:

“I consider that in dealing with members of a foreign country,
especially some Slav nationality, we must not start from German
points of view, and we must not endow these people with decent
German thoughts, and logical conclusions of which they are not
capable, but we must take them as they really are * * *.”

“Obviously in such a mixture of peoples, there will always be
some racially good types. Therefore, I think that it is our duty
to take their children with us, to remove them from their
environment, if necessary by robbing, or stealing them. Either
we win over any good blood that we can use for ourselves and
give it a place in our people, or * * * we destroy that blood.”

* * * * * *

“For us the end of this war will mean an open road to the East,
the creation of the Germanic Reich in this way or that * * * the
fetching home of 30 million human beings of our blood, so that
still during our lifetime we shall be a people of 120 million
Germanic souls. That means that we shall be the sole decisive
power in Europe. That means that we shall then be able to tackle
the peace, during which we shall be willing for the first twenty
years to rebuild and spread out our villages and towns, and that
we shall push the borders of our German race 500 kilometers
further out to the East.” (_L-70_)

(4) _The Racial Register._ In furtherance of these plans, the conspirators established a Racial Register in the incorporated area of Poland. The Racial Register was, in effect, an elaborate classification of persons deemed to be of German blood, and contained provisions setting forth some of the rights, privileges, and duties of the persons in each classification. Persons were classified into four groups:

(1) Germans who had actively promoted the Nazi cause.

(2) Germans who had been more or less passive in the Nazi struggle, but had retained their German nationality.

(3) Persons of German extraction who, although previously connected with the Polish nation, were willing to submit to Germanization.

(4) Persons of German descent, who had been “politically absorbed by the Polish nation”, and who would be resistant to Germanization.

The Racial Register was inaugurated under a decree of 12 September 1940, issued by Himmler as Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood. The following are pertinent extracts:

“The list of ‘ethnic Germans’ will be divided into four parts
(limited to interoffice use).

“1. Ethnic Germans who fought actively in the ethnic struggle.
Besides the membership of a German organization, every other
activity in favor of the German against a foreign nationality
will be considered an active manifestation.

“2. Ethnic Germans, who did not actively intervene in favor of
the German nationality, but who preserved their traceable German
nationality.

“3. Persons of German descent, who became connected with the
Polish nation in the course of the years, but have on account of
their attitude, the prerequisites to become full-fledged members
of the German national community. To this group belong also
persons of non-German descent who live in a people’s mixed
marriage with an ethnic German in which the influence of the
German spouse has prevailed. Persons of Masurian, Slonzak, or
upper Silesian descent who are to be recognized as ethnic
Germans, usually belong to this group 3.

“4. Persons of German descent, politically absorbed by the
Polish nation (renegades).

“Persons not included on the list of ethnic Germans are Poles,
or foreign nationals. Their treatment is regulated by BII.

“Members of groups 1 and 2 are ethnic Germans who will be used
for the reconstruction in the East. The differentiation between
the groups 1 and 2 is important for the National Socialist
Party; primarily only members of group 1 should be accepted in
the Party according to the instructions of the deputy of the
Fuehrer.

“Members of groups 3 and 4 have to be educated as full Germans,
that is, have to be re-Germanized in the course of time through
an intensive educational training in old Germany.

“The establishment of members of group 4 has to be based on the
doctrine, that German blood must not be utilized in the interest
of a foreign nation. Against those who refuse re-Germanization,
Security Police measures are to be taken.” (_2916-PS_)

The basic idea of creating a racial register for persons of German extraction was later incorporated into a decree of 3 March 1941, signed by Himmler, Frick, and Hess. This decree is set forth in the 1941 _Reichsgesetzblatt_ Part 1, page 118.

The entire apparatus of the SS was thrown behind the vigorous execution of these decrees. Proof of this fact is contained in the following extracts from directives issued by Himmler as the Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood:

“I. Where Racial Germans have not applied for entry in the
‘German Ethnical List,’ you will instruct the subordinate
agencies to turn over their names to the State Police (Superior)
Office. Subsequently, you will report to me (Himmler).

