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O.k. i don't believe that this has been discussed on here before and so we all know how bad the nazis treated the jews in poland during the occupation however i've been pondering about they treated the ''non'' jewish polish population during the same time? Possibly similar to the non jewish french during that counties occupation as well?
O.k. i don't believe that this has been discussed on here before and so we all know how bad the nazis treated the jews in poland during the occupation however i've been pondering about they treated the ''non'' jewish polish population during the same time? Possibly similar to the non jewish french during that counties occupation as well?
Any insights here?
It's my understanding that the French civilians were treated the best of any occupied country by the Germans. I would assume that to be due to Hitler's personal feelings but am ready to be corrected.
O.k. i don't believe that this has been discussed on here before and so we all know how bad the nazis treated the jews in poland during the occupation however i've been pondering about they treated the ''non'' jewish polish population during the same time? Possibly similar to the non jewish french during that counties occupation as well?
Any insights here?
They murdered them by the hundreds of thousands in various concentration camps and in specific massacres. The Poles were the first be gassed in Auschwitiz, I believe.
Poles were viewed as subhuman in the same way that Russians were. The Germans saw them as an exploitable economic resource. Additionally, there were a lot of personal grudges between Germans and Poles. The Poles had engaged in a sweeping de-Germanification of Polish territory following WW1 when Poland was reconstituted. Much of the land Poland occupied had once belonged to the Prussian state and had been extensively colonized by Germans and the native Poles were made second class citizens. There was a lot of bad blood between them.
As others said, the occupation in western areas was bad, but life was semi normal for most people. Anyone under occupation in the east faced pretty dire cicumstances. Even if outright extermination was not a daily threat, many people found themselves shipped off as forced labor or made to deal with massive resesettlements.
It's my understanding that the French civilians were treated the best of any occupied country by the Germans. I would assume that to be due to Hitler's personal feelings but am ready to be corrected.
Also, the concentration camps while noted with regards to the "holocaust" included many many non-jew poles for any number of reasons.
Poland was also strongly Catholic. Catholics were not considered trustworthy and this added to them being slavs as a negative to the nazi mind.
The Germans wanted Paris to be a place of escape for themselves. They wanted to be entertained by French artists and enjoy the atmosphere of the 'germanized' Paris. It's been said that the biggest ally of the French underground was the average Frenchman who sought to preserve as much of 'normal' life as possible, so it provided a support system of goods and a population in which to dissapear into.
The Poles were all considered sub-human and aside from taking young blond polish children and 'adopting' them to German families, they were treated as the slavs in general were. The overall idea in Poland was to empty it of Poles so that Germany would have space for a burgeoning population. Thus, deportation and forced labor were common as it didn't 'waste' the resources but got you the land.
The ultimate, never complted plan was to depopulate Eastern Europe of slavs, moving them into the far eastern regions of Russia, and expand the acceptable population with more 'lebenstrom'.
The only Protestants amongst the top Nazi leadership were Goering and Rosenberg, if I remember correctly.
It is logical that in the Germany (and Austria) in which the future Nazi leaders were raised that one was either Protestant or Catholic. The more relevant question would be if they actually believed in these religions during their careers as Nazi leaders.
I can recall reading nothing that would lead me to believe that one could characterize Hitler as a Catholic even in the most nominal sense. The Nazis tried to Nazify Germany's Protestant churches , but I wouldn't take that as any indication that they adhered to Lutheranism or the Evangelical church as believers.
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