Poles in the Wehrmacht
Encyclopedia
The history of Poles in the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces
of Nazi Germany
, began with the German invasion of Poland in 1939. More than 225,000 citizens of the Polish Second Republic served in the Wehrmacht
, and some in the Kriegsmarine
and Waffen SS. The majority of these Polish citizens were of German extraction, the so-called "Volksdeutsche
", or members of ethnic minorities, such as Silesians, Kasubians, and Masurians whom the Nazis considered to be almost Germans. The Waffen SS on the Eastern Front
contained a sizable number of non-Germans, but no Polish-based unit was ever formed, partly due to Adolf Hitler
's refusal to create such units until the later stages of the war; though there were some Polish citizens of Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, and Lithuanian origin, both in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS.
for the Occupied Polish Territories") was established by the Führer's decree of October 12, 1939, which came into force on October 26, 1939. The Germans contacted Wincenty Witos
, offering him the post of Prime Minister
, but he declined the offer. Joseph Stalin
, at that time an ally of Nazi Germany
, opposed such an idea, stating that Poland had ceased to exist and there was no point in re-creating it. During that time the name "Poland" was forbidden in the Soviet Union.
Władysław Studnicki, a pro-German Polish activist and publicist during the interwar period as early as November 20 1939 presented to the Germans "An appeal to re-establish the Polish Army". Studnicki wrote that the army would help the Germans in their struggle with the Soviets, and promised he would help find proper volunteers. According to him, the biggest misfortune for the Polish Nation would be the Soviet occupation of the whole country and - as he stated - an army consisting of infantry and cavalry would not be a significant threat to the Germans. Berlin, however, expressed no interest in re-establishing the Polish Army. In early 1940 Joseph Goebbels
met with Studnicki, telling him that such units were not considered necessary. It must be noted that Studnicki, during the same meeting, vehemently protested against Nazi atrocities in occupied Poland, for which he was later imprisoned in the infamous Pawiak
jail in Warsaw
.
("German People's List"). In several areas, mainly Upper Silesia
, Zaolzie
, Pomerania
, and Masuria
, Poles were forced to sign these documents. Rejection of Volksliste often led to deportation to a concentration camp
. Many people were compelled by force and many took Volksliste fearing the consequences. Some of those who took Volksliste were later drafted into the German forces. It was significant that the Polish government-in-exile knew about it, and Prime Minister general Władysław Sikorski approved.
SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner
wrote in his book Die Freiwilligen der Waffen-SS. Idee und Opfergang that he based his organization on the Legionnaires of Józef Piłsudski. According to him, the young Polish patriots and their leader were the ideal form of "kameradenschaft" - a specific union between soldiers and their officers, based on mutual understanding.
It is not known what Hitler thought about Poles as soldiers, but one fact is certain - he distrusted them. His opinion of Polish soldiers was based on the notions of Erich Ludendorff
, who reminded Hitler that during World War I the majority of Poles did not want to fight for Germany.
On March 30 1943, SS Headquarters refused to create Polish units, citing the following reasons:
Of the Polish soldiers who served in the Wehrmacht many deserted or were captured by Allies and later joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West
and fought against the Germans.
), Studnicki renewed his proposal. However, Berlin again refused and Studnicki was imprisoned. In the summer of 1941 the Nazis placed huge screens in Warsaw, showing newsreels from the front. The speaker said that "all European nations were fighting the Bolsheviks but [the] Poles". This propaganda gesture would have meant that some efforts had been taken, but the Germans must have changed their minds, deciding to create Belarussian and Ukrainian units only.
), German propaganda started indicating that Polish volunteers would be needed. There was a rumor that the Nazis offered leadership of the Division to General Władysław Bortnowski, but he refused. Finally, on June 19, 1943 both Heinrich Himmler
and Hans Frank
suggested to Hitler that he should give permission for the creation of Polish units. Frank explained that the discovery of Katyn made the Poles angry and willing to take revenge on the Soviets, but Hitler bluntly refused.
officials in several Polish cities were trying to talk about creating a common, anti-Communist front with the Poles, a thing that had been unheard of before. The Nazis also tried again to talk Wincenty Witos
into issuing an appeal, but he refused.
Heinrich Himmler again came to Hitler asking for permission for the organization of Polish units, but Hitler stated that only Belarusians and Ukrainians, citizens of the Polish Second Republic, were allowed to serve as auxiliaries. In the fall of 1944, after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising
, Hitler finally allowed Poles to create their units.