“II. The Local State Police (Superior) Office, will charge the
persons whose names are turned over to them to prove within
eight days that they have applied for entry in the ‘German
Ethnical List.’

“If such proof is not submitted, the person in question is to be
taken into protective custody for transfer into a concentration
camp.” (_R-112_)

The measures taken against persons in the fourth category, “Polonized Germans,” were particularly harsh. These persons were resistant to Germanization, and ruthless measures calculated to break their resistance were prescribed. Where the individual’s past history indicated that he could not be effectively Germanized, he was thrown into a concentration camp. In the words of Himmler’s decree of 16 February 1942:

“II. The Re-Germanization of the Polonized Germans presupposes
their complete separation from Polish surroundings. For that
reason the persons entered in Division 4 of the German Ethnical
List are to be dealt with in the following manner:

“A. They are to be re-settled in Old Reich territory.

“1. The Superior SS and Police Leaders are charged with
evacuating and resettling them according to instructions which
will follow later.

“2. Asocial persons and others who are of inferior hereditary
quality will not be included in the resettlement. Their names
will be turned over at once by the Higher SS and Police Fuehrer
(Inspectors of Security Police and Security Service) to the
competent State Police (Superior) Office. The latter will
arrange for their transfer into a concentration camp.

“3. Persons with a particularly bad political record will not be
included in the resettlement action. Their names will also be
given by the Higher SS and Police Fuehrer (Inspectors of
Security Police and Security Service) to the competent State
Police (Superior) Office for transfer into a concentration camp.
The wives and children of such persons are to be resettled in
old Reich territory and to be included in the Germanization
measures. Where the wife also has a particularly bad political
record, and cannot be included in the resettlement action, her
name, too, is to be turned over to the competent State Police
(Superior) Office with a view to imprisoning her in a
concentration camp. In such cases the children are to be
separated from their parents and to be dealt with according to
III, paragraph 2 of this decree. Persons are to be considered as
having a particularly bad political record who have offended the
German nation to a very great degree (e.g., who participated in
persecutions of Germans, or boycotts of Germans, etc.).”
(_R-112_)

(5) _Nazi Colonization._ Coincident with the program of Germanizing persons of German extraction in the incorporated areas, the conspirators, as previously indicated, undertook to settle large numbers of Germans of proven Nazi convictions in that area. This aspect of their program is clearly shown by an article by SS Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Police, Wilhelm Koppe, who was one of Himmler’s trusted agents. The following is an excerpt from this article:

“The victory of the German weapons in the East must therefore be
followed by the victory of the German race over the Polish race,
if the regained Eastern sphere—according to the Fuehrer’s
will—henceforth shall for all time remain an essential
constituent part of the Greater German Reich. It is therefore of
decisive importance to penetrate the regained German region with
German farmers, laborers, civil servants, merchants, and
artisans so that a living and deep-rooted bastion of German
people can be formed as a protective wall against foreign
infiltration, and possibly as a starting point for the racial
penetration of the territories further East.” (_2915-PS_)

B. _The Program in the Government-General_

(1) _Germanization._ In the Government-General there were relatively few persons, at the outset, who qualified as Germans by the conspirators’ standards. Hence, little would be served by the introduction of a Racial Register, categorizing persons of German extraction on the model of the one instituted in the incorporated area; and it is not known that any such Racial Register was prescribed in the Government-General. Rather, the plan seems to have been (_a_) to make the Government-General a colony of Germany, which was an objective announced by Frank (_EC-344-16 & 17_), and (_b_) to create so-called “German island settlements” in the productive farming areas. These island settlements were to be created by an influx of German persons who faithfully adhered to the principles of National Socialism.

