Józef Cukier was one of the leaders of the Goralenvolk

Goralenvolk

Goralenvolk was the name given by the German Nazis in World War II during their occupation of Poland to the population of Podhale in the south near the Slovakian border. They postulated a different ethnicity for that population, in an effort to divide the Polish people. The word was derived from...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Having been a president of the Highlander Union before the German invasion, he tried along with Wacław Krzeptowski to establish an independent state for his ethnic group by collaborating with the occupiers. The attempt failed due to lack of support among the local population.