The Polnische Wehrmacht originated in operations Weiser Adler and Berta, supported by Hans Frank, confirmed October 23, 1944 by the Oberkommando des Heeres
(OKH) and next day by Adolf Hitler. Around 700 soldiers were recruited, carrying German uniforms with tabs reading Im Dienst der Deutschen Wehrmacht ("In service of German Wehrmacht") and tabs in the form of a hussar wing or Polish white-red flag.
On October 24, 1944, Wehrmacht Headquarters officially announced this decision. A propaganda poster was printed in Krakau (Kraków, Cracow), in which a Polish worker puts aside a shovel and takes a gun handed to him by a German soldier. News of this idea generated confusion, as people were afraid of conscription. However, German officials placated the Poles, stating that they did not treat it seriously.
On November 4 1944, Heeresgruppe Mitte (Headquarters of the Central Group of the German Army) announced basic principles. The Germans were hoping that some 12,000 Poles would volunteer. They were promised the same treatment as German soldiers, including salaries, death insurance and health service.
In the late fall of 1944, in several Polish towns, offices for volunteers were created, some of them decorated with Polish flags. However, only 471 people signed up, in spite of German fabrications stating that the Home Army announced its alliance with the Nazis. Desperate, the occupiers tried to use prisoners, but also with no success. Out of those who volunteered, most went AWOL after some time. In January 1945, in the course of the Vistula-Oder Offensive
, the Red Army overran the remaining Polish territory still in German hands, thus rendering this attempt to enlist Poles into German service largely moot.
's conscription to Wehrmacht proved to be controversial during the Polish presidential election, 2005
, when it was called the "Wehrmacht affair" (Polish: Afera wehrmachtowa).
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, began with the German invasion of Poland in 1939. More than 225,000 citizens of the Polish Second Republic served in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and some in the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
and Waffen SS. The majority of these Polish citizens were of German extraction, the so-called "Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
", or members of ethnic minorities, such as Silesians, Kasubians, and Masurians whom the Nazis considered to be almost Germans. The Waffen SS on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
contained a sizable number of non-Germans, but no Polish-based unit was ever formed, partly due to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's refusal to create such units until the later stages of the war; though there were some Polish citizens of Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, and Lithuanian origin, both in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS.
German stance
At the end of the Polish September Campaign, some German politicians had proposed the creation of a polnische Reststaat ("Polish Rump State"), i.e. a memorandum of Hans Adolf von Moltke on September 23, 1939, and Hitler's Speech of October 6, 1939, to the Reichstag, Berlin ("der entstehende polnische Reststaat"). The Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete ("General GovernmentGeneral Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
for the Occupied Polish Territories") was established by the Führer's decree of October 12, 1939, which came into force on October 26, 1939. The Germans contacted Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
, offering him the post of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, but he declined the offer. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, at that time an ally of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, opposed such an idea, stating that Poland had ceased to exist and there was no point in re-creating it. During that time the name "Poland" was forbidden in the Soviet Union.
Władysław Studnicki, a pro-German Polish activist and publicist during the interwar period as early as November 20 1939 presented to the Germans "An appeal to re-establish the Polish Army". Studnicki wrote that the army would help the Germans in their struggle with the Soviets, and promised he would help find proper volunteers. According to him, the biggest misfortune for the Polish Nation would be the Soviet occupation of the whole country and - as he stated - an army consisting of infantry and cavalry would not be a significant threat to the Germans. Berlin, however, expressed no interest in re-establishing the Polish Army. In early 1940 Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
met with Studnicki, telling him that such units were not considered necessary. It must be noted that Studnicki, during the same meeting, vehemently protested against Nazi atrocities in occupied Poland, for which he was later imprisoned in the infamous Pawiak
Pawiak
Pawiak was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Poland.During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia....
jail in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
Volksliste
There were also thousands of pre-war citizens of the Second Polish Republic who served in German forces during the war. Most of them were people who accepted so-called VolkslisteVolksliste
The Deutsche Volksliste was a Nazi institution whose purpose was the classification of inhabitants of German occupied territories into categories of desirability according to criteria systematized by Heinrich Himmler. The institution was first established in occupied western Poland...
("German People's List"). In several areas, mainly Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, and Masuria
Masuria
Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
, Poles were forced to sign these documents. Rejection of Volksliste often led to deportation to a concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. Many people were compelled by force and many took Volksliste fearing the consequences. Some of those who took Volksliste were later drafted into the German forces. It was significant that the Polish government-in-exile knew about it, and Prime Minister general Władysław Sikorski approved.
SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
wrote in his book Die Freiwilligen der Waffen-SS. Idee und Opfergang that he based his organization on the Legionnaires of Józef Piłsudski. According to him, the young Polish patriots and their leader were the ideal form of "kameradenschaft" - a specific union between soldiers and their officers, based on mutual understanding.