In this connection, secret notes bearing the date line, “Department of the Interior, Krakow, 30th March, 1942,” reveal some of Himmler’s ideas on the “planned Germanization” of the Government-General. The following extracts are pertinent:

“The Reichsfuehrer SS (Himmler) developed further trains of
ideas to the effect that in the first five-year plan for
re-settlement after the war the new German Eastern territories
should first be filled; afterwards it is intended to provide at
this time the Crimea and the Baltic countries with a German
upper-class at least. Into the Government-General perhaps
further German Island Settlements should be newly transplanted
from European nations. An exact decision in this respect,
however, has not been issued. In any case, it is wished that at
first a heavy colonization along the San and the Brig be
achieved so that the parts of Poland are encircled with alien
populations. Hitherto, it has been always proved that this kind
of encirclement leads most quickly to the desired
nationalization.” (_910-PS_)

An entry in Frank’s Diary (1941, volume II, page 317) bears on the same point:

“Thanks to the heroic courage of our soldiers, this territory
has become German, and the time will come when the valley of the
Vistula, from its source to its mouth at the sea, will be as
German as the Valley of the Rhine.” (_2233-H-PS_)

(2) _Confiscation of Property._ The conspirators had made plans to confiscate the property of Poles, Jews, and dissident elements. These plans were designed to accomplish a number of objectives. Insofar as the Jews were concerned, they were part of the conspirators’ over-all program of extermination. Confiscation was also a means of providing property for German settlers and of rewarding those who had rendered faithful service to the Nazi State. This phase of their program likewise made dispossessed Polish farmers available for slave labor in Germany, and operated to further the conspirators’ objective of preventing the growth of another generation of Poles.

Proof of these matters appears in a number of reports by Kusche, who appears to have been one of Himmler’s chief deputies in Poland. In one of these reports Kusche pointed out that it was possible, without difficulty, to confiscate small farms and that

“The former owners of Polish farms together with their families
will be transferred to the old Reich by the employment agencies
for employment as farm workers.” (_1352-PS_)

In another secret report by Kusche dated 22 May 1940, and entitled “Details of the Confiscation in the Bielitz Country”, the following appears:

“Some days ago the commandant of the concentration camp being
built at Auschwitz spoke at Staff Leader Muller’s and requested
support for the carrying out of his assignments. He said that it
was absolutely necessary to confiscate the agricultural
enterprises within a certain area around the concentration camp,
since not only the fields but also the farm houses of these
border directly on the concentration camp. A local inspection
held on the 21st of this month revealed the following: there is
no room for doubt that agricultural enterprises bordering on the
concentration camp must be confiscated at once. Further than
this, the camp commandant requests that further plots of
farmland be placed at his disposal, so that he can keep the
prisoners busy. This too can be done without further delay since
enough land can be made available for the purpose. The owners of
the plots are all Poles.”

* * * * * *

“I had the following discussion with the head of the labor
office in Bielitz:

“The lack of agricultural laborers still exists in the old
Reich. The transfer of the previous owners of the confiscated
enterprises, together with their entire families, to the Reich
is possible without any further consideration. It is only
necessary for the labor office to receive the lists of the
persons in time, in order to enable it to take the necessary
steps (collection of transportation, distribution over the
various regions in need of such labor)”.

* * * * * *

“The confiscation of these Polish enterprises in Alzen will also
be carried out within the next few days. The commandant of the
concentration camp will furnish SS men and a truck for the
execution of the action. Should it not yet be possible to take
the Poles from Alzen to Auschwitz, they should be transferred to
the empty castle at Zator. The liberated Polish property is to
be given to the needy racial German farmers for their use.”
(_1352-PS_)

On 17 September 1940, Goering issued a decree which was designed to regularize the program of confiscation (_Reichsgesetzblatt_, 1940, Part I, page 1270). Under Section 2 of this decree, sequestration of movable and immovable property, stores, and other intangible property interests of Jews and “persons who have fled or are not merely temporarily absent” was made mandatory. In addition, sequestration was authorized under