It is not known what Hitler thought about Poles as soldiers, but one fact is certain - he distrusted them. His opinion of Polish soldiers was based on the notions of Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
, who reminded Hitler that during World War I the majority of Poles did not want to fight for Germany.
On March 30 1943, SS Headquarters refused to create Polish units, citing the following reasons:
- thousands of Poles fled both the German and Austrian armies in 1917–1918;
- racial and biological differences;
- propaganda reasons - the creation of Polish units would mean that Poles and Germans should be officially treated as equal;
- the unsupportive stance of the SDSicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
; and
- the fact that the Poles themselves were not willing to fight for Germany.
Volunteers and non-volunteers
Among the citizens of interwar Poland who served in the Wehrmacht, the Secretary of State of the British government reported in parliament that a total of 68,693 were captured by 1945.Of the Polish soldiers who served in the Wehrmacht many deserted or were captured by Allies and later joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
and fought against the Germans.
German-Soviet War
When on June 22, 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union (Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
), Studnicki renewed his proposal. However, Berlin again refused and Studnicki was imprisoned. In the summer of 1941 the Nazis placed huge screens in Warsaw, showing newsreels from the front. The speaker said that "all European nations were fighting the Bolsheviks but [the] Poles". This propaganda gesture would have meant that some efforts had been taken, but the Germans must have changed their minds, deciding to create Belarussian and Ukrainian units only.
Katyn Case
In May 1943, after the discovery of Polish Officers graves in Katyn (see: Katyn MassacreKatyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
), German propaganda started indicating that Polish volunteers would be needed. There was a rumor that the Nazis offered leadership of the Division to General Władysław Bortnowski, but he refused. Finally, on June 19, 1943 both Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
suggested to Hitler that he should give permission for the creation of Polish units. Frank explained that the discovery of Katyn made the Poles angry and willing to take revenge on the Soviets, but Hitler bluntly refused.
The Polnische Wehrmacht
From the spring of 1944, when the Germans realized that the war was lost, they started to look for ways of getting in touch with Polish politicians. According to reports sent to the Polish government-in-exile in London, GestapoGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
officials in several Polish cities were trying to talk about creating a common, anti-Communist front with the Poles, a thing that had been unheard of before. The Nazis also tried again to talk Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
into issuing an appeal, but he refused.
Heinrich Himmler again came to Hitler asking for permission for the organization of Polish units, but Hitler stated that only Belarusians and Ukrainians, citizens of the Polish Second Republic, were allowed to serve as auxiliaries. In the fall of 1944, after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, Hitler finally allowed Poles to create their units.
The Polnische Wehrmacht originated in operations Weiser Adler and Berta, supported by Hans Frank, confirmed October 23, 1944 by the Oberkommando des Heeres
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
(OKH) and next day by Adolf Hitler. Around 700 soldiers were recruited, carrying German uniforms with tabs reading Im Dienst der Deutschen Wehrmacht ("In service of German Wehrmacht") and tabs in the form of a hussar wing or Polish white-red flag.
On October 24, 1944, Wehrmacht Headquarters officially announced this decision. A propaganda poster was printed in Krakau (Kraków, Cracow), in which a Polish worker puts aside a shovel and takes a gun handed to him by a German soldier. News of this idea generated confusion, as people were afraid of conscription. However, German officials placated the Poles, stating that they did not treat it seriously.
On November 4 1944, Heeresgruppe Mitte (Headquarters of the Central Group of the German Army) announced basic principles. The Germans were hoping that some 12,000 Poles would volunteer. They were promised the same treatment as German soldiers, including salaries, death insurance and health service.
In the late fall of 1944, in several Polish towns, offices for volunteers were created, some of them decorated with Polish flags. However, only 471 people signed up, in spite of German fabrications stating that the Home Army announced its alliance with the Nazis. Desperate, the occupiers tried to use prisoners, but also with no success. Out of those who volunteered, most went AWOL after some time. In January 1945, in the course of the Vistula-Oder Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
, the Red Army overran the remaining Polish territory still in German hands, thus rendering this attempt to enlist Poles into German service largely moot.
Wehrmacht affair
Józef TuskJózef Tusk
Józef Tusk was the grandfather of the current Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. During World War II, he served as a forced laborer in Germany, and was imprisoned in a concentration camp...
's conscription to Wehrmacht proved to be controversial during the Polish presidential election, 2005
Polish presidential election, 2005
-External links:**] ]**...
, when it was called the "Wehrmacht affair" (Polish: Afera wehrmachtowa).